We had the good fortune of connecting with Jordon & Melissa Jew and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordon & Melissa, what do you attribute your success to?
We try to keep our passion project a true passion project! It’s hard not to get caught up in the number of followers or likes, but the second that plagues your mind, it ruins the fun. Most importantly, it’s about having fun going on food crawls and sharing our genuine experience with the foodie community and friends that keep up with our blog. We absolutely love sharing new spots that have left a meaningful impact on us so that others may enjoy the same.

We’re siblings that live on opposite sides of the country, but we’ve been so lucky to stay connected with food. Food is so important in our culture and it’s been a great medium to connect with each other and people that share our same passion. Whether it’s grubbin’ at a local mom and pop restaurant, feasting in a new country, or people watching at a coffee shop, we have fun with it all.

It’s also in the details. We carefully craft witty captions and throw in the occasional pun for some extra flavor. Take our blog name – Pigs Go Moo – it doesn’t get any more fun than that! And we love including a “Moo’s Memo” which is our version of a not-so-pro, pro tip.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Jordon: I began working as a registered nurse in 2021 at my dream hospital in NYC. I work on an oncology floor that focuses on diseases related to the head and neck. Before landing this job, I was a full time student and part time nursing assistant on a bone marrow transplant/oncology floor. Being in my last years of nursing school and working in the hospital during the height of the pandemic was not easy. I was surrounded by uncertainty, stress, and death. I saw the health system collapsing and the nurses that I look up to, pushed to the edge. At this point, I could’ve checked out of nursing, like so many others who were fed up and burnt out. What got me through, were my patients and fellow nurses. I know that this job is not easy but seeing my patients get stronger and live to see their family brings me so much purpose and hope. I appreciate the teamwork in nursing and I always know that if I need help, someone will be there. I want the world to know that nurses are still human, we make mistakes, we get tired, and we have lives outside the hospital too. PGM Food is something that I enjoy spending my time on outside of work because connecting with others and trying out new restaurants are a form of self-care for me.

Melissa: I recently graduated from UCLA this past week! The ending feels so bittersweet, the future holds so many possibilities, and I am ready to embrace whatever comes next. I’ll soon be working in a business related role providing audit and assurance services for different companies. I always had an affinity for numbers and data, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it. After taking different courses in economics and accounting, I decided to pursue this career and completed internships to get real world experience. On another note, I’m also super fascinated by the human brain, so I minored in Cognitive Science. It’s so cool how this thing that sits between our ears and behind our noses controls everything from behavior to personality to how you perceive the world in a different way compared to the person sitting next to you. College is no doubt a tough experience, but cooking and food blogging are a great outlet for me to rest and digest all the things around me. I love how much food and cooking puts my mind at ease. I am in control of the type of ingredients and the amount of each ingredient that goes into my food. In a world where things just keep moving, it’s nice to feel like I have control for a few minutes of the day. It’s also so satisfying when the dish turns out tasty! PGM Food has given me so many opportunities to try new places, meet new people, and it makes such a fun conversation starter.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We’re foodies who grew up in the San Gabriel Valley or 626 Area, so you bet we’ll be taking you along to try all the hot Asian food spots.

Let’s start with dim sum in Monterey Park. You can’t go wrong with the local favorites – Elite Restaurant and NBC Seafood. If you’re not familiar with dim sum, the concept is something along the lines of Spanish tapas. You share a variety of small plates with your family. The aunties push carts of dumplings and other pastries around the restaurant, and you choose exactly what you want to try. Our favorites are the egg tart (dan tat), steamed dumpling (siu mai), sticky rice with chicken (lo mai gai), and rice noodle rolls (cheong fun).

Next, we’ll head to the next city over to get some delicious Mexican food. We love La Azteca Tortilleria. It’s all in the tortilla, really. We have no idea what they do, but the tortillas are so fresh. Don’t hate us for saying this next one, but we also love King Taco, specifically their lengua (beef tongue) tacos.

For dinner, we’re back to Asian food. Our favorites for classic Cantonese cuisine include Sam Woo BBQ and May Mei. If you’re at May Mei, definitely get the clay pot with assorted preserved meats. Let the pot scorch the rice at the bottom, and you end up with crispy rice at the end. This is a small mom and pop shop that we have been going to since we were born!

You can’t leave the 626 Area without a boba in hand. And dessert is non-negotiable. Our favorite is Chicha San Chen. As strange as the drink, Dong Ding Oolong Tea Latte sounds, you have to trust us that it’s worth trying. In fact, the tea has won the International Taste & Quality Institute in Brussels which is the equivalent to 3-Michelin Star in the tea world.

Next day!

We’re also a big fan of hiking and brunching. The typical Sunday – no planning necessary – is the Eaton Canyon hike and finishing off with an eggs benedict from Millie’s Cafe.

Then head over to Old Town Pasadena for some clothing shopping, dessert, and cute vintage shops.

For dinner, try Gozen Shun for Japanese food. The Sukiyaki Beef Gozen with the jidori egg is the perfect egg out there.

Hope you got room in your stomach for the next day!

We’ll go with Porto’s Bakery & Cafe. Honestly, any of the pastries are great and cakes for breakfast are okay too! We don’t judge. We especially love their Cuban sandwiches though.

For lunch, try Mr. Dragon Noodle, Mian, or Mama Lu’s for delicious beef noodle soup and XLB.

Korean BBQ for dinner? Cant’ go wrong with that idea. We love Kang Ho-dong Baekjeong, but if you’re lucky and don’t mind the extra wait go to Ahgassi Gopchang.

If you’re around the 626 area in the summer, definitely head over to the 626 Night Market for an evening of Instagram worthy food shots.

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Lastly, we didn’t forget about the New York folks!

Start the day with Clinton St. Baking Co. for breakfast. The blueberry pancakes are the fluffiest things ever. Then head over to 5ive Spice or Ruby’s Cafe for lunch. For dinner you can choose Au Za’atar for Lebanese food or Rubirosa for pizza.

As always, go moo!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Without hesitation, we dedicate our shoutout to Uncle Henry. We would not be where we are today if he didn’t pick us up from school, teach us long division, or help us learn how to cook.

Melissa: I remember struggling so hard to crack an egg when I first learned how to cook scrambled eggs as a kid. Now I cook new recipes almost every day and my uncle is usually the first to try them! Sorry that I put you through my vegetarian phase during the lockdown, but you have to admit, you always had a good laugh when you asked me, “Where’s the meat?”

Most importantly, thank you for reassuring us that it’s okay not to know what the future holds and to just take things day by day. Your support in all aspects of our life means so much, Henchee.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pgm_food/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-jew/

Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordon-jew-5a9139162

Image Credits
Irene Ear, Andrew Nguyen

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