The truck stopped and cleared. Pots full of hot and sour soup flew off the stove and crashed to the floor, creating a chaotic mess. This served as my father's debut by driving behind the wheel of a newly built food truck for his first day at City Hall.
My father took the time to thoughtfully prepare the ingredients for this distinctive Chinese soup. After bringing the pot of soup to stew, he carefully loaded it into the truck. He planned to finish the soup when he arrived at the location he had scouted a few days earlier.
As he sailed through the streets from Chinatown to City Hall, my father, still adjusting to the new sensation of operating a truck, applied the brakes a little too forcefully, causing a collision of gastronomy cargo on board.
After this mishap, my father quickly mastered the art of gently stopping this behemoth.
Over the next year, the truck became a mobile space that immersed my father in a constant dance of yin and yang. Here, the forces of unbridled capitalism and competition introduced the chaos, setbacks, and unexpected opportunities that shaped his journey while settling in this country.
In 1982, after a brief stint running a restaurant in Wisconsin , my father returns from the vast farmlands of the Heartland to navigate a twist of fate in the urban jungle of New York City. Here, his livelihood was immersed in the essence of Yin and Yang. This is a concept that symbolizes the interconnected balance of contrasting elements, which became the rhythm of his life, embracing change and adaptability.
With renewed energy, my father tried to provide for his family on his own terms. Not wanting to work for someone else, he invested $3,000 in purchasing a truck and $6,000 in converting it into a food truck.
After four years in the country, he has learned enough English and know-how to obtain the necessary licenses and permits to operate his venture.
Over the next year, food trucks became a fixture in the bustling City Hall area. Since it's open from 10am to 2pm, we were offered a menu of chow mein, fried rice, and hot and sour soup, as we were hungry...