New Yorkers open pancake stalls in the United States: The Vanderbilt Food Market in Midtown, New York, is a great lunch time spot for office workers around here. Recently, a long queue formed under a stall with a Chinese sign at the entrance. This restaurant sells a food that is slightly "non-mainstream" in the United States but is a household name in China - pancakes.

The owner of "Lao Jin Pancake" is Brian Goldberg, whose Chinese name is Jin Boliang. Everyone calls him Lao Jin. He is a native New Yorker.

Lao Jin was born in 1977. He first studied Chinese at Boston University in the United States. Later, he was deeply attracted by pancakes while studying in China. Years later, he, who had been a professional athlete and worked in the media and finance industries, decided to open a shop selling pancakes.

"I especially liked pancakes when I was in China. The pancakes are hot and fresh, and you can choose what you want. But I can't eat them after I return to the United States." Lao Jin said, "What should you do if you want something but can't get it? Of course you have to make it yourself and have enough food and clothing!" The picture shows the roast duck pancakes in the process of being made.

The idea of ??opening a pancake shop came to Lao Jin as early as 2001 when he was studying business at Columbia University. The course at that time required writing a business plan, and the title he completed was "Goldberg's Chinese Crepes." He had ideas and plans at the time, but due to lack of funds, the plan could not be implemented. It wasn't until five years ago that his "pancake business" started in Hong Kong.

After deciding to open a pancake shop, Lao Jin spent several months visiting pancake stalls in Beijing, Tianjin, and Shandong and ate countless pancakes. Finally, he found Xiao Yan Pancake, the pancake shop where he learned his craft in Beijing. Xiao Yan’s pancake master not only taught Lao Jin how to make pancakes, but also went to Hong Kong to teach his employees the skill. The picture shows employees of Laojin Pancake making pancakes in the store.

After Lao Jin moved back to New York two years ago, he first opened pop-up stores in different places in New York to see how people reacted. After the pancakes were welcomed by the locals, Lao Jin decided to return to his hometown of New York and run "Lao Jin Pancakes" wholeheartedly. The picture shows a customer watching pancakes being made.

The pancakes sold to New Yorkers are not exactly the same as traditional Chinese pancakes. Lao Jin has improved the pancake ingredients according to American tastes: seafood sauce replaced fermented bean curd, fried wonton wrappers replaced fried dough sticks, and vegetables and various flavors of meat were provided for customers to choose from.

Lao Jin said that Americans don’t like to eat too much pasta and like to eat meat. After a lot of experiments, Lao Jin locked in several flavors such as roast duck and drunken chicken. The most popular ones nowadays are roast duck and original pancakes.

In addition to the stores in the Midtown Food Court, Lao Jin’s stores in the Chelsea district of downtown and near the Flatiron Building are also undergoing renovations. Now, Laojin pancakes can sell hundreds of sets a day. Lao Jin said that sushi and tacos were once unfamiliar to Americans, but now they eat them with gusto, so he is confident that he can expand the pancake business.