Author: Mona Day

Taste of South Pasadena

Mona Day Dine , , ,

The Rotary Club of South Pasadena will host the 12th Annual Taste of South Pasadena on Tuesday May 19 from 5–8pm, inviting guests to sip, stroll, and savor bites from local restaurants while raising funds for community charities. Dubbed Eats on the Streets, you can stroll the scenic event walking route or hop on the free shuttle service to make the most of your tasting tour. The family and dog-friendly strolling event will make for a  relaxing evening on the town exploring the city and its culinary offerings with friends and neighbors. 

The all you can eat  event is a culinary celebration featuring more than 20 spectacular tasting stations presenting bites from popular local restaurants and bakeries along Fair Oaks Avenue and Mission Street in the heart of South Pasadena. They include longtime neighborhood favorites like Gus’s BBQ and Griffin’s of Kinsale to newer additions like Handel’s Ice Cream and The Giddy Ostrich.  The event will be anchored at local favorite Canoe House.

Guests over 21 will also enjoy wine and spirits experience featuring the popular Wilson Creek from Temecula, Vandella Wines all the way from Napa, Xolo Tequila as seen on the hit Netflix TV series “The Lincoln Lawyer”, and the iconic San Antonio Winery, an L.A. institution since 1917. 

You will also enjoy live world guitar music by the Carbe and Durand Duo of the international group Incendio, and at the other end of the event by world-renowned street busker and local favorite Katie Ferrara  at the Metro Rail Plaza.

Major event sponsors providing generous support include Priority One Credit Union, Inspirational Sponsor, Charity On Top State Farm South Pasadena.   

Last year’s Taste of South Pasadena focused on Eaton Fire relief raising over $40,000;  100% of the proceeds were used to purchase items for more than 500 fire survivors who lost their belongings in the January 2025 fires, and helped replace personal and family items including furniture, home goods, musical instruments, record albums, and even an antique quilt. 

This year’s proceeds will support Eaton Fire Relief, local high school scholarships, the South Pasadena Interact Club, and the Corazón House Build in Mexico. 

For more information about the South Pasadena Rotary Club  please visit  southpasadenarotary.org;  and for more information on event and tickets, please visit https://www.tasteofsouthpasadena.com.

FLOWER DRUM SONG

Mona Day See, Stage, Dance, Theater

East West Players will present Rodger’s beloved musical Flower Drum Song at Aratani Theatre at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in historic Little Tokyo from April 18 – May 31.  The show marks the grand finale of EWP’s 60th Anniversary Diamond Legacy season and its  final production before the 880-seat venue undergoes a major renovation.

The show is based on Tony-winner David Henry Hwang’s newly updated 2026 book based on the original book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joseph Fields, which itself was based on the novel by C.Y. Lee.  Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved classic with its songs and characters returns to Los Angeles for the first time since the premiere of Hwang’s adaptation at Center Theatre Group’s Mark Taper Forum over twenty years ago.

The story follows Mei-Li, a young Chinese opera performer fleeing communism, as she arrives in America and is drawn into the vibrant and  dazzling world of the Grant Avenue nightclubs.  Set against the backdrop of 1960s San Francisco Chinatown, Hwang’s 2026 revision explores themes of immigration, assimilation, tradition, and community. Questions of identity, immigration, and cultural preservation remain as relevant today, making the show offer  perspective and depth.  

The show is 2 hours and 30 minutes long, and appropriate for ages 6 up. Regular performances take place on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with additional select weekday shows and matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. 

The largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work, East West Players was founded in 1965 at a time when Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders faced limited or no opportunities to see their experiences reflected outside of stereotypical and demeaning caricatures in the American landscape. Today, East West Players continues to ensure that their  stories are told and to increase access, inclusion, and representation in entertainment and media. The organization was designated by the Ford Foundation as one of America’s Cultural Treasures in 2020.

For more information and tickets, please visit eastwestplayers.org. 

Masters of Taste

Mona Day Chefs, Dine, Food & Wine Events, Restaurants

Los Angeles’ much anticipated food and beverage festival Masters of Taste will return for its eighth annual edition to the  Pasadena Rose Bowl Stadium  on Sunday, April 19, 3:00-7:00pm.  It is expected to attract over 3,000 food and beverage enthusiasts.

