Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Japanese Americans once grew most of the state’s celery in Venice Beach. After a month of searching, I found some still growing wild in Ballona Creek this past weekend. wrote about it in Lunch Box. frankbear.substack.com/p/japanese-c... 2186
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 01/09/2026So excited to have a story in the premier issue of Buffet Magazine, formerly Gourmet! I wrote about the strange local lore of the grunion run and the quest for "local seafood" in LA buffetmagazine.net/california-s...buffetmagazine.netThe Hunt for L.A.’s Local SeafoodSeven grunion runs. A revelation. 030
Reposted by Frank Shyongjamelle @jamellebouie.net · 01/09/2026I would like ask JD Vance about Pierre Damas Bel. 8843781010
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 20/08/2026It was such a treat to go on @kcrw.com Good Food and talk about my Lunch Box temple cuisine series with @kcrwevan.bsky.social, go listen!kcrw.com 010
Reposted by Frank ShyongMission Local @missionlocal.org · 12/08/2026A 27-year-old employee at BlackRock has let AI 'journalists' loose on the Bay Area. They're mostly taking human reporters' work. missionlocal.org/2026/08/the-...missionlocal.orgThe Dissent uses AI ‘reporters’ to cover S.F. — taking the work of human journalistsA 27-year-old BlackRock portfolio specialist created the AI news website in his spare time. Media experts are skeptical. 23314
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Good story by Brandon Pho at @missionlocal about The Dissent, a journalism branded content scraping website of AI puppets run by a Blackrock portfolio specialist missionlocal.org/2026/08/the-...missionlocal.orgThe Dissent has AI ‘reporters’ cover S.F. — reusing the work of human journalistsA 27-year-old BlackRock portfolio specialist created the AI news website in his spare time. Media experts are skeptical. 011
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 12/08/2026wrote about udon and how it feels to volunteer for community organizations frankbear.substack.com/p/recipe-geo... 011
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 12/08/2026For Lunch Box, wrote about an udon the Japanese American community of Venice Beach has served every June for about 60 years substack.com/home/post/p-...substack.comRecipe: George Asawa's Venice Japanese Community Center Natsumatsuri UdonA dish served every June in the Venice Japanese American community for more than half a century 000
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 04/08/2026I blew up all my best LA spots for a newsletter. Enjoy! frankbear.substack.com/p/lunch-box-...frankbear.substack.comAtlas: Views of Los AngelesBlowing up 12 of the best views and spots I know 110
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 14/07/2026Wrote about what's happened to LA restaurants, the philosophy of Chinese diners and why everything was better back in the 2010's frankbear.substack.com/p/back-then-...frankbear.substack.comWhy no one mourns for Chinese restaurant closuresNearly half of the restaurants included Jonathan Gold's Counter Intelligence have closed. What does that mean? 141
Reposted by Frank ShyongQuinta Jurecic @qjurecic.bsky.social · 06/07/2026It’s been six months since the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Here is how the federal government has stonewalled investigations, and how Minnesota law enforcement is attempting to push for accountability anywaytheatlantic.comThe Death of Renee Good Has Yet to Be Properly InvestigatedSix months after she and Alex Pretti were shot on the streets of Minneapolis, little has come of the probes into their killings. 222108644748
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 04/07/2026Happy 4th yall! I’m at the Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara in Walnut, CA, reporting on the langar, or free communal kitchen located in Sikh temples. Looking clueless in this headscarf because you have to cover your head inside. Story to come on my newsletter, Lunch Box. 120
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 03/07/2026Saw a pho spot last night named pho 99,999 and you know what? well played 071
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 03/07/2026Always fun to visit restaurants I ate at years ago to find that they got the second storefront expansion glow up. Pho Vinh Ky 2 in Garden Grove. This is an $8.50 bowl of pho available at 3 am - in 2009 it was $2.50 010
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 04/06/2026For Synonym Magazine, I wrote about the murky origins of LA chili, a burger stand stew that’s quietly one of the most ubiquitous foods in the city, tracing the history of the dish to a cluster of Greek-owned burger stands in South Gate open.substack.com/pub/synonymm... 142
