EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Southern California residents who love Asian cuisine might be familiar with 626 Night Market, whose renowned flagship event is in Arcadia.

As event director Susie Nguyen recently told Spectrum News, food options are typically Chinese and Taiwanese predominantly. But in celebration of the new HBO series "The Sympathizer" debuting this weekend, Vietnamese culture and cuisine will be showcased in a sort of mini-market that 626 is hosting Saturday and Sunday in Santa Monica after teaming up with Max.

"Our first one was in Santa Monica," Nguyen said regarding the mini-markets 626 organizes. "So we felt like for this mini event, it would be really good to kind of just go back to where we started."

The weekend event is inspired by the themes and storyline of the series, while celebrating Vietnamese culture.

“There’s going to be a lot of interactives and a lot of callbacks to Vietnam, and what it's like to kind of experience markets in Vietnam,” Nguyen said.

The night market will feature a handful of Vietnamese food vendors such as All Dat Dumpling and Café 949, as well as photo opportunities inspired by both the series and traditional night markets found in Asia.

“Vietnamese food is so good, but it's mostly in restaurants, so you don't really see it in pop-ups," Nguyen said. "We do have a couple of vendors that have specifically Vietnamese foods, so I think that's going to be really exciting for this event, too.”

(Photo courtesy of All Dat Dumpling)

Hosting the event in a Southern California hotspot holds particular significance for a Vietnamese-centric event like this.

“In SoCal, we do have a really big Vietnamese community," Nguyen said. "So it is really important to kind of touch base on the roots and who our audience is going to be.”

And with "The Sympathizer" hitting the masses soon, a show about the Vietnam War and life in California afterward, this cultural night-market partnership between Max and 626 seemed like a no-brainer.

“I watched the trailer, and it literally gives me chills," Nguyen said in discussing the new series. "It's so exciting because Vietnamese culture isn't as forward as Korean culture, with K-pop, or like Japan, with anime. So I think it's really cool that there's something specifically for Vietnamese people. And there's Vietnamese actors in the show.”

The night market will be free and open to the public. On Saturday evening, Vietnamese-American DJs Demonslayer and Annalog will provide live sounds, and there will be a special performance by Vietnamese-American artist Dolly Ave.

For more information, visit here.