Long Beach Food Scene Week kicks off July 31 and runs through Aug. 9, celebrating our city’s ever-evolving food culture. To uplift our chefs, restaurateurs, managers, bartenders, line cooks, servers, bussers, and everyone else who makes Long Beach hospitality what it is, I will be highlighting specific things happening exclusively this week—like this collaboration between Sura Korean BBQ and Midnight Oil.
Restaurant weeks are often defined by discounts or coupons designed to fill seats while requiring restaurants to pay for participation—and that has always rubbed me the wrong way. I decided that Long Beach Food Scene Week had to intentionally choose a different path.
Since its inception, the annual 10-day celebration has asked restaurants to do something far more exciting: create something they otherwise wouldn’t, without facing the burden of a participation fee. New dishes. Tasting menus. Kitchen experimentation. Culinary risks. Something they would only do in R&D. Cross-cultural collaborations. As I’ve described the event myself, it’s “not about discounts so much as it is about culinary flexing.”
Sura Korean BBQ and Midnight Oil’s collaboration embodies the spirit of LBFSW.
Perhaps no collaboration embodies that philosophy better this year than the partnership between Midnight Oil and Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House, two restaurants with distinct identities that have come together to blur culinary boundaries between Korean and Chinese—and, by extension, Korean-, Taiwanese-, and Chinese-American influences—in a way Long Beach hasn’t really seen before.
Midnight Oil has already established itself as one of the city’s most unique late-night concepts. Owner Leonard Chan is marrying Northern Chinese family recipes, Taiwanese influences, and dim sum under one roof. Meanwhile, barman and co-owner Sherwood Souzankari has headed three different cocktail concepts in the space: The Apothecary, the Lagoon (or what used to be Roadkill), and Hao Peng You Hand Laundry.
Sura—no stranger to collaborations outside and inside LBFSW—has quietly built a loyal following for its tabletop barbecue and traditional Korean flavors. Since bringing on Chef Andy Uk Chang, the space has seen a surge in quality, consistency, aesthetic, and vibe.
Bringing those two kitchens together isn’t simply a novelty—it represents two neighboring culinary traditions finding common ground while allowing each restaurant to stretch beyond its own identity. That spirit of collaboration is precisely what Long Beach Food Scene Week aims to celebrate: restaurants inspiring one another rather than competing with one another.
What Midnight Oil and Sura are both serving…
The collaboration features offerings available at both restaurants, allowing guests to experience the partnership regardless of which space they visit. They also have offerings exclusive to their brick-and-mortar locations.
Here are what both are offering:
Taipei Bulgogi Beef Wraps ($12): Korean bulgogi wrapped with Taiwanese inspiration, with a vegan option available.
Chingoo Blur Shot ($5): Twisted Tea and peach soju.
Hao Peng You Michelada ($8): Lager beer mixed with Midnight Oil’s signature spice blend.
Exclusively at Sura Korean BBQ
Sura leans into playful Korean flavors with Taiwanese touches. Here’s what they’re offering exclusively at their brick-and-mortar.
Train to Kaohsiung Slushy ($12 Capri Pouch | $25 Fishbowl): Pineapple-lychee soju slushy.
“Popcorn 5 Spice” KFC Wings ($17): Korean fried chicken wings dusted with Chinese five spice, served with fries and available in a vegan version.
Exclusively at Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil continues exploring its Chinese apothecary identity while embracing Korean ingredients—especially Sura’s gochuchang. Adding on Chef Andy’s touch of aesthetic and uplift, even for humble dishes like popcorn chicken, it adds a bit of flair previously unseen in Midnight Oil’s food.
Game Gam Style Slushy ($15): Sujeonggwa, ginger, cinnamon, dongchimi, and Old Forester.
Cracken Popcorn Chicken ($11): Midnight Oil’s popcorn chicken tossed in Sura’s gochuchang.
Wait—what is Long Beach Food Scene Week?
Running July 31 through Aug. 9, Long Beach Food Scene Week is a citywide celebration of Long Beach’s restaurants, cafés, bars, bakeries, pop-ups, and hospitality professionals.
Presented by the Port of Long Beach and Visit Long Beach and produced by Longbeachize, the event encourages participating businesses to showcase exclusive dishes, collaborations, prix fixe menus, research-and-development specials, and creative culinary concepts available only during the event. Rather than centering its identity around bargain hunting, the week is built around creativity, storytelling, and showcasing the depth of Long Beach’s dining culture.