The festival will feature tastings from over hundred Culinary Masters and desserts by Sweet Masters, with a long lineup including:  Agnes, Alexander’s Steakhouse, All About The Cinnamon, Ayara Thai, Bertha Mae’s Brownie Co., Bianca Sicilian Trattoria, BOA Steakhouse, Cakes By Chante, Casa Cordoba, Celestino Ristorante, Chaaste Family Market, City Club Los Angeles, Delight Pastry, Descanso Restaurant, Dorasti, Emporium Thai, Fitoor Santa Monica, Harold & Belle’s Restaurant, ID-Eclair, Knox & Dobson, Lark Cake Shop, Love & Salt, Lyre’s, Magpies Softserve, Marina Restaurant, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Paradise Dynasty,  Paloma, Pazzo Gelato, Perlas Ice Cream, Pez Coastal Kitchen, Poppy + Rose, Porto’s Bakery & Cafe, Ramen Tatsunoya, Rico Rico Snack Carts LLC, Sushi Roku, STK Steakhouse, The Exchange Restaurant (Freehand LA), The Italian Deli Co, The Raymond 1886, The Second Wind, Truffle Brothers, Uchi West Hollywood, and Zira Uzbek Kitchen.  More are expected to be added on. 

Beverage Masters will offer signature handcrafted cocktail tastings from over 25 spirit brands and top cocktail bars, wineries, local craft breweries, cold-pressed juices, and cold brew coffee.  The list includes Above Board Liqueurs, Akagisan Sake, All Season Brewing Company, Arts District Brewing Company, Broda Vodka, Broken Shaker, Bücha Whole Fruit Hard Kombucha, Burden of proof, Empress 1908 Gin, Fever Tree, Good Intentions Coffee, La Bay Gin Distillerie Californienne, Laderach, Meadows Estate Vineyard And Winery, Navarro Vineyards, Old Hillside Bourbon, Paperback Brewing, Paloma, Paperback Brewing, Pucker Up Lemonade Company, and Sake High! 

This year’s host chefs are acclaimed husband-and-wife team Chef Thomas and Chef Vanessa Tilaka Kalb of Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery who are known for their ingredient-driven approach and for their impact on Pasadena’s dining scene and have earned a devoted following.

All event proceeds directly benefit Union Station Homeless Services, a non-profit organization that for over 50 years has provided  homeless housing and services.  Over the last seven years, Masters of Taste has raised over $3.5 million, helping countless families and individuals find a secure place to call home, along with supportive services.

General Admission is from 4:00-7:00 pm, with a VIP Hour from 3:00-4:00 pm. For more information and tickets, please visit https://mastersoftastela.com/tickets.  You can also  download the official Masters of Taste App on the Apple Store or Google Play.

Falstaff

Mona Day Opera, See, stage

LA Opera’s 40th anniversary season continues with a revival of Giuseppe Verdi’s final masterpiece Falstaff for six performances April 18 through May 10.

Based on Shakespeare’s comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor, Falstaff is Verdi’s final opera and the crowning achievement of his career, premiering in 1893 when the composer was 79 years old.  It came five decades after his only other comic opera Un Giorno Di Regno.

According to legend, the opera was prompted by a remark Verdi heard that he was incapable of writing a comic opera, and he unveiled Falstaff after two years of working in secret. 

The story involves  the amorous mishaps of Shakespeare’s aging knight, a grandiose, rotund, impoverished rogue of an anti-hero Sir John Falstaff who comes up with a plot to simultaneously improve his love life and his finances by seducing two merry, and more importantly wealthy wives of Windsor so he can live out his days in luxury. That could have worked out well, except that  the bumbling knight sends both his targets the same love letter. 

The women – Alice Ford and Meg Page discover Falstaff’s audacity and are now determined to humiliate their would-be suitor and teach him a lesson.  Together with their allies, they set up elaborate deceptions and pranks involving a whirlwind of disguises and deceptions,  jealous husbands, mistaken identities, and farcical situations, including an unexpected dip in the River Thames. The result is riotous chaos, and an unabashed celebration of human folly in Merry Olde England’s lusty days and bawdy nights that include horseplay, chase scenes, and a climactic plunge into the river Thames. 

Now humbled in comedic fashion, the now soggy Falstaff is in a foul mood. He rants and raves, the world is bleak and conspiring against him, a brave and noble knight, but eventually comes to terms with his fate `Let’s pour a bit of wine into this Thames water.’ Beatings, insults, more confusion and embarrassment follow, but a good natured acceptance of defeat bring a happy outcome and the show closes with a festive ensemble music celebrating human folly, forgiveness, and humor.

The music plays off the raucous bravado of the men with the lighter, more intricate exchanges between the women, and both against the romance and ardor of the young lovers Nanetta and Fenton.

Needless to say, Falstaff stunned the opera world with its comedic brilliance and laid to rest any doubts about Verdi’s ability to do comedy.

The current production of Falstaff is a revival of the company’s 2013 original LA Opera production created by the late Lee Blakeley.  It will be conducted by James Conlon who is currently in his 20th and final season with the company as Music Director before taking on a new role of Conductor Laureate. The lavish  scenery and costumes sets and costumes of merry old England  were designed by Adrian Linford.  

The title role will be performed by Craig Colclough, a bass-baritone who began his career with the company, rising from supporting parts to leading roles including, most recently, Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro, Leporello in Don Giovanni, and Capulet in Roméo et Juliette.

