Asian American Architects/Engineers Foundation – 2017 AAa/e Awards Banquet Silent Auction
Auction Ends: Oct 5, 2017 08:00 PM PDT

Dining

Gift Card for Chaya Restaurant, Downtown LA

Item Number
130
Estimated Value
150 USD
Sold
131 USD to rsec3f1f0
Number of Bids
12  -  Bid History

Item Description

Chaya was founded in Los Angeles four decades ago, but our history reaches back to 17th Century Hayama, Japan, where our family built Hikage Chaya.

We take a modern izakaya approach to cuisine, sourcing our produce from local farmers and our seafood from the fishermen of Kyushu. Our recipes reflect the finest traditions of Japan, reconceived in Californian elegance. Case in point is Chaya’s most enduring invention of Tuna Tartare in 1984.

Our family opened Chaya’s mother restaurant, Hikage Chaya in the early 1600s, as a teahouse along a mountain pass near the harbor city of Kamakura, Japan. The combination of fine fish and spices passing through the port and the preponderance of weary travelers quietly made Chaya into a somewhat famous destination unto itself. When the Imperial Summer Villa was completed in 1893, just minutes away in Hayama, our restaurant had truly arrived. Chaya became a Ryokan and established itself as a gathering place for the royal court, government officials, and for those who sought a summer audience with the emperor.

After endearing ourselves to the imperial kitchen more than one hundred years ago, Chaya quickly evolved into the modern era. In the 1970s Hikage Chaya was a landmark destination for weddings and formal events. As Japan turned its attention outwards in the 1980s, we opened La Marée de Chaya in a pioneering step towards fusion cuisine.

Consecutively we landed in Los Angeles, opening La Petite Chaya in Silver Lake and Chaya Brasserie in Beverly Hills. Our marriage of French and Japanese traditions blossomed in the west. One night in 1984 at Chaya Brasserie, the iconic dish Tuna Tartare was born, and throughout the 1990s the restaurants became beloved haunts of actors and artists.

In 2006 we opened M Café on Melrose Avenue: a casual concept serving contemporary macrobiotic meals, anticipating the ongoing craze for simple, nourishing food.

Today we invite you to rediscover Chaya as we open dining rooms for a new century of tradition, food, and health.