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 27/05/2026Did you know that the 4 counties (LA, OC, Riverside and SB) meet in an area that’s become popular for large religious monuments? That the SGV has more than 100 Buddhist temples, mostly Taiwanese? That and more in my Asian temple food crawl, part 1 out today: frankbear.substack.com/p/temple-cui...frankbear.substack.comTemple cuisine in the far east San Gabriel ValleyPart 1 of a semi-vegetarian food crawl that spans the Asian American diaspora, a temple lunch buffet served every day since 1988. 031
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 19/04/2026Wrote about normcore Taco Bell open.substack.com/pub/frankbea... 010
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 05/03/2026For LA Local, I wrote about why Koreatown is LA’s true downtown and how it got that way thelalocal.org/neighborhood...thelalocal.orgKoreatown blends nightlife, affordability, immigrant culturesIt’s not just the densest neighborhood west of Manhattan and a home for the Korean American diaspora, but the city’s cultural center. 030
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 05/03/2026For LA Local, I wrote about why Koreatown is LA's true downtown and how it got that way thelalocal.org/neighborhood...thelalocal.orgKoreatown blends nightlife, affordability, immigrant culturesIt’s not just the densest neighborhood west of Manhattan and a home for the Korean American diaspora, but the city’s cultural center. 000
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 27/02/2026I don't post here a lot - not for any reason besides not having it figured it out - so I'm curious: does this platform's friendliness to links make people more likely to share and discuss stuff they've been reading? 110
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 27/02/2026Interesting piece by Kyle Chan in Foreign Affairs arguing that China will benefit from Trump's destruction of the current order by being predictable and passive. www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...foreignaffairs.comChina Is Winning by WaitingHow Beijing turns predictability into power. 010
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 04/02/2026wrote about my stay at Hokkaido’s Station Inn Hirafu on Lunch Box, the only Japan rail stop with a hostel inside, why hunters must manage the ecosystem after the extinction of the wolf, and the eerie beauty of a managed landscape cleansed of fear. 121
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 25/01/2026Wrote about how we should both wake up and also try not to tear each other apart open.substack.com/pub/frankbea... 010
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 25/01/2026It’s hard to watch the videos. But you have to see for yourself what the administration is lying about, how casually ICE kills and how blatantly they lie. can’t tap out of this one. 030
Reposted by Frank ShyongAdam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 24/01/2026I am trying not to post on these events in this state of mind but: I hope people understand what the observers are doing is brave and dangerous. 148178992998
Reposted by Frank ShyongThe New York Times @nytimes.com · 24/01/2026Federal agents shot and killed a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident on Saturday, the city’s police chief said. The shooting prompted clashes between law enforcement and protesters, as Minnesota officials renewed demands that the Trump administration end its immigration crackdown. trib.al/u8ESi4Q 199537193
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 09/01/2026a story I wrote in 2017 has been adapted into a whole movie starring Lucy Liu that emphasizes AAPI mental health and it's being shown around the country this next week! Please go check it out. 050
Reposted by Frank ShyongCongresswoman Robin Kelly @robinkelly.house.gov · 08/01/2026I am impeaching Secretary Kristi Noem, who is an incompetent leader and a disgrace to our democracy. She wreaked havoc in the Chicagoland area and has brought her reign of terror to Minneapolis. One of her rogue ICE agents shot and killed an innocent woman today. It must come to an end. 21946312214175
Reposted by Frank ShyongMia Sato @miasato.bsky.social · 07/01/2026A 23 year old larping as a journalist made a misleading and inaccurate YouTube video that the administration full of chronically online shitposters used to justify the “largest immigration operation ever” and now someone is dead 7975832132
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 07/01/2026This was released by the RFK USDA today, & I have so many questions. How does one interact with an inverted pyramid? At least w/ the old you knew to start at the bottom. I read the guidelines and still don't know how to interact w this triangle. Why an entire stick of butter? 120
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 06/01/2026I have an op-ed today in the Seattle Times about "Rosemead" and the operation of shame in AAPi communities, how it's is not just our statistics but our history. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...seattletimes.com‘Rosemead’ holds up a mirror to our battle against shameAs a journalist covering Asian American communities, Frank Shyong saw the potency and danger of shame. An article he wrote inspired the film "Rosemead." 043