The cast includes several additional returning company favorites, including soprano Nicole Heaston as Alice Ford and mezzo-soprano Hyona Kim as Mistress Quickly, along with two alumni of our Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program, tenor Anthony León as Fenton and mezzo-soprano Sarah Saturnino as Meg Page. The music plays off the raucous bravado of the men with the lighter, more intricate exchanges between the women, and both against the romance and ardor of the young lovers Nanetta and Fenton. 

The opera is sung in Italian with English subtitles and has a run time of approximately two hours and 40 minutes, which includes one intermission.

Music Director James Conlon will present his popular  free pre-show introduction  to the  history and plot of the opera, and key musical moments highlighting one hour before showtime.

For more information and tickets, please visit LAOpera.org/Falstaff.

Emporium Thai

Mona Day Chefs, Dine, Food & Wine Events, Restaurants

Emporium Thai launched its 26th anniversary celebration on Monday, March 16, 2026 marking  over two decades of bringing the bold, vibrant flavors of Southern Thailand to L.A.’s Westside dining scene.

Founded by John and Jane Sungkamee on March 16, 2000, Emporium Thai has grown from a neighborhood eatery into a cornerstone of Los Angeles’ Thai dining scene, earning widespread recognition. It holds Thai Select certification from the Royal Thai Government and has been named among the Top 100 Best Thai Restaurants in the United States.   

Over the past 26 years, the family run restaurant has also become a gathering place for West Los Angeles locals, visiting chefs, celebrities, and Thai food enthusiasts.  They come for the  Southern Thai signature dishes like Phuket Wings, Pad Thai Prawn, Crispy Honey Duck, Thai Crab Curry with Jasmine Rice, Drunken Noodles, and the celebrated Thai Crab Omelette. Other dishes pay homage to celebrity fans, including Akon Salad, Blackpink’s Lisa Meatballs, and the Cardi B Mango Sticky Rice.

To commemorate this milestone, Emporium Thai will be offering a Two-Course Prix-Fixe Lunch Menu ($26 per person) and a Two-Course Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu ($36 per person), available Monday, March 16, 2026, through Sunday, March 29, 2026, alongside other celebratory specials highlighting the restaurant’s most loved signature dishes.

Beverage Director Honeybee Sungkamee, brings creativity and cultural flair to every pour. Drawing inspiration from Thai herbs and flavors, she has crafted a lineup of signature cocktails that are both inventive and balanced.  They include the Lemongrass Gimlet, Thai-Tea-Ni, and Thai Basil Mojito. Her extensive collection of signature mocktails have become  crowd favorite, offering vibrant, flavorful alternatives. 

As it celebrates Emporium Thai’s 26th anniversary, the Sungkamee family in January took another bold step launching a sister restaurant  Emporium Thai Market,  on bustling Sawtelle Boulevard nearby. 

Here’s wishing the family many more anniversaries to come!

Akhnaten

Mona Day Opera, See, stage, Theater

LA Opera’s 40th Anniversary Season will bring a revival of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten for  six performances February 28 through March 22.

The  opera is the last of composer Philip Glass’s portrait trilogy examining consequential figures in science (Einstein in Einstein on the Beach), politics (Gandhi in Satyagraha) and religion (the Egyptian pharaoh Akhnaten).  Glass describes this an opera about ‘religion, orthodoxy and reaction’.  

A co-production of LA Opera and English National Opera, its story is set in Ancient Egypt where the titular Akhnaten, a doomed visionary with plans to abandon the old gods and lead Egypt into a new age. His feats and foibles put his life in peril.  

Glass’s music has permeated modern culture from New York City Ballet to  Netflix’s Stranger Things.  Its most notable feature is an infinite ritualistic repetition which admirers find hypnotic transcendence as well as a test of endurance.  

The opera is sung in English, ancient  Hebrew and Akkadian. The libretto draws upon ancient texts like The Book of the Dead, ancient hymns, prayers, letters and inscriptions.  Highlights are the funeral music of Act I and the Hymn to Sun in Act II.

The spectacular production is visually arresting, featuring towering sets and costumes with animal heads, exotic plumes and intricate beadwork.  It is replete with soaring acrobats and astonishing juggling acts that pay homage to the earliest known record of juggling found in a four thousand year-old mural in an Egyptian cemetery complex.  Anthropologists think that the tomb depiction may be an analogy between balls and circular mirrors as representation of solar objects, birth and death.  The show’s choreographer, however, leaves its role as deliberately undefined: the objects can be alter egos to the characters’ ideas, miniature globular deities, bouncing thoughts, or even desert sand.

Making her LA Opera debut is Finland’s Dalia Stasevska, principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

The show is  approximately three hours, including two intermissions. Dr. Tiffany Kuo will present a pre-show talk in Stern Grand Hall one hour before every performance.

