Latest news with #DavidShi
Eater
7 days ago
- Business
- Eater
At Xi'an Famous Foods, Hand-Ripped Noodles Helped Build an Empire
Jason Wang and his father, David Shi, combine their father-son dynamic into beautiful form at Xi'an Foods, one of the first major businesses to offer hand-pulled noodles in New York City. Pulling inspiration from the family's ancestral home of Xi'an, the New York duo opened the first location in Flushing, Queens, to the gratitude of numerous Asian American immigrant families missing the flavors of home. Today, guests from all backgrounds are among the businesses' millions of customers, who pile into more than 15 locations now spread across New York City. Xi'an Famous Foods is very casual. It's simple dishes, and the presentation is simple. On the one hand, it's like that type of food, but on the other hand, it's also not the easiest to make, especially things such as cold-skin or hand-pulled noodles. We're from Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province in China. So as immigrants, we really do miss the food from home. Before 2005, my father, David Shi, was working in various American Chinese restaurants, mostly along the East Coast. I was getting started in college, and at this point, my dad thought, 'Well, Jason's in college. He's off to take care of himself. I'm going to do something that's personal to me, something I always wanted to do,' and that was to start an eatery. He wasn't sure how the food was going to be received. [The year] 2005 was an interesting time for Chinese cuisine, because that was around the time when people were emigrating from regions of China that were new to many New Yorkers. When we started, there were no [pantry products on] Amazon, no delivery service for Asian products or ingredients, even [for] things as simple as black rice vinegar. But at the same time, a lot of people were coming from places like coastal China, Fujian, and Wenzhou. There were more Northern Chinese folks from Northeastern parts of China. There were more Shanghainese speakers and folks from the Shanghai region, and regions of the country that previously didn't see as much immigration to the U.S. That drove a lot of the growth in places like Flushing in Queens and in Chinatown in Manhattan. David Shi (left) and Jason Wang in the restaurant's early days. XI'an Famous Foods I was away in my fall semester at Washington University in St. Louis, and my father decided to start selling bubble tea; he offered food on the side. He was doing hand-pulled noodles and hand-ripped noodles, Liang Pi cold-skin noodles, and spicy cumin lamb burgers. The food started selling better than the bubble tea. The first location was pretty much sort of a hole-in-the-wall type of area in Queens, a bunch of food stalls that came out of the establishment restaurants. My dad didn't really think about going outside of that area. But eventually he looked at his second location, in Flushing. That was how our expansion started. He eventually opened a spot in the Golden Shopping Mall, that basement food court in Flushing. It was a hole-in-the-wall type of place during that time, too. It still exists, but it got renovated around 2017 or 2018, so it's a very different place now than it was before. The menu at Xi'an Famous's first location inside the Golden Shopping Mall in Flushing. The business got so popular, and eventually I started to help him. No one really gave us the guidelines. There was no playbook for this. I officially joined the company in 2009 after I graduated from college. Anthony Bourdain came in 2011. We expanded to where we are now because we've stuck to that tradition. We don't have investments — we have zero investors right now. I think it's a testament to the continued popularity of our food. As we started opening more locations, we started thinking about a central kitchen. I looked at the Starbucks model, in which the company got a roasting plant early on. By our fourth or fifth location, in 2011, we opened our first central kitchen. We started operating out of that central kitchen, which was about 5,000 square feet, and that helped grow our number of stores in the city. Our first location in the city was actually in Chinatown, then the East Village. Who would've thought we would need a ghost kitchen in 2005? We were there for 10 years, right up to when the pandemic started, and our lease was up. It's a place where I learned the ropes, and when we began to really recognize that there's just so much demand from folks who aren't in Chinatown, too. We were really encouraged by that, and Xi'an grew, eventually opening a Midtown location in 2013. The current menu board at the TK of location Xi'an — now digital — features signatures that been available since the early days, including the Liang Pi cold noodles and cumin lamb noodle soup. Clay Williams/Eater The spicy cumin lamb burger and beef hand-ripped noodles. Clay Williams/Eater Some of our first write-ups in the food world were Chinese media saying, 'Hey, you know, they're serving these noodles that a lot of people who are from the region go over to eat because they want to taste their home.' That was like the theme back then. Fast-forward to now: Flushing has changed. All across New York right now, there are a lot of big brands. There's a Fendi over there now. It's different. We currently operate 16 locations — 15 Xi'an Famous Food institutions and one ghost kitchen. And even though the business has expanded, the drive and heart we started with still remain. It's a lot of new businesses doing similar cuisine now, corporate places that try to do similar things. It's great to have selections, but things have become much more homogenized. I miss the creativity back in the day. The focus of the business has remained the same. The mission has always been to do a good job, to serve good food, and to serve food that we would eat ourselves. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Mid East Info
01-07-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
ejada Systems Signs Strategic Partnership with Huawei to Develop AI-Powered Solutions Supporting Digital Transformation in Saudi Arabia
