When we last spoke with Chef Michael Hung (ex-Faith & Flower in DTLA) he was the Executive Chef of The Colony Club restaurant located inside The Colony Palms Hotel and SO.PA at L’Horizon Palm Springs. Chef Michael is now surfing the culinary waves at the Palm Springs Surf Club, a destination water oasis in the desert.
“Discover a destination in Greater Palm Springs like no other at The Palm Springs Surf Club featuring a state-of-the-art wave technology catering to surfers of all levels. Enjoy resort-style amenities, captivating waterpark attractions, and savor meticulously crafted chef-driven dining options.”
Chef Michael Hung oversees the soon to debut Navigator, the ultimate dining experience at the Palm Springs Surf Club. Navigator features indoor and outdoor seating offering breathtaking views of the surf and mountains where guests indulge in a curated artisanal menu featuring the cuisine of the famous surf regions around the globe. The bar offers TVs and a craft cocktail program, complemented by an extensive wine list.”
Also on Chef Michael’s menu is “Drifters, the poolside oasis at the Palm Springs Surf Club. Drifters offers outdoor dining with a creative beverage program to cater to surfing enthusiasts with a healthy twist from early morning until late at night, featuring delightful breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. The full bar serves specialty cocktails and provides TVs for entertainment and additional desert views.”
Chef Michael Hung takes a further break from his busy kitchens to continue with us.
Hi, I'm Chef Woody Soremin, Princess Cruises Head of Calinarias, and a menu maker for a catch by Woody that's me, come sell with us when I want the last king crab of food news. I listen to South Cold restaurant show on AM A30KLA radio. And welcome back, it's our two of the SoCal restaurant show, and happily we're here with you every Saturday morning from 10 AM until 12 noon, right here on AM A30KLAA, the home of Angels Baseball 2025, and you can also catch us on the AM A30 Angels app. I'm Andy Harris, the executive producer and co-host of the show, happy to be here. My colleague, Chef Andrew Gould of the Calico Fish House in Huntington Beach will be joining us a little later in the show with his usual Ask the Chef segment, and we're enthusiastically presented each and every week by Melissa's World Variety Produce and West Coast Prime Meats. We're venturing back out to Palm Springs and picking up our conversation with Executive Chef Michael Hung, who now is the culinary maestro for the Palm Springs Surf Club, and he is going to be one of 25 chefs of distinction next Friday evening. It is going to be part of the inaugural Manhattan Beach Food and Wine Festival and it also continues Saturday night with another 25 chefs. And it's a pleasure to welcome Michael Hung back to the show. Chef Michael, we know your food and we know that when you got involved with the Palm Springs Surf Club, you're definitely going to bring your touch to all the dining outlets that are there. So, let's start out first with your revamping of the high-end destination restaurant there that's going to be debuting with a new name. Tell us all about it. Yeah, I'm really excited about this project. The new restaurant is going to be called Navigator. We are about three weeks out from opening roughly around that, but I think you understand how restaurant openings go. It's never a firm target actually in there and celebrating, right? Absolutely. As you say, Chef Michael, patience. Yes, exactly. What I'm really excited about is one of the restaurants going through a full interior redesign. The interior is going to really just dovetail with the themes of the park. Lots of organic colors, textures that remind you of the beach and of the ocean. A lot of different Polynesian pieces in there as well. And our furniture is all made by small artisan producers in Bali. So that in itself is super exciting. The food is going to be likewise just as dynamic. We are looking at just some really famous surf regions around the world and taking inspiration from those areas. So we're looking at flavors from the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal and Spain, Morocco, areas of North Africa, part of the Mediterranean, South Africa. We have, of course, Hawaii, Indonesia, California, Baja, California. And believe it or not, a couple areas of the Northeast Coast, New Jersey, Boston. There's some areas local to there that have some pretty good surf as well. So the connection here, Michael, just to kind of make the point is, is that in terms of all these exotic locales that are going to be part of your menu, these are well known surf regions. So, you know, you must be like the proverbial kid in the candy store in terms of putting this all together because the creative freedom that you have, it's kind of limitless. Yeah, there's a lot of creative freedom for sure. I think that the, you know, speaking with the surfers also and getting their input and the foods that they've seen and the foods that they like has also been a really enjoyable process because there is, you know, that collaboration. There is that synergy that's happening between what is happening in the real world out in the park and what we are doing creatively in the kitchen. Well, again, navigator is something exciting to look forward to, but that is not the end, Chef Michael, of your culinary realm out at the Palm Springs Surf Club. The more casual restaurant you have, I believe, will keep its name called Drifters, and it's kind of an indoor/outdoor type experience. What can we expect from the revamped drifters? Drifters is a really, really interesting because it is adjacent to the surf tower, so that's where all the surfers hang out. So the idea behind drifters is to gear the menu towards, you know, athletes, people who are going to be in the pool for a