Overview:
- Most of the dishes from Chi Fan Le are inspired by founder Angela Chi's background, she tells Planet Detroit.
- "Chi fan le" means "time to eat" in Mandarin — it's a phrase Chi's mother would call out when dinner was ready.
- The pop-ups are meant to test out the Chi Fan Le concept, Chi says.
When Angela Chi first launched Chi Fan Le in the spring of 2022, the kitchen for the Chinese pop-up dining experience was her own.
“I was cooking out of my home, and neighbors would pick up food from my house,” Chi said. “They would text me their order, and we’d coordinate a time for pickup.”
Chi, a New York native who frequented Chinatown and Flushing, moved to Woodbridge in 2020. What began as small-batch meals shared with neighbors has since grown into a sought-after pop-up. Today, Chi prepares for events in a commercial kitchen in Grosse Pointe Park or at onsite kitchens at venues.
“When I started, I didn’t have a car,” she said. “Either my boyfriend would drive me to the supermarket and to pop-ups, or I’d order an UberXL and load up the trunk.”
Now, with her own vehicle — and sometimes a U-Haul — she’s able to keep up with growing demand.
Chi said her journey to becoming a chef wasn’t a lifelong plan, but a necessity.
“I became a chef because I missed home food so much,” she said. “Most of it is inspired by my background being Chinese American and my deep love for food.”
The name Chi Fan Le means “time to eat” in Mandarin, a phrase her mother would call out when dinner was ready. For Chi, food has always been an expression of caring, she said.
Chi’s journey to Detroit food pop-up
Many menu items reflect the dishes Chi grew up eating, influenced not only by her Chinese heritage, but also by years living in various U.S. cities and studying in China.
Chi’s family doesn’t pass down written recipes, she said.Â
“But what I was fed growing up and shown by my mom and extended family has shaped my palette. I cook from the intuition of my five senses.”
This path led to the founding of Chi Fan Le, a homestyle Chinese pop-up experience.
Chi graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York during the COVID pandemic. She said she has a passion and interest in fashion, but became even more passionate about sustainability, and started to think more about the overall process of making clothing, gathering materials and fabrics.
In fashion school, you have an idea, buy the fabric, and make it, Chi said — and this led to her wonder about the leftover material and how it could be used.
She came across Rebel Nell, a women-owned social enterprise in Detroit, during her job search and decided to contact co-founder and CEO Amy Peterson to learn about how she started her business. Chi was interested in learning more about the social enterprise model, she said.
At the end of that initial conversation, she was offered a position at Rebel Nell and later started as an operations assistant in November 2020.
As she navigated living and working in Detroit, she learned about BasBlue’s Zero to One Fellowship.
“I built a lot of Chi Fan Le during my time at BasBlue, through their trailblazer program,” she said of the organization, which supports women entrepreneurs.
The trailblazer program includes a free BasBlue membership; a BasBlue Foundation grant; and a curriculum that aims to help fellows develop key entrepreneurial skills.
Chi was able to work at BasBlue a few times a week while in the program. This gave her the opportunity for one-on-one mentorship, which she said led to a more consistent residency at BasBlue’s cafe that showcased her menu.
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Chi Fan Le pop-ups ‘meant to test it out’
“All the things on the menu are foods I crave,” Chi said of her pop-up, adding that she wanted to create a menu with a diversity of foods that accommodates dietary restrictions. The majority of Chi Fan Le’s menu is intentionally dairy-free, unless requested otherwise.
Chi uses biodegradable utensils that can be composted. She brings compost bins to her pop-up events, and works with Midtown Composting to process her compostable items commercially.
The salad at Chi Fan Le is locally obtained from both Fisheye Farm and Brother Nature Produce, and marigolds are sourced from Jim and Peter’s Farm in Detroit.
“The sustainability approach isn’t the hardest part. Labor is one of the biggest and hardest parts in the food industry. I started off pretty slim and had the help of friends and people,” she said.
A sense of community and having a village is important and crucial, Chi said. She doesn’t spend money she doesn’t have, she said — only the money being made from the business. That’s why her business is growing gradually, she said.
Having a space to hold pop-ups is crucial as well, she said.
“Pop ups for Chi Fan Le aren’t meant to be a long-term thing. It’s meant to test it out. I don’t think it’s sustainable for the long run for me,” she said
Tina Tse, a New York City native who moved to Detroit in 2019, said she found out about Chi Fan Le in January 2024 after searching Instagram to find authentic Chinese food, which she missed after leaving Queens.
“Angela curates and crafts the menu very well; the description is very specific, and the authenticity is felt through it, as well as through the food experience,” Tse said.
Tse’s favorite dish is Chi Fan Le’s mango sago. Mango sago, a chilled dessert, is made with mango, sago pearls (tapioca), and commonly includes coconut milk, pomelo, and cream. It’s popular and known for its refreshing qualities, particularly in Hong Kong and nearby areas.
Tse said she’s grateful to have found Chi Fan Le and is able to feel genuinely connected to her roots.
Ngianhormua Yang, also known as Richie, said he found Chi Fan Le through a friend who went to a pop-up. Richie started to follow Chi Fan Le on Instagram and eventually went to a pop-up at Brewery Faisan to try the food.
Richie’s favorite dessert is also the mango sago.
“Angela always has a positive energy. From the moment you go up to her, she greets you with a smile. Even if she is exhausted, she’s always super energetic and passionate about educating her customers.”
In the coming months, Chi said she will be providing more catering services.
