Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Street Food Stories — Season 1, Episode 11
A name built from a 20-year Red Lobster career and a mother who used to cook on the wok, The Wok Lobster became one of the first Southern Asian fusion concepts of its kind when it launched in 2018.
In this episode, we talk with Lisha, owner of The Wok Lobster, about starting the business as a way to honor her late mother, the early resistance she faced introducing fusion food into a community that wasn't used to seeing it, and why being one of the first Black-owned wok-based concepts became both a conversation starter and a teaching opportunity for the next generation. We get into the menu — from the Walkaroni and Cheese to Asian sticky ribs, Korean corn dogs, and red delicate egg rolls — the long festival days that start as early as 6am, and the real financing struggles of building a food business entirely self-funded with no outside circle of resources. She also talks about the ebook she wrote specifically to help other aspiring food truck owners skip the hurdles she had to learn the hard way.
Street Food Stories is a 22-episode series profiling the people behind Southern food culture — the ones cooking, hustling, and building something real, one event at a time. So subscribe and turn on notifications if you don't want to miss Episode 12.
V I D E O S T O W A T C H N E X T :
STREET FOOD SERIES youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmllD4tJZ24wIK9ctVS8agqZghBB47xTN
Timestamps / Chapters
0:00 Street Food Stories — Cold Open
0:23 Meet Lisha, Owner of The Wok Lobster
0:30 Starting the Business in 2018
0:39 Honoring Her Mother and 20 Years at Red Lobster
0:46 Why She Got Into the Food Industry
1:05 A Family-Owned Business
1:13 The Struggle of Being a Black-Owned Fusion Concept
1:33 Becoming the First Southern Asian Fusion Concept in 2018
1:51 Why Representation in the Industry Matters
2:14 Travels With Festivals, Not a Brick and Mortar
2:26 The Menu: Walkaroni, Sticky Ribs, Corn Dogs & Egg Rolls
2:51 What She Started Off Selling
3:06 Inside the Truck: Walks, Fryers, and the Expo Line
3:36 A 6 AM Start for a 1 PM Festival
3:51 Cleaning Up and Resetting for the Next Day
4:15 The Biggest Hurdle: Self-Financing Everything
4:32 Why Resources Are Hard to Find Without the Right Circles
4:42 The Ebook She Wrote to Help Other Food Truck Owners
instagram.com/hoodaffairstv
facebook.com/HoodAffairsTV
tiktok.com/@hoodaffairsondemand
twitter.com/HOODAFFAIRSDVD
This youtube channel brings you all things hip hop. From the lifestyle to behind-the-scenes footage of your favorite rap music artists to movie recaps and short films, and more.
In addition to our music content, we also cover the business side of the entertainment industry. We host a podcast where we sit down and talk with industry experts about their experiences and insights. Subscribe now to join the community.
#FoodTruckLife #BlackOwnedBusiness #AsianFusion #SoulFoodMeetsAsia #Entrepreneurship #FoodFestivalEats #StreetFoodVibes
Street Food Stories — Season 1, Episode 11
A name built from a 20-year Red Lobster career and a mother who used to cook on the wok, The Wok Lobster became one of the first Southern Asian fusion concepts of its kind when it launched in 2018.
In this episode, we talk with Lisha, owner of The Wok Lobster, about starting the business as a way to honor her late mother, the early resistance she faced introducing fusion food into a community that wasn't used to seeing it, and why being one of the first Black-owned wok-based concepts became both a conversation starter and a teaching opportunity for the next generation. We get into the menu — from the Walkaroni and Cheese to Asian sticky ribs, Korean corn dogs, and red delicate egg rolls — the long festival days that start as early as 6am, and the real financing struggles of building a food business entirely self-funded with no outside circle of resources. She also talks about the ebook she wrote specifically to help other aspiring food truck owners skip the hurdles she had to learn the hard way.
Street Food Stories is a 22-episode series profiling the people behind Southern food culture — the ones cooking, hustling, and building something real, one event at a time. So subscribe and turn on notifications if you don't want to miss Episode 12.
V I D E O S T O W A T C H N E X T :
STREET FOOD SERIES youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmllD4tJZ24wIK9ctVS8agqZghBB47xTN
Timestamps / Chapters
0:00 Street Food Stories — Cold Open
0:23 Meet Lisha, Owner of The Wok Lobster
0:30 Starting the Business in 2018
0:39 Honoring Her Mother and 20 Years at Red Lobster
0:46 Why She Got Into the Food Industry
1:05 A Family-Owned Business
1:13 The Struggle of Being a Black-Owned Fusion Concept
1:33 Becoming the First Southern Asian Fusion Concept in 2018
1:51 Why Representation in the Industry Matters
2:14 Travels With Festivals, Not a Brick and Mortar
2:26 The Menu: Walkaroni, Sticky Ribs, Corn Dogs & Egg Rolls
2:51 What She Started Off Selling
3:06 Inside the Truck: Walks, Fryers, and the Expo Line
3:36 A 6 AM Start for a 1 PM Festival
3:51 Cleaning Up and Resetting for the Next Day
4:15 The Biggest Hurdle: Self-Financing Everything
4:32 Why Resources Are Hard to Find Without the Right Circles
4:42 The Ebook She Wrote to Help Other Food Truck Owners
instagram.com/hoodaffairstv
facebook.com/HoodAffairsTV
tiktok.com/@hoodaffairsondemand
twitter.com/HOODAFFAIRSDVD
This youtube channel brings you all things hip hop. From the lifestyle to behind-the-scenes footage of your favorite rap music artists to movie recaps and short films, and more.
In addition to our music content, we also cover the business side of the entertainment industry. We host a podcast where we sit down and talk with industry experts about their experiences and insights. Subscribe now to join the community.
#FoodTruckLife #BlackOwnedBusiness #AsianFusion #SoulFoodMeetsAsia #Entrepreneurship #FoodFestivalEats #StreetFoodVibes
