How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Jenny Yang
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At a Los Angeles comedy club recently, Jenny Yang was working through some new material, including calling out some surprising trends among Gen Z. Her humor was in full swing as she engaged the audience. “Why aren’t you having sex?” she asked an unsuspecting 22-year-old woman, prompting howls of laughter. “Will you do me a favor? Please, have sex!”
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
Yang, a Taiwanese immigrant who grew up in Torrance, is not just a stand-up comedian, actor and television writer. Her true passion lies in the art of storytelling and harnessing the power of community. From sharing her miscarriages and struggles with IVF, which she refers to as her “fertility fails,” to hosting satirical “competitive self-help comedy shows” and potlucks at home, Yang’s strength is in making others feel less alone.
“Hosting is more than just standing in front of a microphone,” Yang explains. “It’s about sharing stories that matter and creating events that bring people together. I think my desire to do that comes from being an immigrant in America. Very early on, I realized that becoming a self-starter would make me feel less alone and less of an outsider.”
But then, Yang says, it’s hard to feel lonely in a city like Los Angeles, which boasts a remarkable food scene. “I’m obsessed with food,” Yang confesses.
“I made food friends with Clarissa Wei after she posted a photo of the potstickers she made with a Chinese chef,” says Yang, who couldn’t resist reaching out to the cookbook author with some tips. “I looked at the texture and thought, ‘No, babe,’” Yang recalls. “She asked me to teach her how my mother makes them.”
Not surprisingly, Yang’s perfect Sunday in Los Angeles is a comforting blend of good food and great company. It involves indulging in dim sum and gelato, shopping for — what else? — food and hosting a casual potluck pizza party at home with friends. “The more food I can squeeze into my day, the better,” she says of an itinerary based on having “infinite space” in her stomach.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
8:30 a.m.: Hit the gym
I would start my perfect Sunday working out at Everybody Gym in Cypress Park. I love it there because it’s so inclusive. I’d lift weights, hit the sauna and then go get a semi-early brunch with friends.
10 a.m.: Grab dim sum in the San Gabriel Valley
After working out, I’d hit Atlantic Seafood and Dim Sum Restaurant or NBC Seafood in the San Gabriel Valley for dim sum or Yang’s Kitchen in Alhambra, where I like to get Yang’s set meal with miso soup, broiled fish, rice and vegetables. There aren’t many restaurants serving a traditional Japanese breakfast, except perhaps Azay in Little Tokyo. I enjoy it because it reminds me of when I studied abroad in Japan in high school. Also, I know this column is about Sundays, but I love a weekday dim sum where you hang out with all the uncles and aunties while they read their newspapers.
12:30 p.m.: Indulge in a sweet treat
I would chase dim sum with a roasted Sicilian pistachio gelato at Palazzo Gelato in Silver Lake or shaved ice at Joy in Highland Park. Because I grew up in L.A., I could make different overlay maps of L.A. with my memories from various eras: Where I had a date or broke up with someone, etc. Palazzo Gelato is one of those places. I’ve had so many friend and Tinder dates there. I have a fetish for Italy, just like white people who have a fetish for Asians. I went to Italy for the first time two years ago and learned that one of their pet peeves is how we say “pistachio.” It’s pistackio with a hard “ck.” As a Taiwanese Chinese American, I respect how Italians defend their food culture. I would defend noodles.
Cheer up at one of these spots for stand-up comedy in L.A.
2 p.m.: Shop for gourmet foods
To walk off all that food, I would then go food shopping at Epicurus Gourmet in North Hollywood. It is a hidden gem with a variety of gourmet foods. They have great prices on European imports, including pear juice (I like to use it for smoky margaritas), frozen baguettes, different flavored butters, sauces and pastas. Another option for a pleasant shopping experience is the local Italian market, Mario’s Italian Deli & Market in Glendale, or Roma Market in Pasadena. You can get an Italian sandwich while you shop for dried pasta and olive oil.
4 p.m.: Catch up on podcasts while taking a walk
In the late afternoon, I like to walk along the reservoirs in Silver Lake. I do solo walks or walks with friends so I can catch up with them. I often write during my solo walks by recording voice-to-text messages on my iPhone. I also love to walk while listening to true crime, self-help and food-related podcasts. I love Good Food on KCRW, the Sporkful and My Favorite Murder. Sometimes I will play a pop girlies playlist on my Spotify that helps me forget my depression or despair with the world.
Where to eat on a ‘Brothers Sun’ food crawl through the San Gabriel Valley with the Netflix series’ star Justin Chien and writer Byron Wu. ‘When it came to setting the show somewhere, I really wanted it to be the SGV.’
6 p.m.: Host a backyard pizza party
I would end my day with a backyard pizza party — my fiancé, Corey Higgs, and I host these regularly. We purchased an Ooni pizza oven, but I’ve been eyeing a Gozney outdoor oven, which is bigger. We have made more than 300 pizzas, and my guy Corey is great at burning the wood fire while I assemble the dough. I love a high-hydration dough. I tend to stick with a margherita pizza base, and then we buy burrata and mozzarella from Trader Joe’s. We’ve tried all the high-end ones, and the cheese from Trader Joe’s is the best. The other ones are too wet. We like to give people an option to drizzle hot honey on their slice with a couple of slices of prosciutto. We make it a potluck and label the side dishes everyone brings. We put on an Italian playlist, and I announce our guests as they enter. It’s like in “The Gilded Age” TV series, where you have a society ball, and every person is announced. It sets the tone and it helps our guests socialize. If I have a friend who loves a task, I’ll have them take on a house cocktail like an Aperol spritz or a mocha martini. If I were to round out this fantasy, it would include my mom. I’d have her come up from Torrance and be my shadow so she could experience my life. I take her on travels with me because she spent much of her life caring for others. She doesn’t drive or speak English. I love expanding her world.
8 p.m.: Karaoke and cake
My day would end with some karaoke. I have a complete speaker system with flashing disco lights that illuminate with the beat of the music. During karaoke, someone would deliver a Kings’ Hawaiian three-color pastel Paradise cake. That is my fantasy. I grew up with those cakes. I don’t care if it’s not my birthday.
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