{"id":23529,"date":"2021-07-29T15:00:23","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T22:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com\/taste\/?p=23529"},"modified":"2021-07-29T15:17:59","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T22:17:59","slug":"tylers-taste-talks-ling-louies-asian-bar-and-grill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com\/taste\/restaurants-phoenix\/tylers-taste-talks-ling-louies-asian-bar-and-grill","title":{"rendered":"Tyler’s Taste Talks: Ling & Louie’s Asian Bar and Grill"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Ling & Louie\u2019s Asian Grill and Bar has been a staple in the Scottsdale restaurant community for over 13 years. Not only is the cuisine just absolutely delicious, but the owner\u2019s John Banquil and Miriam Malak, are some of the kindest individuals I have met in this industry. You rarely see owners of a restaurant physically in the kitchen whipping up some dishes and ensuring customers have a great experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John sat down with me for an interview about their 13-year legacy, which was hard because I was stuffing my face with their mouthwatering dishes. But I did my best!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell me a bit of your previous history as a restauranteur and experience in the restaurant industry:<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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I\u2019ve been working in restaurants since I was 16 years old. I started as a host and worked my way up to busser, server and became a manager when I turned 19. At that time, I was a student at ASU, working towards a degree in business management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I landed the management job, I put all of my efforts into this and let college go by the wayside as I was doing what I wanted to do for my career. I worked for a couple of other companies as a General Manager before joining Ling & Louie\u2019s Asian Bar and Grill in 2008. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

From there, I moved my way up in the company to Regional General Manager, then Director of Brand Development. In 2019, I had the opportunity to take over the Ling & Louie\u2019s brand, as the founder was looking to retire. The rest is history!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did the concept of Ling & Louie\u2019s come together? How long have you been open?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Ling & Louie\u2019s was the brainchild of Randy Schoch, a veteran restaurateur who made his name in Hawaii. Learning how Asian and American influences melded so well together in Hawaii, he wanted to create a restaurant concept that embraced modern Asian cuisine with American hospitality. Thus, Ling & Louie\u2019s was opened in 2008. Ling and Louie are fictional characters meant to symbolize the marriage of East and West cultures that our restaurant does so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How would you describe Ling & Louie\u2019s to someone who has never been there before?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

We describe Ling & Louie\u2019s as \u201cModern Asian Cuisine with American Flair.\u201d We use traditional Asian ingredients in non-traditional ways to create bold, crave-able flavors that redefine what Asian restaurants are expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of your menu is gluten-free correct?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Yes, it is. Our Corporate Executive Chef, Greg Smith, has worked hard to engineer a primarily gluten-free menu and \u2013 just as important \u2013 delicious. We use some ingredients that are not gluten-free, but we work hard to prevent cross-contamination so that guests who need to eat gluten-free can do so safely at our restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, here is a complete breakdown of their gluten-free options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n