Orange County vegan food events and pop-ups Besides the boutique beaches, sunny weather, and Disneyland, here are 16 vegan restaurants that make Orange County a plant-based destination. It is also worth noting that Orange County is home to The Happiest Place on Earth, which has been continually upping its plant-based offerings over the past several years. However, that’s not to say that the OC doesn’t have its vegan hidden gems and downright destination eateries. It’s a largely suburban county that encompasses a handful of private and state college campuses, a hippy beach vibe, and just enough pretension to be worthy of its own reality show.ĭespite its general health-and-fitness-oriented residents, this family-centric area has never matched the vegan innovations of its neighbor to the north (LA). All are welcome and no tickets or reservations are needed.Orange County occupies 42 miles of coastline in between the vegan mecca of Los Angeles and the more laid-back vibes of San Diego. Opening night coincides with the Lunar New Year. “It’s getting us to an energetic, modern world,” Neoh says. “The cocktail piece keeps Sum Bar fun and relevant. The naturally vegan and gluten-free dessert is both sweet and savory, with a bouncy texture. With focused cocktails launching the dim sum restaurant into night-out territory, Neoh hopes the concept will attract people previously unfamiliar with the dumplings. Sui mai (shrimp and pork wrapped in wontons and steamed) will be a mainstay, served with a sweet and salty sauce made of soy, rice wine vinegar, house chili oil, and toasted sesame seeds. The menu itself features four types of rotating dumplings. She also plays with Chinese teas, using the leaves to infuse vodka and gin and making simple syrups from the flavors. There’s also the chrysanthe-rum old fashioned made with chrysanthemum tea, Plantation Three Stars white run, orange bitters, cherry bitters, and bubbles.

Think a Strong Collins, made with Wuliangye strong baijiu, lemon juice, simple syrup, and club soda, alongside a tom collins. For every “classic” drink, there’s also a baijiu counterpart. Her favorite is baijiu, a clear liquor made of fermented sorghum, and it takes center stage on the cocktail menu. Neoh works with local distributors to access Chinese spirits and liqueurs previously unseen in South Carolina. She chose to leverage her dim sum restaurant with drinks, specifically, cocktails prepared with complementing ingredients that reflect the flavors on the food menu. The success of her pop-ups and community support was the encouragement she needed to turn her night project into a full-time career.ĭespite her successful pop-ups, Neoh knew she needed an additional angle to introduce a “non-Americanized Chinese restaurant” in Greenville. Every event led to a new friend, a new invitation to cook, a new pop-up, and eventually, a new restaurant. “I started learning that it’s not what you know but who you know,” she says.

She continued her day job but did evening events where she could connect with other members of Greenville’s food and beverage community. The outpouring of support Neoh found at the initial pop-ups grew her confidence.

When she was happy with her recipes, she began sharing her product with Greenville’s hungry residents. She challenged herself to see how closely she could make her creations resemble the dim sum she loved from China and Malaysia. Neoh started recipe testing in her home kitchen, mastering the time-intensive art of crafting delicate dim sum-not unlike the art of homemade croissants. She saw an opportunity to contribute to Greenville the way that her family members had in their Ohio hometown. “All the values in my life pointed to food and community,” she says. The Covid-19 pandemic brought about a period of introspection for Neoh in 2020. But as an adult, she pursued a career in sales and product management for an industrial engineering firm. She grew up in a family of restaurateurs her parents and grandparents owned restaurants. Neoh launched her pop-ups in 2021, sharing siu mai, rangoons, and sesame balls at various locations around Greenville. As a full-service dim sum restaurant, Sum Bar pairs the small Chinese dumplings traditionally reserved for brunch with signature craft cocktails and a sophisticated evening setting. Khailing Neoh’s much-loved dim sum pop-up, Sum Bar, enters its next chapter on January 21, 2023, in its own brick-and-mortar space on Washington Street in Greenville, South Carolina.

Former pop-up Sum Bar opens doors in its new brick-and-mortar space

Gluten free dim sum atlanta