Asia Live Transforms Silicon Valley Dining with Immersive Asian Culinary Experience

Asia Live, the ambitious new concept from George Chen and Cindy Wong Chenbrings a dynamic, immersive Asian dining experience to Westfield Valley Fair. Blending culinary theater, retail, and design, the Silicon Valley destination redefines how modern audiences explore Asia’s diverse food cultures.

At the heart of Silicon Valley, San Jose stands as both the region’s largest city and a cultural counterpoint to its tech-driven identity. Known globally as a hub for innovation and home to major technology companies, the area is equally defined by its diversity, where international communities, global cuisine, and evolving lifestyle destinations reflect the world beyond the screen.

In a region defined by innovation, few industries have been as dramatically reshaped as dining. Now, a pair of restaurateurs known for transforming San Francisco’s culinary landscape are betting that Silicon Valley is ready for its next evolution—one that blurs the lines between restaurant, marketplace, and cultural immersion.

When George Chen and Cindy Wong-Chen opened China Live in San Francisco, they didn’t just launch a restaurant—they built an ecosystem. Nearly a decade later, they are scaling that vision with Asia Livea sprawling, 15,000-square-foot destination debuting June 1, 2026 at Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara.

Yet Asia Live is not simply an expansion—it’s an evolution of a career spent translating Asian culinary traditions for American audiences. Long before China Live, Chen founded Betelnut, a trailblazing concept inspired by the street food cultures of Asia that helped redefine the city’s dining scene and earned national recognition, including a finalist nod from the James Beard Foundation. With more than 17 restaurants launched over the years, the Chens have built a reputation not just for successful concepts, but for shaping how diners engage with Asian cuisine in the United States.

Asia Live, they say, is the culmination of that journey—one that broadens the lens beyond China to encompass the full diversity of Asia, from Southeast Asia and India to Korea and Japan.

A New Kind of American Retail Stage

Westfield Valley Fair has spent the past several years undergoing a sweeping $1.1 billion transformation—one that reflects how shopping centers across the US are evolving into hybrid spaces for dining, entertainment, and cultural discovery.

Today, the property reads like a global directory of luxury and lifestyle. Anchors such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s sit alongside an extensive roster of international fashion houses: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Cartier, Saint Laurent, and Bottega Veneta. Jewelry and watchmakers like Rolex and BVLGARI reinforce its high-end appeal, while contemporary staples such as Apple, UNIQLO, Lululemon, and Zara broaden its reach across generations.

The retail mix is ​​deliberate: global, aspirational, and deeply attuned to Silicon Valley’s international consumer base.

Dining as the centerpiece of reinvention

Yet it is food—not fashion—that increasingly defines Valley Fair’s identity.

The center’s Restaurant Collection has become a destination in its own right, featuring concepts that range from the Bay Area’s first Eataly to national favorites like Shake Shack and Mastro’s Steakhouse. Dessert and specialty concepts, including Salt & Straw, add to the mix, while global flavors are represented by destinations such as Baekjeong Korean BBQ.

A separate Asian Food Collection deepens that international focus, bringing together brands like Marugame Udon, Ramen Nagi, Uncle Tetsu, and Lady M. Together, they form a culinary map of the region—one that reflects the diversity of Silicon Valley itself.

The addition of Asia Live signals a shift from collection to centerpiece: from curated dining options to a fully immersive, narrative-driven experience.

From Restaurant to “Culinary Theater”

Step inside Asia Live and the traditional dining script quickly dissolves. Instead of a single kitchen, the venue unfolds across multiple open stations—woks flaring, noodles being hand-pulled, sushi assembled with precision. The effect is deliberate: dining as performance.

Chen describes it as “culinary theater,” a concept rooted in the idea that food is best understood not just through taste, but through process, craft, and context.

That philosophy extends to the menu. Familiar favorites from China Live—like sheng jian bao and Peking duck—anchor the offering, but new dishes reflect a broader geographic sweep, underscoring the Chens’ ambition to present Asia not as a monolith but as a mosaic of distinct culinary traditions.

A Marketplace of Culture, Not Just Goods

If the kitchens are the heart of Asia Live, its retail component may be its soul.

Curated by Wong-Chen, the marketplace features artisanal teas, cookware, house-made condiments, and globally sourced goods—many of which have never entered mass retail channels. The goal is not just to sell products, but to extend the experience beyond the meal.

“It’s about discovery,” Wong-Chen says. “We want people to take a piece of the experience home with them.”

The Experience Economy, Fully Realized

Valley Fair’s transformation also includes future-facing additions, including a forthcoming Alamo Drafthouse location, further cementing its identity as a lifestyle destination rather than a traditional mall.

In that context, Asia Live feels less like an outlier and more like a culmination—a concept that synthesizes decades of culinary innovation, retail curation, and cultural storytelling into a single environment.

For the Chens, Asia Live is both a milestone and a starting point. Plans for additional locations are already on the horizon, suggesting that what begins in Silicon Valley may soon travel far beyond it.

And in an era where experiences carry more weight than transactions, Asia Live arrives as a vivid reminder: the future of dining isn’t just about what’s on the plate—it’s about the world that surrounds it.