Fashion
Chifa Is a New Peruvian-Chinese Restaurant From Opening Ceremony’s Humberto Leon
Chifa, a Peruvian-Chinese restaurant, opens on November 27 in Los Angeles. It bears the same name as a restaurant Leon’s mother owned 45 years ago in Peru….
1975 was a big year for Wendy Leon. First, she and her husband welcomed a son, Humberto. Second, she opened her first restaurant, Chifa, in Lima, Peru. Chifa, which roughly translates to “Chinese restaurant” in Spanish, is also a term used to describe Cantonese-Peruvian cuisine. Wendy, who had recently moved to Peru from China’s Tongshan County, served spare ribs and dan dan mian (noodles with spicy Szechuan sauce) among other original recipes.
A fews years later, however, the young family got the chance to move to America. There was never a question over whether they’d pack their bags. Wendy, who only received a second grade education, knew it would give her children opportunities she never had. But when that door opened, Chifa’s had to close. The Leons resettled in Eagle Rock, California, where Wendy got a job as a cafeteria worker.
Time progressed, and Wendy was eventually able to open a dim sum place when her children reached high school. Then the Leon kids graduated, moved out, and made names for themselves. Big ones, at that: Humberto, for one, went on to found Opening Ceremony, and then became the co-creative director of Kenzo. But now, 45 years later, they’re ready to look back at the past, and help their mom re-achieve the dream she gave up to chase the American one.
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