French technique and Korean comfort food are not culinary traditions that are often discussed in the same sentence. Yet that unlikely marriage has quietly become one of the defining strengths of Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House, where Executive Chef Andy Uk Chang has spent the past year reshaping not what the restaurant is, but how it expresses itself.
Working alongside owners Brandon Su and Claire Kim, Chef Andy has brought the discipline of Michelin-starred kitchens, luxury hotels, and classical French training to a restaurant already known for pushing Korean cuisine beyond its expected boundaries. He is elevating presentation. Refining execution. And introducing a level of kitchen structure that has allowed Sura’s creativity to flourish, from BOH to FOH.
Sura Korean BBQ and Tofu House in Long Beach. Photos by Brian Addison.
And it’s reflected in the food.
Blocks of tofu—fried for six minutes straight—that sit atop a gochu-glaze for their Tofu Beullock (두부 블록). Korean mackerel—the city fish for Busan—lightly battered and fried for their Busan Mackerel (부산 고등어). Or newer dishes like their Oppa Shrimp Style (오빠 새우 스타일), where hand-battered shrimp are fried and slathered in gochujang, aioli, and garlic chips. Or the umami-lover’s Eel Hot Stone Rice (장어 돌솥밥), where seared eel acts as the star atop a sizzling bowl of browned rice with chunks of an omelet, drenched in a house-made gochujang eel glaze.
Chef Andy’s journey to Sura Korean BBQ: From South Korea to Orange County to Long Beach.
For Chef Andy, his culinary journey began long before Sura.
Born in South Korea and raised in Orange County after immigrating at six years old, he grew up in restaurant kitchens owned by his parents, who operated Japanese eateries throughout O.C. He learned knife skills while working under sushi chefs before enrolling at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, where he immersed himself in classical French technique while studying cuisines from around the world.
He staged at the three-Michelin-starred Providence under Chef Michael Cimarusti, followed by leadership roles at The Ritz-Carlton, Nordstrom Restaurants, and several high-end Orange County concepts. All of which only reinforced what he had come to believe: “I do believe in education—and that includes food education,” Chef Andy said. “I wanted to learn how to cook. Not just the Japanese food my parents made, but I wanted to be able to make all different sorts of food.”
When Brandon approached him about joining Sura, Chef Andy admittedly had little professional experience cooking Korean food. But he also knew something equally valuable: the flavors themselves, especially given he grew up with them: “I was born there… I know what the taste should be. I got this.”
Melding precision with traditions with Chef Andy’s presence at Sura Korean BBQ
Rather than recreating recipes exactly as he remembered them, Chef Andy has approached the menu through the lens of a classically trained chef. And that means applying French precision to Korean comfort food while embracing the fusion-minded spirit that has long defined Sura. The result is a menu that still feels unmistakably Korean while carrying a level of refinement uncommon in SoCal’s Korean dining scene: Vibrant plating. Seasonal specials. Colorful compositions—all now sit alongside staples that regulars have loved for years.
That evolution has been highly collaborative. Chef Andy credits Brandon and Claire for bringing broad ideas while giving him the freedom to execute them, and just as importantly, he has invited his own cooks into the creative process.
“Some of these dishes, my sous chef or some of the other guys created it,” Chef Andy said. “I just refined the flavor a little bit… I want them to also feel like they’re part of the group. It’s important for them to see structure, yes, but also contribute in ways that go beyond prepping or plating or following a recipe.”
For many members of the kitchen, it marked their first experience with fine-dining techniques—using tweezers for plating, carefully considering color, balance, and composition, and treating each dish as something worth crafting rather than simply serving. “This is the first time they’re actually using precision,” he said. “They’re having fun.”
Restructuring the kitchen, Sura Korean BBQ has never been more consistent or disciplined.
Perhaps Chang’s greatest contribution has been behind the scenes. He inherited a kitchen with little operational structure—no formal prep systems, inconsistent leadership, and employees routinely working exhausting overtime. Drawing from the brigade systems he learned in Michelin-starred restaurants and luxury hotels, he introduced clear leadership roles, standardized prep lists, and operational systems that allowed cooks to specialize and grow. The transition wasn’t painless, but it transformed the kitchen into one capable of running efficiently without constant oversight.
“Brandon has more trust in me now,” Chef Andy said. “They really give me a work-life balance… He trusts me with his restaurant to be a well-oiled machine, even when I’m not here. That trust has allowed me to focus not simply on cooking, but on mentoring a staff that now understands consistency, accountability, and refinement.”
That balance between discipline and creativity may ultimately explain why Sura has become one of Long Beach’s defining Korean restaurants. It has never been content to simply replicate the Korean barbecue formulas found elsewhere in SoCal. Instead, it embraces both reverence and reinvention—honoring Korean flavors while remaining unafraid to experiment through collaborations, seasonal menus, playful fusion, and contemporary presentation.
Chef Andy’s arrival has sharpened that identity, bringing the technical rigor to match the restaurant’s imagination. As more Korean barbecue concepts continue to enter the market, Chef Andy believes Sura’s future lies in maintaining that difference.
“That’s what makes us different,” he said. “The quality. The creativity. There’s no question that the Korean dining scene will evolve here in Long Beach. There’s room. And there’s already new spots opening. But I feel that Sura has become more than a Korean restaurant. It has become one of the places defining what Korean food in Long Beach can be.”
Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House is located at 621 Atlantic Ave.
