If one were to think of a few truly global chain of Chinese restaurants to have left a mark in the public consciousness across multiple countries, only a few names come immediately to mind. And among some of the most prominent include Taiwanese restaurant chain Din Tai Fung, specialising in hand-pulled noodles and of course, their signature broth-filled dumplings otherwise known as xiao long bao.
Din Tai Fung founder, Yang Bing-yi, passes away
Sadly, the man who started it all, company founder Mr Yang Bing-yi, has reportedly died at the age of 96 on Saturday, according to a statement issued by the company on behalf of his family. According to CNN, the statement mentions that private funerary arrangements are being made and that the family has also requested for privacy during this time. There was no mention as to the cause of his passing.
A native of the Shanxi province in China, Yang was born in 1927. When China was plunged into a civil war in 1948, he emigrated to the island of Taiwan at the age of 21. Apparently at the time, the company claims that he only had ’20 dollars’ on his person.
But nevertheless, he persevered and after 10 years in Taiwan, founded a small shop with his wife that sold cooking oil, dubbing it Din Tai Fung. Things went well until the 1970s, when tinned cooking oil was introduced and their business took a sharp nosedive.
A cooking oil business that spawned a restaurant empire
The couple then decided to pivot their business for the sake of sustaining it by selling xiao long bao. Needless to say, the company went on to become a runaway success, with Yang eventually closing the cooking oil part of his business to focus solely on running a restaurant specialising in Chinese cuisine. Many of its dishes such as egg fried rice and hand-pulled noodles eventually went to meet critical acclaim from diners.
The restaurant brand later expanded into an international franchise that saw a presence in the Asia Pacific region, as well as other countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.
In 2009, its Hong Kong branch was awarded one Michelin star and subsequently received the same accolade for five times. Today, the company operates a worldwide network of restaurants in 170 locations across 13 countries and territories.
And through them, Mr Yang Bing-yi’s legacy in Chinese cuisine will continue to live on in the hearts and bellies of those who have enjoyed his food at Din Tai Fung. May he rest in peace.
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