Taiwanese spicy noods in the heart of Stoke Newington

Like I said, I am absolutely obsessed with creating food. Well, I say creating, making food, following recipes, and I really enjoy making everything from scratch. So, one day, I decided that I was very upset with the quality of the dumpling wraps in the UK, just because everything you get is mostly frozen.

So, I thought, I can make this from scratch. How difficult can it be? I was gifted a pasta machine for Christmas because I asked for one. And I thought I can make dumpling dough using the same pasta-making process through it. It really did not work out because I didn’t practice as much, and it was so bad that I just had so much dough left.

So, what I ended up doing, instead of throwing everything away, because throwing food away is a sin, was putting all of the mistaken dumpling dough back into a big dough and then rolling it into a pasta machine. And that’s how I kind of started. Then I thought, if I can do that, can I start adding different flavors of things inside? So, I am obsessed. Again, obsessed is a very common word that runs throughout a lot of my work and personal life. I am obsessed with chili food, spicy food. I eat spicy food three meals a day, even at breakfast. So, I thought, why don’t I add chili to this noodle?

And it just hasn’t stopped since then.

Being a designer, the first thing I tackled when I started with the noodle was figuring out my logo. I mean, what’s it going to look like, right? And then there’s the packaging, the branding – it was like a barrage of questions hit me all at once. So, I rolled up my sleeves and got down to business, sketching out the logo. I ended up with a little Chinese courtyard house, just like the one I grew up in with my grandparents back in Taiwan.

It’s been ages, like 15 years since I’ve been back there. Kinda sad, but having that little piece of home on my packaging, it feels like it’s there for a reason, you know? It all kicked off from there. And of course, everything has to pop up on social media. So I dove into figuring out the vibe I wanted online, the colors, the voice, all the visuals – stickers, fonts, you name it.

Then I started slapping my designs on merch. I’m talking t-shirts with my personal touch, hats, and some really cool stuff that’s just brewing, ready to roll out. I’ve even got posters lined up for pop-ups and events. Honestly, the creative to-do list never ends. It just keeps going and going. And even now, my branding guide isn’t quite there yet – it’s always a work in progress.

I’m interested in how the process you follow as a designer and creative person translates into your cooking. Personally, when I cook, I partially follow recipes. I get the gist of what I need but don’t strictly adhere to measurements like ‘one and a half tablespoon of this.’ I’ll compromise or compare different recipes for the same dish to decide which combination might taste better in my opinion.

I often test various options. It’s a somewhat unconventional approach to traditional recipes. Sometimes, if I don’t have a specific ingredient, I’ll substitute something from my fridge. If it doesn’t work out, that’s okay, but when it does, it’s fantastic. Speaking with various food makers in my growing network, many are quite creative. I draw inspiration from their new recipes or menus, thinking of combinations I hadn’t considered before, like a certain sauce with a particular noodle or rice dish.

I might try it out, not by asking for the recipe but by understanding the essence of it and creating my version, usually with a kick of chili powder to add some spice. That’s pretty much how I approach cooking. Okay, nice.

In terms of Yang Noods, the most challenging aspect of starting and running the business, from my experience, is what many makers face. You’re caught between operating at a small scale in your kitchen and the prospect of scaling up. Scaling up means committing fully, moving to a professional kitchen with industrial-grade equipment. It’s a significant step, especially since I love my full-time job. It keeps me on top of trends and the latest happenings in the design industry.

To scale my noodle business, I’d have to step back from my job, which is difficult due to the fear of becoming irrelevant in the design and creative field. So, I’m at a crossroads. I might need to find a business partner or an investor to help with the transition.

Absolutely, the people I’ve met throughout this journey have been incredible. It’s all about unexpected connections. For instance, someone mentioned me to someone else, and through this chain of referrals, I ended up meeting a woman who was my senior at university back in Thailand. I had no idea until we met—it was mind-blowing how small the world seemed at that moment.

And then, through another turn of serendipity, she talked about me to someone she knew, and now I have a sous chef from a renowned restaurant coming to help with my pop-up. She’s not doing it because we’ve been lifelong friends or have a long history together; she’s doing it simply because she wants to help. The level of support and camaraderie in this community never ceases to amaze me.

Reflecting on my packaging, I realize it’s a significant aspect that I’ve been pondering for a long time, and I’m still undecided about whether to keep the low-fidelity look that many people seem to really appreciate. There’s a handmade charm to it—each package is currently hand-stamped by me with the one linocut I’ve ever made, which also serves as my logo.

This process was enjoyable at first, but after stamping over a hundred, it’s made me question what I’m doing with my life. Nevertheless, there’s a certain charm to it, right? It’s beautifully crafty and organic, and every single print is uniquely different from the next, which I think is quite special.

But of course, if you want to scale up, you can’t hand-stamp a thousand bags. So, I’ve been exploring how to evolve my packaging. Life, as it does, gets in the way—with work and personal commitments taking precedence, this has been an ongoing project for the last eight to nine months. I’m still planning, still haven’t finalized it. It’s an ongoing project, much like a house—it always seems to be a work in progress, and for now, it looks like it will be that way until at least 2025.

Definitely! As I mentioned before, there will be new merchandise. We’re also planning more collaborations with other chefs, communities, and co-working spaces.

I’ve been in contact with some of them already. Others are still unknown to me, but I believe these collaborations are going to happen. You just never know what the future holds.

Honestly, I’m not sure. It’s a common question, but I don’t know what I would say. I don’t think I would need to say anything. I believe that things happen for a reason, and you learn the necessary advice along the way. You don’t receive advice pre-emptively; you get it when you need it, on the spot.

As for what advice I’d offer to the new generation wanting to start a food business, I’d say trust your instincts. If you feel a calling, if you sense that this opportunity is something you can’t miss, then go for it. I just started, and now I find myself in a bigger dilemma. I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a problem disguised as a blessing.
The point is, just start and see where it leads. It’s very much a start-up mentality. You’ll learn a lot, experience a lot, and go through a lot. The best learning experiences often come from stumbling, falling, and those 3 AM moments where you’re asking yourself why you’re still up making noodles.

But that’s quite the experience, right? So, if you have an idea, go for it. Someone said on a podcast or a meme, ‘As long as you make a start, even if you can’t complete it or take it to the end, at least you’ve tried.’

Yeah.