Some Killer Taiwanese Street Food Is Coming to Far East Plaza

Things have been quite busy at Far East Plaza lately, the Chinatown open air mall space that’s now home to everyone from Chego to Alvin Cailan’s Unit 120 to Howlin’ Rays. Lines for just about everything (yes, even Jack Benchakul’s otherwise stoic Endorffeine coffee spot) can get long on the weekends, and there’s been even more interest than usual in some of the remaining spaces.

Enter Lao Tao Street Food, who has come to terms on a second-floor storefront just around the corner from Ramen Champ. The forthcoming concept from chef/owner David Wang will serve Taiwanese street fare like fried chicken, braised pork, and plenty more.

Wang is a longtime fan of Far East Plaza and Chinatown BID director George Yu, and has been prepping to bring Taiwanese street food to the plaza for well over a year. Along the way he’s been doing pop-up stalls for Chinatown After Dark and at various night markets around the city, always with the plan to bring milk-steamed buns and soupless beef noodles to the masses.

Right now, Lao Tao (which roughly translates to "foodie" in Taiwan) plans to open sometime in late June, as there’s work to still be done inside the space. The glass is currently papered over, but just know that most of the menu work is behind them, so once construction and finishing touches are completed there’s going to be no stopping them.

Lao Tao Street Food
727 N. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA