The Sunset District in SF holds a special place in my heart. We might have fog but we also have beaches and my little surfer neighborhood. It’s one of the least touristy parts of our city and here are some of my little gems, all walking distance from each other. Grab a coffee, hit up a surf shop or ceramics studio, then grab some fish burritos and pizza and catch the sunset at beach! ☀️😎🏄🏻♀️🌊🛹#sunsetsf #oceanbeach
DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING CONGEE 🦃 Don’t throw away your turkey carcass! I like to turn it into a flavorful bone broth then use it to make rice porridge. See the recipe below! Turkey Stock: 1 x leftover Thanksgiving turkey carcass 1 x large pot Onions, garlic, ginger, shallots (roughly chopped) Cover the bones with chicken/turkey stock/water. Simmer for at least 1 hour, up to 6 hours, skimming occasionally. Strain. Shred and reserve the meat. Congee/Jook: 1 cup white rice (short grain preferred, but long works!) 1 medium yellow onion, small dice 5 garlic cloves, minced One 2” knob ginger, peel, julienne or mince 4 quarts Turkey Stock Shredded turkey meat To taste: Kosher salt, fish sauce, & ground white pepper Top with 3-5 of your favorite garnishes!
I’m officially an author! 😭🫠🔪👑 My first cookbook is finally here and I’m gonna cry! No one talks about just how long it takes to write a cookbook, this has been 3 years in the making! Getting ideas out of my head and translating intuition to paper — it’s pure INSANITY. I’ve dreamt of having a cookbook since I was a kid. I’m so grateful for my publishers @tenspeedpress @k.a.snowden @jauneclaire, cowriter JJ Goode, agent @sabrinataitz and everyone involved in making this dream come to life! “Cook Like a King” is a collection of Chinese California dishes — some from my Shanghainese grandma, Cantonese grandma and Proud Mom Alice, some from my everyday home cooking, and a few from Top Chef (you bet my Hong Kong Milk Tea Tiramisu’s in there!). The book is designed with all of you in mind — home friendly, flavor packed, impressive dishes for anyone looking to be a better cook. It’s the closest I can get to cooking beside you, teaching you my tricks while exploring the Asian pantry together and serving up Cali vibes. 😎 I’m so proud to share a part of me with you and excited to help you become a stronger homecook so you can cook like me! Cook Like a King 👑 is now available for presale in the link in my bio at a variety of stores. Birthdate: Sept 9, 2025 TELL EVERYONEEEEE! Thank you all for the support over the years, cooking together in virtual cooking classes, and just always cheering for me. With lots of love, xoxo Melissa 👑💋 #CooklikeaKing #chefmelissaking
This is the hardest restaurant to get a reservation at in New York City, and well worth the challenge. Are you team thick or thin cut? @nycprimerib
Found a cute little onigiri rice bar you’ll want to visit on your next trip to New York. @tokuyamatcha 🍙🍵 #eastvillage
Accidentally matching Proud Mom Alice.
A solid SF spot for wood-fire pizzas, salads, pasta and meatballs. It’s also women owned (yay!) and has a great front and back patio. I like to take my pizza to go but you do you! Let me know your favorite pizza there and check out my other reels for my favorite spots in the sunset district.📍 @damnfineco Fit: @lefleur x vintage @levis x @oliverpeoples
🎉 Lunar New Year like never before! Top Chef: All Stars winner and fan favorite Chef Melissa King curates a gigantic grazing board and assembles dazzling acts like Yoko Taketani’s pole artistry, drag queen Tila Pia, and Ronnie Reddick’s “I’m Every Woman” featuring The Ladies of AsiaSF 2.0. Don’t wait-tickets are selling fast! 📅 February 6, 2025 | 7-10 PM 📍 The Chan National Queer Arts Center 🎟️ Tickets on sale now—don’t miss out! Don’t wait to hear about it—be there to live it!
🎉 Lunar New Year like never before! Top Chef: All Stars winner and fan favorite Chef Melissa King curates a gigantic grazing board and assembles dazzling acts like Yoko Taketani’s pole artistry, drag queen Tila Pia, and Ronnie Reddick’s “I’m Every Woman” featuring The Ladies of AsiaSF 2.0. Don’t wait-tickets are selling fast! 📅 February 6, 2025 | 7-10 PM 📍 The Chan National Queer Arts Center 🎟️ Tickets on sale now—don’t miss out! Don’t wait to hear about it—be there to live it!
