Yony Hung, who delighted New Yorkers with his Venezuelan-Chinese fried rice, opens restaurant in Madrid

"After living in the U.S. for seven years, Hung recently took the streets of New York by storm with an informal, intriguing business. The idea started three years ago when thousands of his fellow Venezuelans came to the Big Apple, but it only materialized a few weeks ago when he began selling portions of Venezuelan-style fried rice (a tropicalized version of the famous chow fan rice, which includes beef, chicken, shrimp, diced ham, vegetables, and wheat germ) in Brooklyn."

"From his car trunk, he offered a menu that also included spring rolls, ribs, sweet and sour sauce, and typical sodas from the South American country like Polar malt and Frescolita. The rice alone cost $15, and according to Hung, they sold up to 200 portions a day. The first customers were Venezuelan immigrants driven by nostalgia. They vouched for the quality and authenticity of the menu, which quickly went viral on social media."

"The Instagram account @elchinovenezolanovnzl took off, and word eventually spread to other Latin American immigrants and New Yorkers, always curious to try new culinary offerings in a city with over 20,000 restaurants from all over the world. Some satisfied customers shared that the wait time in line to make a purchase exceeded two and a half hours. Far from deterring people, this fueled FOMO (fear of missing out) among the crowd, who repeatedly underscored the friendliness with which Hung served them."

Yony Hung, a 22-year-old born in Venezuela to Chinese parents, lived in the United States for seven years before launching an informal food business in New York. He sold Venezuelan-style fried rice — a tropicalized chow fan with beef, chicken, shrimp, diced ham, vegetables, and wheat germ — from his car trunk alongside spring rolls, ribs, sweet-and-sour sauce, and Venezuelan sodas like Polar malt and Frescolita. The rice cost $15 and reached up to 200 portions daily, drawing long lines and wait times exceeding two-and-a-half hours. Social media and an Instagram account @elchinovenezolanovnzl amplified demand, attracting immigrants and New Yorkers and creating FOMO. He later opened a business in the Malasana neighborhood of the Spanish capital.

Read at english.elpais.com