Maison Sun: A Culinary Journey from Pop-Up to Fine Dining Excellence
Maison Sun, a modern Asian fine dining restaurant in NYC, offers an exclusive 14-seat tasting menu blending Chinese and Korean influences. Led by Chef Zhao Jing Dai, the menu features rare ingredients like A5 Kagoshima Wagyu and lobster tartare with yuzu. Discover the underground pop-up turned Michelin-star contender.
If you think the best restaurants in New York start with big investors and glitzy grand openings, think again. Carlos, the visionary behind Maison Sun, built his fine dining destination from the ground up—starting with underground pop-ups during the pandemic. Now, Maison Sun stands as one of the most intriguing, boundary-pushing modern Asian tasting menus in the city, blending Chinese and Korean influences with French techniques.
From Living Room Pop-Up to a Fine Dining Landmark
“Yeah, during COVID, I started out of my living room,” Carlos recalls. What began as small-scale private dinners quickly grew into something much bigger. “I would rent out empty luxury apartments—places abandoned by landlords who left for Florida, the Hamptons, or Europe. I’d take over these spaces, rent them by the day, and create an underground fine dining speakeasy scene.”
The demand skyrocketed. For two years, Carlos orchestrated a rotating lineup of chefs and menus across multiple secret locations. Eventually, his reputation caught the attention of a group of attorneys who introduced him to a historic space—one that once housed Brooklyn’s original three-Michelin-starred Chef’s Table. The space had been vacant for over four years, waiting for the right moment and the right restaurateur. That moment arrived when Carlos took over, transforming it into Maison Sun.
The Maison Sun Experience
Maison Sun is not just another tasting menu in New York—it’s an experience. The restaurant offers a modern Asian prix-fixe menu with strong Chinese and Korean influences. While often described as "Omakase-style," it’s not traditional sushi omakase—rather, the experience is entirely at the chef’s discretion, with dishes that evolve nightly based on the finest available ingredients.
There’s no executive chef hiding in the back—every plate is prepared by head chef Zhao Jing Dai, right in front of the guests. “It’s a level of quality and consistency you rarely see,” Carlos explains. The restaurant seats just 14 guests per night, one seating per evening, five nights a week (Wednesday to Sunday, 7 PM).
The Menu: A Rare Culinary Approach
Sourcing ingredients is taken as seriously as the cooking itself. Fresh produce comes from NYC’s top purveyors like Natura and Farm One. The proteins? They’re some of the rarest and highest quality in the world.
Carlos names three standout dishes that define the Maison Sun experience:
🔥 Lobster Tartare with Pine Nut and Yuzu Sauce – “One of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted,” he says. This unexpected Korean-inspired combination of yuzu and pine nuts creates a rich yet refreshing contrast over delicate lobster tartare.
🔥 A5 Kagoshima Wagyu Striploin – “Super rare, super exquisite,” Carlos notes. This highly prized beef from Japan’s Kagoshima province is one of the finest cuts available anywhere.
🔥 California Squab with Bayberry Juice – A fusion of French and Chinese influences, featuring high-quality pigeon from California, paired with an uncommon sour bayberry sauce. “Most tasting menus don’t venture into sour flavors—we do,” he says.
A Restaurant That Could Only Exist in New York
For Carlos, Maison Sun isn’t just a restaurant—it’s a love letter to New York’s daring, risk-taking dining scene. “There’s really no other tasting menu in the city like ours, especially with the Chinese influence. People tend to look down on Chinese food as cheap or fast—this is the opposite,” he says.
Beyond the food, Maison Sun is crafting one of the most exciting Asian beverage programs in the city, featuring premium sake, Korean whiskey, and Asian wines. “We’re building something special here,” Carlos adds.
When asked who he’d love to have dine at Maison Sun, his first answer is immediate: Anthony Bourdain. “That caught me off guard, but yeah, he would’ve been my pick,” he reflects. As for someone still around? He surprises with another unexpected choice—Mel Gibson.