Sometimes I feel like a competitive eater. (Not complaining) Every time I drop into Miami I make it a mission to get Joe’s stone crab and my favorite side dish even if I have to eat it all by myself. 😋🍗🍗🍗 📍 @joesstonecrab #miamifood
SF doesn’t mess around with their coffee. This is 1 of 3 food stops in my neighborhood in the Outer Sunset. I like to start my day at Andytown for their signature snowy plover — possibly the best thing ever for coffee addicts but be sure to try their other treats. Check out my other reels for walkable snacks in the Outer Sunset and make a whole day out of your SF beach visit.📍@andytownsf Music: @thebeachesband – Everything is Boring Fit: @lefleur . @oliverpeoples . Vintage @levis
No, this obnoxiously large tray isn’t heavy 😅 Hamachi yuzu tostadas and ginger scallion lobster rolls with golden trout caviar. Thank you @therealtsarnicoulai! Appreciate everyone that came by the @chasesapphire lounge at @outsidelands 💋
No, this obnoxiously large tray isn’t heavy 😅 Hamachi yuzu tostadas and ginger scallion lobster rolls with golden trout caviar. Thank you @therealtsarnicoulai! Appreciate everyone that came by the @chasesapphire lounge at @outsidelands 💋
I’m in the kitchen, I’m cooking and mixing and fixing the sauces, and I’ll call you back 📷: @henrique.penha.fotografie Fit: @thombrowne
I couldn’t have pulled off Thanksgiving without my “helper chefs”. This year my little sous chefs graduated to real knives (with protective cut gloves & knuckle guards). I had each niece responsible for making a dish and owning the details of it — one twin really wanted to make a Cheddar mac and cheese with little shells and a breadcrumb crust, and the other a mashed sweet potato casserole with tiny marshmallows and crushed pecans. They were so excited to cook and present their dishes to the family and I couldn’t be more proud of my 8 year old nieces! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and it’s moments like this, where I get to share my love for food and why we cook for the people we love, that make it even more special. 🥹 Their requested kitchen playlist was a lot of Taylor Swift, Black Pink, Billie Eilish and they are officially new fangirls of Charli xcx and Chappell Roan and the Pink Pony Club. I hope you all had a beautiful Thanksgiving and got the kiddos involved! I’m grateful for all of you! 🦃: @diestelfamilyranch Aprons: @hedleyandbennett 🎼: @charli_xcx – Apple
Had a craving for sushi. Booked flight yesterday, today I’m in Tokyo! YOLO! 🎌🙃🍣 I will back up conveyor belt sushi any day as a must have experience while in Japan. In the US, it’s usually low quality but I find there are a lot of great options here for high quality sushi that won’t break your wallet. NOTE: submit one order in at a time as you eat each plate then pay collectively at the end. I accidentally placed my entire order in at the beginning and it all came out at once. Follow my stories for more of my food adventures around Tokyo.📍Kanazawa Maimon Sushi in Shibuya. #tokyoeats #tokyofood #conveyorbeltsushi
There’s a secret chef counter in Fort Greene and it’s become my new favorite spot. 📍 @theodorabrooklyn Thank you @tblechman and the crew for the fun experience!
A New York favorite @jejunoodlebar in the west village. I still think about their Tuna Toro Ssam Bap with Uni and Caviar 🫠 Don’t skip on the A5 Waygu Ramyun and raw fish crudos.
At the deeper core of being a chef, I’m an artist. I’m always searching to create beyond just the taste of a dish — I question how to connect deeper, how to trap a feeling or memory through our senses, while creating new ones all together. I almost skipped this exhibit in Miami, and it ended up being the most amazing, magical experience. I floated with clouds. Light bulbs synced to my heartbeat. My mind was blownnn in a @jamesturell light exhibit that I wasn’t allowed to film 🤯. It was a beautiful reminder that as artists, we can and should continue to push our art, creativity, and expressions of self. And that the human mind is just really friggin cool!✨📍@superblue.art
I’m hosting a Lunar New Year party to celebrate my fellow gaysians and support LGBTQ nonprofit @thechancenter. I’m making the biggest grazing board yet with dim sum, Asian snacks, and a few more surprise! They’ll be performances by drag queen @tila_pia_, pole dancer @yokotaketani929 and the women of Asia SF 2.0. Music by @djlivv. Come hungry, wear red, bring your 🧧for our performers! See you there! Tickets in my bio. 🐍🏮🎊
Excited to cook with some chef baddies in Ojai! TICKETS ARE NOW LIVE for Ojai Food Wine, taking place from March 13 – 16, 2025! I’ll be joining an esteemed line up of over 100 chefs and personalities from all over the country in Ojai for a weekend featuring 40 events including tastings, book signings, star-studded cooking demos, thought-provoking conversations, award-winning wineries, lunches, Michelin-starred dinners, and more! For the full lineup, schedule of events, and to secure your tickets today, visit ojaifoodandwine.com 📷: @ashleybatz
Look what you made me do. You made me throw an unapologeticly Gaysian Lunar New Year xoxo 💋🐍🧧❤️🔥 #yearofthesnake Thank you for coming together to celebrate our culture, my gaysians, my 16 foot grazing board with a whole roast pig and nostalgic Asian snacks and supporting AAPI queer talents and queer non profit @thechancenter. Could not have done this without my dream girl @rlonsdorf. ✨ Big thanks to: @tila_pia_ – drag queen 👑 @yokotaketani929 – pole artist 💃🏻 The Ladies of Asia SF 2.0 – @officialasiasf @djlivv – on decks 🎧🎶 @jessicalaskycatering @liondanceme 🦁 @rlonsdorf – amazing producer! Terry Chan and Ed Sell for their sponsorship 🎵: @taylorswift – Look What You Made Me Do #lunarnewyear #yearofthesnake #gaysians #LGBTQ
Last days of summer 🛹🌅
Miami Art Week was a vibe with @chasetravel 😎 #ad Check out experiences.chase.com to see the exclusive travel experiences you can unlock like this as a Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmember. #chasetravelpartner @chasesapphire
