From 20 dollars in his pocket to a dumpling empire: Din Tai Fung founder dies, age 96
The founder of Din Tai Fung, Yang Bing-yi, passed away at 96. The company started as a small cooking oil and soup dumpling shop in Taipei and has since grown to be a world-renowned chain, hosting celebrities such as Tom Cruise.
CNN
The founder of one the largest dumpling empires in the world has passed away.
Yang Bing-yi was the founder of the Taiwanese restaurant chain Din Tai Fung. The company released a statement on Saturday.
The cause of death was not mentioned, but it stated that private funeral arrangements were in progress and that privacy has been requested by the family.
Yang was born in China's northern Shanxi Province in 1927. He immigrated to Taiwan at the age of 20 with 20 dollars in his pocket.
With his wife, he opened a small shop near Taipei, Taiwan's capital. He called it Din Tai Fung. It sold cooking oil as well as Xiao Long Bao (steamed Chinese soup dumplings made with pork).
The restaurant was a success and became synonymous with dumplings and other dishes such as steamed buns and egg fried rice.
It grew into a franchise with locations in the United States of America, Australia, South Korea, Australia, United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
It was also awarded its first Michelin star and listed on the CNN Travel List as one of "world's top travel franchises" in 2009.
In 2013, Tom Cruise, a Hollywood star, visited the Taipei 101 skyscraper and joined chefs to create soup dumplings.