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – June 2025 – ejada Systems, the leading provider of digital transformation solutions in Saudi Arabia, has announced a strategic partnership with Huawei, the world's leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. The partnership aims to develop customized artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that enhance the Kingdom's digital infrastructure and empower key sectors. The collaboration focuses on integrating Huawei's advanced AI computing infrastructure with ejada's sector-specific expertise in delivering tailored digital solutions across finance, government, and healthcare. The partnership builds on a strong track record of joint projects and technical integration between the two companies in the ICT sector, reflecting their shared commitment to supporting the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and advancing a sustainable digital economy. An executive meeting was held between Mr. Fawwaz Abu El Nasr, CEO of ejada Systems, and Mr. David Shi, Vice President of the ICT Marketing and Solution Sales, Huawei, during which the partnership's scope and strategic technical priorities were formalized. Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Fawwaz Abu El Nasr, CEO of ejada Systems, stated: 'Through this partnership, we aim to accelerate the development of localized AI solutions capable of addressing the needs of vital sectors across the Kingdom. We believe AI will be a key pillar of digital transformation, and by combining our domain expertise with Huawei's capabilities, we are positioned to deliver advanced solutions that improve service efficiency and foster innovation.' This strategic agreement marks a new milestone in the ongoing collaboration between ejada Systems and Huawei, as both companies work to create tangible impact across Saudi Arabia's digital infrastructure and support institutions in their journey toward smarter, more adaptive solutions. About ejada: ejada, a leading Information Technology (IT) services provider headquartered in Saudi Arabia, empowers organizations across the Middle East and Africa (MENA) to thrive in today's digital landscape. The Company helps businesses and public-sector entities achieve and maintain a competitive edge through innovative IT solutions and services specifically designed to support their digital transformation journey. ejada sets itself apart by offering a unique combination of local expertise and global reach combining a locally based, culturally aware workforce with comprehensive cross-industry solutions and strategic
Channel Post MEA
01-07-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
ejada Systems Collaborates With Huawei To Deliver AI Solutions In Saudi Arabia
ejada Systems, a provider of digital transformation solutions in Saudi Arabia, has announced a strategic partnership with Huawei to develop customized artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that enhance the Kingdom's digital infrastructure and empower key sectors. The collaboration focuses on integrating Huawei's advanced AI computing infrastructure with ejada's sector-specific expertise in delivering tailored digital solutions across finance, government, and healthcare. The partnership builds on a strong track record of joint projects and technical integration between the two companies in the ICT sector, reflecting their shared commitment to supporting the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and advancing a sustainable digital economy. An executive meeting was held between Fawwaz Abu El Nasr, CEO of ejada Systems, and David Shi, Vice President of the ICT Marketing and Solution Sales, Huawei, during which the partnership's scope and strategic technical priorities were formalized. Commenting on the occasion, Fawwaz Abu El Nasr, CEO of ejada Systems, stated: 'Through this partnership, we aim to accelerate the development of localized AI solutions capable of addressing the needs of vital sectors across the Kingdom. We believe AI will be a key pillar of digital transformation, and by combining our domain expertise with Huawei's capabilities, we are positioned to deliver advanced solutions that improve service efficiency and foster innovation.' This strategic agreement marks a new milestone in the ongoing collaboration between ejada Systems and Huawei, as both companies work to create tangible impact across Saudi Arabia's digital infrastructure and support institutions in their journey toward smarter, more adaptive solutions.
TECHx
30-06-2025
- Business
- TECHx
ejada Systems Partners with Huawei for AI in Saudi Arabia
Home » Tech Value Chain » System Integrators » ejada Systems Partners with Huawei for AI in Saudi Arabia ejada Systems, a leading digital transformation provider in Saudi Arabia, has announced a strategic partnership with Huawei. Huawei is recognized as a global leader in information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. The partnership aims to develop customized artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. These solutions will help strengthen Saudi Arabia's digital infrastructure and support vital sectors. According to both companies, the collaboration will integrate Huawei's advanced AI computing systems with ejada's expertise in delivering tailored digital services. The targeted sectors include finance, government, and healthcare. Notably, this agreement builds on a strong history of joint projects between the two firms. Their ongoing technical integration in the ICT sector reflects a shared commitment to Saudi Vision 2030 and the Kingdom's digital economy goals. The announcement followed an executive meeting between Fawwaz Abu El Nasr, CEO of ejada Systems, and David Shi, Vice President of ICT Marketing and Solution Sales at Huawei. During the meeting, the two leaders formalized the partnership's scope and set strategic technical priorities. Mr. Fawwaz Abu El Nasr stated: 'Through this partnership, we aim to accelerate the development of localized AI solutions.' 'We believe AI will be a key pillar of digital transformation across the Kingdom.' He added that combining ejada's domain knowledge with Huawei's capabilities will result in more efficient and innovative services. This new agreement marks a milestone in the ongoing collaboration between ejada Systems and Huawei. Both companies reported that they will continue working closely to deliver advanced digital infrastructure and support institutions in their transition to smarter technologies.
