From Beijing to Portland, Chinese ‘crepe’ food truck introduces new flavor

Digital Originals

Residents in the U.S. city of Portland, Oregon are lining up for a new treat — a jianbing, or crepe-like Chinese dish that is a traditional street food in northern China. CCTV America’s Chris Casquejo explains how a layover in Beijing led to this booming new taste stateside.

From Beijing to Portland, Chinese 'crepe' food truck introduces new flavor

Residents in the U.S. city of Portland, Oregon are lining up for a new treat -- a jianbing, or crepe-like Chinese dish that is a traditional street food in northern China. CCTV America's Chris Casquejo explains how a layover in Beijing led to this booming new taste stateside.

Jianbing, has occupied Alisa Grandy’s mind since April 2014, when she had a flight layover in Beijing. Not wanting to stay at the airport, she took a train into the city and discovered long lines of people waiting for jianbing.

“I took one bite and I was absolutely captivated,” said Grandy.

Back home in Portland, she couldn’t shake the thought of jianbing, so she taught her herself how to make them, working on the right combination of fried egg, black bean paste, chili paste, Chinese pickled vegetables, and a wonton cracker.

Watch the folks at Bing Mi! make a jianbing:

“I remembered specifically how it tasted when I was in Beijing so I kept recombining until I got the right flavor,” she said.

With about a $10,000 initial investment, Grandy, her husband Neal, and another partner opened their jianbing food truck “Bing Mi!” in January.

Stay tuned for an upcoming jianbing recipe from our In the Kitchen chef!

The truck has proved popular among customers craving authentic Chinese food, and they’re not just from Portland, but all over the Pacific Northwest.

“When we have tourists that come to visit town, they know of Portland’s food background and therefore they’re willing to try things that maybe they’ve never seen before,” said co-owner Tim Harris.

The owners said business is so good that there are plans to open a second jianbing outlet.