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 31/12/2025I made an ekiben zine with tracker, lore, maps and coloring book (and I write/draw/video about them a lot on my newsletter Lunch Box). Details here! open.substack.com/pub/frankbea... 010
Reposted by Frank ShyongL.A. TACO @lataco.bsky.social · 28/12/2025Looking for traditional Japanese breakfast in Los Angeles? The beloved Suehiro DTLA recently started offering *seven* different breakfast sets, including salted salmon, dashimaki tamago, and Japanese-style sausages with eggs. 🎥: @marinamasako.bsky.social 417941
Reposted by Frank Shyongold roadside pics @roadside.xor.blue · 26/12/2025king's fried chicken (church), los angeles, california, 1991 26910
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 29/12/2025I wrote about the point of making stuff yourself, what you gain from the creative process besides the inputs, and how LLM's sneakily encourage us to skip it. Learning skills is easier than ever. Why do we have an ocean of slop instead of a creative renaissance frankbear.substack.com/p/lbl-6-what... 000
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 29/12/2025Watching Stranger Things made me real sad! many lines felt like AI writing, words not said aloud just a-clanking around in mouths. Case study for how popular new IP attracts so much cash-grabbing that it ends up a shambling zombie of itself, denied even a merciful death by endless Netflix financing 030
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 25/12/2025Been chipping away at this and finally ready to show something. Here’s a trailer for my documentary project, Around Japan in 180 Ekiben youtu.be/-eLriTd4ydQ?...youtu.beAROUND JAPAN in 180 EKIBEN trailer: "Windows"Trailer for a documentary called Around Japan in 180 Ekiben. It's a travelogue unpacking the mythologies of the Japanese train station boxed lunch, taking place over the month I spent traveling… 020
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 25/12/2025Merry Christmas happy holidays y’all. I finished a zine and released a trailer for a documentary today. Details on Lunch Box: 120
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 21/12/2025No traffic in LA = epic holiday pantry run. Here’s mine, and how to build your own. This is not an advertisement for Honey Baked Ham. I just have nothing negative to say about Honey Baked Ham. frankbear.substack.com/p/how-to-hav... 020
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 21/12/2025New Lunch Box Atlas! The LA holiday move is to go on an epic pantry run that takes advantage of the reduced traffic. Sharing my December food crawl for paid subscribers open.substack.com/pub/frankbea... 011
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 16/12/2025New on Lunch Box: I wrote about the experience of reporting the true story behind the film "Rosemead," and how cases like these are not as rare as you might expect. frankbear.substack.com/p/i-wrote-th... 020
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 10/12/2025Hmart gate on TikTok such an interesting mess. People w large followings don’t usually have the skills to moderate and referee these discussions. It seems like every time a new platform and set of influencers come online, we abandon the previous discourse and have to recreate it 110
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 09/12/2025Thanks to IW group and the Asian Pacific Community Fund for putting on this Rosemead screening, and convening AAPI mental health groups for a conversation about the issues it raises! 140
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 01/12/2025BREAKING: Shakey's Pizza in Montclair California is now Gina's Pizza. I brought you the scoop that mainstream media REFUSES to publish (because they found my pitch confusing): frankbear.substack.com/p/what-happe... 130
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 29/11/2025I hate millennial thanksgiving. What do you mean you brought gochujang mashed potatoes and pho gravy with everything bagel seasoned brussel sprouts 141
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 29/11/2025Out here holding space for everyone’s new age-y thanksgiving spreads but it’s hard. Congrats on that carrot yogurt thing and cold noodle salad and prosciutto wrapped whatever the fuck 010
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 29/11/2025I wrote about Gina's Pizza, an existential crisis in the heartland of American chains, and what's behind the persistent myth of a "good Shakey's" frankbear.substack.com/p/what-happe... 010
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 27/11/2025Snapped this on a walk today but accidentally created some kind of heavy-handed Michael Moore esque social critique 020
Frank Shyong @frankshyong.bsky.social · 22/11/2025I feel like 5x more affection for people's obviously, unfake-ably crappy hand drawn art now in an age of AI slop. Here are my sloppy but sincere drawings of ekiben, Japanese train station bentos. 1134