For more information and tickets, please visit LAOpera.org/Akhnaten.

Emporium Thai Market

Mona Day Dine, Restaurants

The popular Emporium Thai Market in Westwood has established a brand new outpost on the section of Sawtelle Boulevard that is already a bustling hub of Asian markets and eateries.  

The restaurant specializes in Southern Thai cuisine, highlighting the region’s signature balance of heat, acidity, aromatics, and depth.  Its signature dishes include Seafood Hor Mok, a fragrant, savory and spicy dish featuring a rich, smooth, custard-like mixture of seafood served as individual bites of shrimp, crab meat and scallop in a sweet coconut curry.  Jane’s Wings are crispy chicken wings glazed in a tangy, house sauce.   Other crowd pleasers are Phuket Wings, Kra Duk Moo Tod, deep fried marinated pork, BLACKPINK’s Lisa Meatballs, Tom Saap Pork Rib Soup, Khao Soi, a rich, creamy, coconut curry noodle from Northern Thailand, Honey Ribs, Choo Chee Salmon, and the Bangkok Jay Fai’s style Thai Crab Omelette.

Southern Thai dishes from the owners’ hometown are known for intense spice and rich flavors, expressed in the restaurants’ specialties like Kua Kling Gai Sab, a dry curry with ground chicken, Gaeng Som, a sour orange curry with catfish fillet, Pad Sa Taw Goong, stir-fried stink beans with shrimp – a dish not for newbies, Southern Thai Crab Curry with  fresh crab lump, and Pla Tod Kamin, a crispy whole Red Snapper with turmeric and garlic. 

Desserts range from Sweet Roti, a buttery, crisp Thai flatbread with sweetened condensed milk and sugar, and the crowd-favorite Cardi B Mango Sticky Rice.

The bar program is integrated with the restaurant’s cuisine, drawing on Thai herbs like galanga, lemongrass, turmeric, basil, and mint.  Signature cocktails include the Galanga Sunrise, Lemongrass Lavender Margarita, Coconut Espresso Martini, Dragon Fruit Martini, and Strawberry Yuzu Martini with Lychee.

They are complemented by an eclectic selection of wines, draft beers that include aromatic Thai lemongrass brews, Japanese imports, as well as local brews, and a lineup of zero-proofs. 

The restaurant’s architecture pays homage to its Thai cultural heritage with the exterior recalling traditional Thai rooflines graced with an elephant motif , which continues inside with a bold elephant mural. An outdoor patio provides an option for al fresco dining. 

DANCE CAMERA WEST

Mona Day art, celebration, Dance, Entertainment, Film, See

Dance Camera West will present the 2026 edition of its dance film festival on January 22-25, with events on January 22-24 anchoring at Theatre Raymond Kabbaz in West Los Angeles. 

Continuing the Festival  tradition of honoring a major dance figure, the Festival opens January 22, 7:30 pm with a  Gala Retrospective and Tribute to David Roussève.   The evening will screen four of his films –  Bittersweet,  Hold your Heads to the Sky, Two Seconds of Laughter and Chili Pepper followed by a moderated discussion and a gala reception.

Roussève’s three-decade career weaves  movement, text, and multimedia to probe identity, race, queerness, and resilience and has resonated across generations. His company, David Roussève/REALITY has performed to much nationally and internationally to wide acclaim. 

Preceding the main program will be Stories and Tales, a selection of five short dance films from the US and the UK telling stories and creating portraits through dance and film.

Next day January 23, 7:30PM will present Shorts, a selection of 13 short experimental dance films with  a Francophone focus from France, Québec, and Belgium, along with an international selection from Finland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, and Spain.

January 24, 2:00PM will Doc Day Afternoon with two films.  The first, Dance to the End celebrates dancer, choreographer, artist and writer Eileen Kramer who lived and travelled the world for 60 years and continued working after returning home at age 99. 

The second film Origins  is a cinematic odyssey into the heart and mind of world-renowned choreographer Alonzo King, offering an intimate look at his creative process and his profound belief in the limitless potential of the human spirit. 

Saturday, January 24, 2026, 7 pm  will present LA Pops Up at the  Colburn in Downtown LA.  The new project spearheaded by Hysterica Productions and Dance Camera West celebrates a vibrant mix of styles spanning contemporary, hip-hop, poppin’, jazz, and more.   The screening will be followed by a filmmaker discussion.

Sunday, January 25, 2026 1:00 pm will present Experimental Experts at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz.   The afternoon will feature Embodied Filmmaking with Karen Pearlman,  a screening of six films by Shirley Clarke.  The book launch and discussion celebrates the publication of Shirley Clarke: Thinking Through Movement.   

The workshop will audience to participate in a series of exercises designed to develop concepts, images, sounds, movement motifs, structures, and rhythms for new screen dance works.