Editor’s notes: Hu Hongfei is a post-90s boy working at an internet company in Chongqing. As a big fan of barbecue, he set up the “Night Cat’s Yakitori” stall in June this year, starting his part-time job as a vendor!

Interviewee Hu Hongfei and his girlfriend (Yu Mulin/iChongqing)

“I work at an internet company in Chongqing as an operator during the day and sell Yakitori on the street at night. The open hours are from 9 pm to midnight, so you could say we serve the night owls.”

Hu Hongfei’s Yakitori stall (Yu Mulin/iChongqing)

“Street vendors are going popular right now. Many young people share their experiences of being vendors on social media. So, I thought, why not open a Yakitori stall on the street? I love barbecues, all kinds of them, Japanese, Korean, and Chongqing local style. I may have tried most of the barbecue restaurants in Chongqing. Plus, now the government has supported the street vendor....eh..street vendor economy. Right. So, I said to myself: I’m going to do it.” 

Hu Hongfei’s Yakitori stall (Yu Mulin/iChongqing)

“When new ideas pop into my head, I wanna no hesitation in executing them. So, I immediately sought a Yakitori expert to begin right after, learn how to design our stalls online, and learn from others’ experiences. My girlfriend and I spent a lot of time doing the prep, all after I got off work. I didn’t feel tired at all; it was fun seeing the ideas in my head turn into reality. I wanted to make my stall attractive and appealing. Tables, chairs, food baskets, dishes ......everything. Because there are a lot of stalls around, you see, to make it look special so that passers-by will notice you.”

“There are also problems we didn’t expect to face before. Once the urban management personnel told me that there was too much smoke from my grill. So we installed a smoke exhauster and then canceled some of the dishes, which can cause excessive smoke. Problems got solved.”

Interviewee Hu Hongfei (Yu Mulin/iChongqing)

When asked if they minded, I took a picture for them, “Not at all!” They said without hesitation, “may help us to promote our business” he grinned.

“Welcome to Night Cat Yakitori. We do have a cat!”

Cat in Hu Hongfei’s stall (Yu Mulin/iChongqing)