‘Top Chef’ Star Shirley Chung to Preview Ms. Chi Café at Coachella

Shirley Chungis getting ready to rock.

TheTop Chefrunner-up is working to open L.A.’sMs. Chi Café, a restaurant that will focus on housemade dumplings, assorted Chinese snacks, and caffeinated beverages. Ms. Chi should debut in Culver City later this year. In the meantime, Chung will be offering a preview of Ms. Chi’s food at theCoachellamusic festival on April 13 to 15 and April 20 to 22. (The festival'sfull food lineupwas just announced.)

“We’ll have three different types of dumplings at Coachella,” Chung says. “Beef, chicken, and vegan dumplings, which you can get steamed or fried. We’ll have also have shrimp chips with citrus salt.”

The lines for food at Coachella can get long, especially when star chefs are involved, and Chung is excited for a couple weekends of madness alongside other prominent vendors like Roy Choi’sKogi,Chego, andPot Pizza Joint, David Chang’sFuku,Christina Tosi’sMilk Bar, Wes Avila’sGuerrilla Tacos和杰瑞·格林伯格的HiHo.

“We’re going to a fast-casual world,” Chung says. “This is a good way to present what we’re doing to a lot of people from L.A.”

Beyond Ms. Chi, Chung says she’s developing a couple other L.A. restaurants that will offer Chinese flavors. So at Coachella, Chung will also be making Chinese food for a four-courseOutstanding in the Fielddinner with her triumphantTop ChefrivalBrooke Williamsonon April 14. (Other prominent L.A. culinary stars likeSara Kramer and Sarah HymansonofKismetandPawan, Nakul, and Arjun MahendroofBadmaash还将参与该领域的优秀。) Expect seasonal vegetables and inspired takes on dishes like beef and broccoli as well as miso eggplant with duck.

“I’m bringing my Chinese cuisine to L.A.,” Chung says. “So Brooke and I are both cooking Chinese at Coachella. It’s a fresh California take on traditional Chinese flavors.”

Chung opening Ms. Chi in Culver City is part of a delicious trend in L.A. Not so long ago, L.A.’s Westside seemed like a wasteland when it came to Chinese food. But the recent arrival of high-profile newcomers, like the outpost of soup dumpling colossusDin Tai Fungthat just opened at the Westfield Century City shopping center, has made the Westside a place with all kinds of good Chinese food.

There’sGuYiwith serious Sichuan dishes in an unlikely Brentwood Gardens location, above a California Pizza Kitchen. AtKato, chefJon Yaohas brought in big crowds with his occasional beef noodle soup nights and his bolo baos with foie gras and pineapple. There are outposts ofMeizhou Dongpo(also at Westfield Century City),Northern Café,Qin West Noodle, andTasty Noodle House. AtLittle Fatty, chef David Kuo serves up modern riffs on Taiwanese food, including a new brunch with dim sum, moo shu burritos, and fried Hainan chicken and waffles.ROC, a soup dumpling mainstay on Sawtelle Boulevard, has expanded to Playa Vista and Beverly Grove. It’s become a lot less necessary for Westside residents to spend an hour driving to theSan Gabriel Valleyfor Chinese food.

“All of a sudden, everybody’s coming into the Westside,” Chung says. “It’s very exciting. There’s more and more of us leaving the San Gabriel Valley hub and expanding to more of L.A. It’s great. We really need it.”

Chung, in fact, recently moved from the San Gabriel Valley to a home not far from her forthcoming Westside restaurant.

“I’m excited to be part of this neighborhood,” she says.