Meet Angela Chi | Creator, Taster & Foodie

We had the good fortune of connecting with Angela Chi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Angela, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I never thought I would start a business in food since I grew up hearing about how tough the industry is, but looking back it makes a lot sense. Food at its core has always been the way my family expressed their love. I deeply appreciate so many aspects of food from learning how ingredients are grown, how and why different cultures use certain ingredients, the process of cooking, the family stories, and my favorite part — eating. I enjoy how unique and complimentary flavors, textures, colors, and smells all come together to create a dish. I also love learning about people’s different stories

A couple years ago, I moved from New York to Detroit, and one of the first things I missed was the taste of home. The “taste” can be summarized as Chinese cuisine but broken down into so many different cuisines.

Both my parents are immigrants from China. My mom is from Wuxi, which their cuisine is known for adding a lot of sugar – one our most popular dishes, the Wuxi Spare Ribs, is a tender sweet and savory rib dish. My dad is from Weihai, a city along the coast, often categorized as part of “the north”. Its cuisine is composed of seafood, wheat-based foods like dumplings, bao zi, noodles, and lots and lots of garlic (they’ll eat raw garlic as a snack with their meal). I also grew up mostly in New York and frequented Chinatown and Flushing with restaurant owners from Guangdong, Hunan, Sichuan and other areas of China, all with their own distinct flavors. I also lived and studied in China, and all these experiences shaped my palate and how I cook.

To give a little more context, when I just moved to Detroit, I didn’t have a car so I biked everywhere, from Eastern Market to University Foods, snow, rain or shine for groceries. When it was Lunar New Year, there was no place within biking distance to get pre-made dumping skins, so I decided I was going to make the skins and filling from scratch. Dumpling making is usually an activity the whole family joins in on during Lunar New Year, but my first year in Detroit I spent Lunar New Year by myself. I really missed the community, comfort, and love that I associate with homestyle Chinese food. I also missed being able to grab a quick and nutritious meal that didn’t feel like it was going to break the bank. With a strong desire to bring together people and share the food I loved growing up, I eventually created a multi-course meal highlighting some of my favorite Chinese dishes from different regions, hosting 26 supportive Venture for America friends in my attic, with me, my boyfriend, and two other friends all squashed in our tiny kitchen trying to plate 26 of each dish.

I thought I couldn’t be the only person craving this food, so I shared a menu in a Detroit neighborhood group to see if anyone would be interested in ordering the food. I found out that there were lot of people in the area that have either lived in China or moved from a city with a bustling Chinatown. I wanted to share with the larger Detroit community the taste of the love and care of the nutritious Chinese food I grew up eating, since I couldn’t find it. In 2022, I started Chi Fan Le or 吃饭了, which means “time to eat” in Mandarin. It’s a phrase my mom shouts across the house to let everyone know dinner is ready and hearing the phrase always sparks a feeling of joy in me.

As we started doing more pop-ups and collaborating with other local businesses and non-profits, I wanted to make sure that we didn’t contribute more waste than necessary, so we used all compostable containers and cutlery and also brought a compost bin serviced by Midtown Composting to make sure it’ll be turned back into soil. I also have a common autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s. It’s made me more conscious of my health and wellbeing, especially how I fuel and rest. I try to eliminate dairy and avoid gluten when I can; therefore, our entire menu is dairy-free, and we always have vegan and gluten-free options. I understand the pains of struggling to find options that accommodate different diets, and try to experiment with classics without compromising on taste. Our long-term vision is to have a physical space that families, working professionals, and neighborhood folks can come to enjoy a comforting nutritious meal for lunch and dinner, day in and day out.

Funny thing is, I like eating way more than I like cooking, but I think that is the very reason that drives me to hold the food quality at Chi Fan Le so high. I’m a foodie at heart, and if I wouldn’t eat it, I wouldn’t feel good serving it to others.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I would say I got to where I am today because of hard work, learning to ask for help, and a sprinkle of luck. Even though we’ve gotten so much support since day one, most days are hard. I work 15-16 hour days moving from procurement to prep cook to social media to line cook to customer service and dish person.

What keeps me going are the people that I meet through my business. I’ve made so many friends from Chi Fan Le. We get to see young kids smiling and eating fresh green vegetables. I feel good knowing that I’m feeding people something I eat myself and would feed my kids. We hear stories about how it’s been years since they’ve had food that reminded them of home or how our food reminds them of their grandma’s food. There have been a couple moments where I truly thought about giving up, but the universe always tells me to persist. I overcome challenges by meditating and bringing myself back to my original goal, to create a place in Detroit that feels and tastes like home.

I’ve always known at my core, whatever I pursue, I want it to also uplift others and care for the planet, and I feel lucky to have the opportunity to build Chi Fan Le. As someone who is the daughter of immigrant parents, I have a very fortunate life because I have the freedom to strive for whatever I wish.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m based mostly in Detroit, and since it’s summer, I’d definitely take them to Eastern Market on Saturday to grab some fresh produce and delectable bites (especially to see our friends at White Lotus Farms, Jim + Peter’s Farm, and Aunt Nee’s). Then we’d go to Motown Mopeds in Eastern Market to rent a moped to take a ride around Belle Isle. For dinner, I’d take them to check out a fellow food pop-up business to support another food entrepreneur (Two Birds and Brewery Faisan are a couple places that have a consistent rotation of different food pop-ups).

If we want to mix in some indoor activities, I’d probably take them to an independent bookstore, like Next Chapter Books, Book Suey, John King Used & Rare Books, or 27th Letter Book. The cool thing about 27th Letter Book is that they share the space with Opal Grove Games, a game shop. If they enjoy museums, I’d take them to the DIA and MOCAD. If they need to get any work done in the middle of the day, Kresge Court in the DIA is a breath taking cafe. Though a little bit more of a drive, Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum is a spectacular arcade.

For drinks, I’d probably have my friend over because we have a full Chinese gong fu tea set up, espresso machines, and sparkling water on tap. We have great local coffee shops and roasters like Craigs Coffee, Sepia Coffee Project, and CoffeeTRON. If they enjoy beer, there’s a ton of places that have a great selection of craft beer like 8 Degrees Plato, Brewery Faisan, and Urban Rest.

If they’re feeling Asian food, I’d probably take them to Detroit Pho & Crab, Chao Zhou, or grab some roast duck from Zhang B-B-Q. I would also definitely have to have them try Detroit-style pizza from Pie Sci, Michigan & Trumbull Pizza, or Buddy’s Pizza. We could walk off the meal and check out Michigan Central and walk along the Detroit Riverfront.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Bryan has been one of my biggest supporters from day one. When I didn’t have a car, he drove me to get groceries before work and took off from work to help prepare for pop-ups. Esteban gave us our first commercial rice cooker and showed me the ropes on setting up for pop-ups (He has his own incredible food business called Estos Garage). SO many people deserve credit in our coming up: the friends that donated their time to help make pop-ups happen, the neighbors in Detroit that ordered from us or booked us for events, all the different businesses that invited us to pop-up, purchased our food, and shared advice, and people who have shared our socials and food with friends and families. Also there were so many organizations that have invested time, money, and resources into Chi Fan Le and other small businesses like Build Institute, Techtown, Basblue to name a few. Lastly, huge thank you to my mom (and my extended family) who showed me what good food tasted like and for showing me experimenting in food is fun and messing up is okay.

Website: https://www.chifanle.co/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chifanle/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chifanle.chifanle

Image Credits
Justin Tootla (photo with chili oil in spoon)