Butchering the chicken. (credit: Karen Datangel)

Culinary delights are sure things to be celebrated during Asian Pacific-American Heritage Month, and Bay Area foodies rejoiced at the opportunity to learn more about the art of Asian cooking (And satisfy their tastebuds too!) from a local celebrity chef.

As part of Macy’s series of Asian Pacific-American Heritage Month events, the Union Square store in San Francisco welcomed Michelin Star chef James Syhabout to the Cellar Kitchen on May 5th for a cooking demonstration and tasting. A Thailand native who grew up in Oakland, CA, he is the chef and owner of Commis Restaurant and proprietor of Hawker Fare Restaurant, which are also both located in Oakland. Hawker Fare is a Southeast Asian street food joint that Syhabout brought a piece of to his audience, by cooking one of their signature dishes Khao Mun Gai, or Thai-style chicken and rice.

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After its success last year with “Le Fooding d’Amour Paris-New York,” Le Grand Fooding is back this year with a brand new event, “New York vs. San Francisco.” The best chefs from the rival coasts will engage in a friendly battle to showcase their greatest dishes representing their respective cities. All you have to do is peruse and eat. The two-night culinary extravaganza will take place on September 24 and 25 at the Museum of Modern Art PS1 in New York City.

Among the featured chefs are Korean American David Chang (owner of the famed Momofuku restaurant in New York) and Thai American James Syhabout (of Commis in Oakland, Calif.). Chang, who will be presenting a dish called “Beets, goat cheese, walnuts,” provided this (good-natured?) challenge to his Bay Area rivals (as told to Anthony Bourdain in 2009): “Fuckin’ every restaurant in San Francisco is just serving figs on a plate with nothing on it. Do something with your food.” (I like Daniel Patterson’s comeback: “David who?”)

The more diplomatic Syhabout succinctly retorted: “To keep it simple, best rhymes with West.” Syhabout will be serving up “Scallops with smoked stone fruit emulsion, licorice herbs.”

During both nights there will be a pizza cook-off pitting two of the best pizza masters of each city — Charlie Hallowell for San Francisco and David Sclarow for New York — against each other. Foodies can also look forward to cocktails prepared by New York mixologist Jim Meehan (of Please Don’t Tell) and San Francisco mixologist Erick Castro (of Rickhouse). Heading up Le Grand Remix Grill is Japanese American hip-hop producer and deejay Dan the Automator.

Sure, you get the gastronomic benefits, but proceeds from ticket sales to the event will benefit Action Against Hunger, so it’s all for a good cause.

DETAILS

Le Grand Fooding 2010, New York vs. San Francisco

Museum of Modern Art PS1

Jackson Ave./46th Ave., Long Island City, New York 11101

To purchase tickets, click here.