Like the microwave, penicillin, and other great inventions, Lost Plate started completely by accident.
Ruixi, a Sichuanese, and Brian, a Portlander, were living and working in Xian. New to China, Brian was lost without Ruixi’s knack for finding incredible food spots and connecting with local vendors.
When friends visited, Ruixi would share her favorite spots, and her passion couldn’t have been more obvious. She would tell endless stories about what they were eating and its significance to the local culture. This is how the first Lost Plate tours were born.
It was only a matter of time before she took her passion beyond Xian – to her hometown of Chengdu and finally throughout China and Southeast Asia. Meanwhile Brian’s sister, Michelle, did the same in Portland.
Together, they turned their passion – connecting people through food – into their life’s work.
To us, the media’s newfound preoccupation with chef shows demonstrates that food is the ultimate link – things are stupid delicious in every language.
Travelers are waking up to this and getting hungry for adventure.
Yet traditions are disappearing as delivery apps take over and convenience is the name of the game, while flavors are becoming fused and homogenized.
Once you start digging, you begin to understand how important our roots are. We call it our Tasty Commitment – cultural conservation through experience. Don’t be fooled by all the beer on our tour, we are 100% trying to teach you things, but we also believe that fun and learning don’t have to be a zero-sum game if you do it right.
In short, we think and talk about food, a lot. We’re a small family business that works with small family businesses on every level of the value chain.
For a hundred million reasons, now more than ever, it’s important to think about food and the hands that make it. To go out into small farming communities and understand what makes delicious happen. Meeting chefs and learning methods that have not yet made it on YouTube or fancy cookbooks. Spending an average of 3 months to meet the makers every time we build a new tour.
And at the end of it all, bringing that conversation and those lost plates to your table.
Based In: A little bit of everywhere.
Origins: 10x Generation Sichuanese
Bar Order: A glass of bold red, especially if it’s from one of our favorite Yunnan or Ningxia wineries.
Current Food Obsession: Food from Yunnan because it’s unique and super seasonal. For example, Dali is wet, so people stir-fry a local tree moss with eggs.
Based In: A little bit of everywhere.
Hometown: Portland, Oregon USA
Coffee Order: A pour-over with lightly roasted Yunnan beans.
Favorite Food: Pizza forever owns his heart (and stomach). Currently obsessed with Detroit-style pies (big love to Ranch PDX!), though Pizza 4P’s in Vietnam definitely deserves a nod.
Based In: Portland, Oregon USA
Hometown: 3rd generation Portlander. Loves it more than you do.
Bar Order: An Oregon Pinot Noir.
Favorite Food: Smash burgers. The greasier, sloppier, and trashier, the better. Once celebrated Portland Burger Week by getting a burger tattoo. No regrets.
Based In: Shanghai
Hometown: Luoyang, China
Coffee Order: A classic Americano is the perfect wake-up call!
Favorite Food: Anything (and everything) drenched in hot garlic sauce – the spicier and stinkier the better.
Based In: Beijing
Hometown: Hebei, China
Bar Order: Gin & Tonic.
Favorite Breakfast: Eggs Benedict – it’s like symphony on a plate, and the ultimate reason to never skip brunch!
Based In (and hometown): Xian
Coffee Order: An iced americano made with sparkling water for a fizzy kick – but if the beans are top-notch, an espresso lungo might steal the show.
Favorite Food: Wild mushroom hotpot from Yunnan – every human needs to try at least once.
Based In: China
Hometown: Heilongjiang, in northeastern China.
Bar Order: Whatever has a fruity taste.
Favorite Food: Kebab with hummus, pickles, and a few pieces of pita bread. So yum!
Based In: Beijing
Hometown: Singapore
Bar Order: A dunkel or Moscow mule.
Favorite Food: Anything Peranakan, sometimes Laksa (spicy coconut-based noodle soup) and occasionally a homemade double boiled soup.
Based In (and hometown): Changsha, China
Bar Order: Anything fruity and sweet.
Favorite Food: Everything spicy, but stinky tofu and crayfish are the ultimate champions.
Based In (and hometown): Xian, China
Bar Order: As the go-to DD, a simple sparkling water is perfect.
Favorite Food: The spiciest hotpot or chuanchuan (skewers dipped in hotpot).
Based In: Portland, Oregon USA
Hometown: Boise, Idaho USA
Coffee Order: Cold brew on nitro in the summer, home-brewed drip in the winter, one PSL per year.
Favorite Food: A good Philadelphia sushi roll.
Based In: Shanghai
Hometown: Qingdao, China
Bar Order: A cosmopolitan – the perfect mix of sweet, fruity, and effortlessly chic, just like a true Sex and the City fan.
Favorite Food: Foie gras sushi – rich, buttery, and melts in your mouth like pure magic.
Based In: Siem Reap
Hometown: Battambang, Cambodia
Coffee Order: A Cambodian street coffee: a shot of espresso over steamed sugarcane juice and fresh milk.
Favorite Food: Bok Tirk Curry – you’ll have to join our Siem Reap sunset tour to discover what this is!
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Email: info@lostplate.com
China & Cambodia Tours:
+86 156 9210 9030
Portland Tours:
+1 503 409 5593
WeChat: lostplate
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