any people like to open a small restaurant?

netbean Active member

78POSTS

10 years ago

Do you miss real Chinese food, not chifa, that is fake chinese food, nobody eat them in china.
we can run a small restaurant, located at tourist town(center), cook Chinese food, & local food, western food. I can cook, especially sichuan cuisine. I know little Spanish, and short of money, hope to find a partner.

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cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

10 years ago

Well, there's little doubt in my mind that high-quality Chinese food would be a hit in the Gringo community.? Especially when prepared by a native Chinese chef (Netbean).

One question is, since you would need local customers too, would they pay a higher price for higher-quality food?

Placing the restaurant in a small town is a dubious proposition.? Cuenca or Mariscal Sector/Quito would draw a larger customer base.

cccmedia in Quito

netbean Active member

78POSTS

10 years ago

Thanks, cccmedia.
There are some restaurants serving Chinese food in big cities, like Quito, GYE, a little more expensive. I don't want to be one of them. If need to get more customers, we need more spaces, invest more, hire more chef/assist, right?
Cooking is my interesting thing, especially sichuan cuisine(my hometown). I am not a professional chef, I cook food like people do at home. I hope to start from a small restaurant, if it work well, then expand it. Any city/place is fine to me, I can move.

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

10 years ago

netbean wrote:
If need to get more customers, we need more spaces, invest more, hire more chef/assist, right?...

Any city/place is fine to me, I can move.

Customers are the lifeblood of any restaurant.

Adding space and hiring more personnel are more a response to an already-strengthening customer base rather than strategies to attract customers.

I suggest you meet with a business consultant or current and successful restaurateur at least once before deciding on a city and neighborhood for this project.

cccmedia in Quito

netbean Active member

78POSTS

10 years ago

Thanks cccmedia, you always gave good advice. I am not good at business. I need a partner.
I am thinking about this: crowd fundraiser; after this, we can pick a city to start the first restaurant; if work well, we can expand to other cities, I can teach people to cook like Chinese. How do you think this?

AMDG Contributor

182POSTS

10 years ago

There are many good Chinese restaurant's (Chifa's) throughout Ecuador……even in many smaller towns……
I love Chinese food and frequent many of the same as I travel about……..
There is a long history of Chinese immigration here and many know how to cook some Chinese at least…..
That said, there is always a need for good restaurants…..

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

10 years ago

netbean wrote:
Thanks cccmedia, you always gave good advice. I am not good at business. I need a partner.
I am thinking about this: crowd fundraiser; after this, we can pick a city to start the first restaurant; if work well, we can expand to other cities, I can teach people to cook like Chinese. How do you think this?

You might be getting ahead of yourself, Netbean.

Go back to the suggestion about meeting with at least one consultant or restaurateur -- actually, the more the better -- to help decide on a location.

Get your first restaurant going before losing your focus to expansion of restaurants and culinary teaching.

Your selling point may be the authenticity of your cooking.? Although there are many chifas in Ecuador, the food at most is not stellar.

cccmedia in Quito

AMDG Contributor

182POSTS

10 years ago

Senor Elvis, my Chifa experience, differs from yours…….most have been good to very good…….
BUT there is always room for a good Chifa

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

10 years ago

I was spoiled, AM, growing up near New York City, where the tasty Chinese food IMO is exceptional.

I've never encountered New York-quality barbecued spare ribs, lo mein or fishball soup in Ecuador .. although I've had a few good meals in Quito featuring the shrimp dish camarones a la plancha.

The pork and chicken here seem tougher than I was used to.? The noodles don't come close to the lo mein I knew.

I haven't visited a chifa in many weeks.? If I could find a place as good as the Moon Palace -- a Chinese place near where I lived during graduate school in Washington, D.C. -- I'd be going there, at least for take-out, all the time.

cccmedia in Quito