couple hours. Things like homemade energy bars, smoothies, fresh-pressed juices, you've got a really great selection of sandwiches and also some delicious grain bowls. Definitely something to look forward to. Now, you have another outlet that's mainly been libation-oriented that you are revamping, and it definitely got my attention because who doesn't love something that has an authentic Hawaiian theme or running through it. So tell us about that particular outlet, too. Yes, that last outlet, we call it Island Bar. It's right on the island adjacent to our pool and surrounded by the lazy river. So really just beautiful, you know, scene that is set by that location. My thoughts, and this is still in the works, but we are working on turning that into more of a tiki cocktail experience, and then for the food, taking inspiration from Hawaiian North Shore shrimp trucks. For those of the listeners who don't know, the North Shore of Hawaii is a very famous surf area, and one of the other things it's famous for is that the landscape is dotted with these food trucks and the specialty of that small region is garlic shrimp and rice, as well as things like spanned misubi. You know, we're going to do some Hawaiian-inspired burgers as well. So really exciting in terms of both flavor, and again, always trying to tie into the surf dynamic. Chef Michael, again, what a creative palette you have to be able to work with, and just kind of endorsing what you're saying, you know, someone who is not a surfer, but isn't a pretty shaker of wonderful food trucks. Those food trucks that you're talking about on the North Shore, that's some of the best street food that you will find anywhere because each truck specializes in, you know, one particular dish, and it's always an outstanding representation of what that is. And of course, Chef Michael, as you'll agree, you can't get any fresher seafood than, you know, the local fish from Hawaii. I mean, it's a bounty. Last time I was in Hawaii, I actually went to spearfish, and we, you know, we caught the fish and, you know, cut it and had sashimi right on the beach. So not much fresher than that. Chef, you have me jealous. Now, one point to make before we talk about your participation in Manhattan Beach Food and Wine, will there be an opportunity for the general public that just wants to dine at navigator but are not necessarily surfers? Is there a way for them just to partake of navigator coming down the road? Absolutely. The park is open to the public. Navigator is fully open to the public. The other two outlets within the park, Island Bar and Trifters. What we will be doing during the closure of the water park for, you know, the winter season is opening up the park to the public so that they can come and use it as a community gathering space. They'll have the opportunity to, you know, eat at Trifters, eat at Island Bar, walk around, enjoy the property and, of course, watch some really amazing surf. Absolutely. Now, Michael, before we move on, I know the website is going to get revamped because there's a lot that's going on, but to be able to follow and get more information about Palm Springs Surf Club, what's the best website? The best website is pomspringsurfclub.com. Pretty easy. Now, come Friday night, you're going to be one of the participating chefs in the opening night for Manhattan Beach Food and Wine Festival. Can you give us a hint, Chef Michael, of what you might be preparing because we want to get our listeners out there? Yes, definitely. So the two dishes I have that evening. One is going to be that aforementioned garlic shrimp over some Koshikari rice. And then we're also going to be serving a dish that is inspired by Portugal, which is a bran d'ad, or that's actually the French technology, in Portugal they call it bacalao. And that is a croquette of salt cod and potato. Really delicious. That's going to be served with an saffron aioli. Now, Chef Michael, the guests at Manhattan Beach Food and Wine, they can get a combination plate from you, right, if they want? Absolutely, yes, absolutely. And seconds are available as well. Well, you had me, Chef Michael, at the garlic shrimp, so I'll definitely be looking forward to that. And just sort of listening audience knows, I will definitely be at Manhattan Beach Food and Wine both Friday evening and Saturday evening. A lot of Chef friends and colleagues that I don't often get a chance to say hello to. Everybody is going to be there in one spot, so that is definitely handy. Chef Michael, before we say goodbye, we should mention that for ticket information from Manhattan Beach Food and Wine, and remember, it is Friday, October 11th, and Saturday, October 12th at In Manhattan Beach. And for ticket information, the website's almost as easy as Chef Michael's website for Palm Springs Surf Club, just a little longer. It's ManhattanBeachFoodAndWine.com, ManhattanBeachFoodAndWine.com, and you can buy tickets individually for either Friday or Saturday night or buy a combination ticket, whatever you might like to do. Chef, as we need to say goodbye one more time on the website for Palm Springs Surf Club. You can see us at the Palm Springs Surf Club.com. Ladies and gentlemen, the executive chef revamping all the menus at the Palm Springs Surf Club. And yes, there is an ocean, there is a beach in Palm Springs, who knew, and in Palm Springs proper, you can see him out in the desert, but a little before then, he will be one of the 25 participating chefs next Friday in opening night for Manhattan Beach Food and Wine. Thanks, Chef Michael. You are listening to the SoCal Restaurant Show. When in return, it's a preview of the 11th Annual SoCal Gas Food Service Equipment Expo at their Energy Resource Center in Downey. We're probably presented by Melissa's World Variety Produce. It is the SoCal Restaurant Show. Give us a minute, we'll be back.
