The young Chinese immigrant waxes philosophic about finding a wife and the differences between Ukraine and China.
Li Jing Long doesn’t have to think hard when it comes to choosing a place to have a lunch. His favorite food is Chinese, and his favorite restaurant is, of course, his own.
Li’s Chinese eatery (with the inspiring name Victory) is where the 35-year-old Chinese native has his breakfasts, lunches and dinners almost every day – and not just because he doesn’t like eating anywhere else.
Li is the kind of restaurant owner who likes to meet and serve his guests personally, and he takes his business very seriously.
“You have to work hard when you own a business like this,” says Li in Russian, joking that his knowledge of English is “close to most Ukrainians’ expertise in Chinese.”
From translator to restaurateur
Ten years ago, when Li landed in Ukraine to work as a Russian/Chinese translator at an electronics plant, he couldn’t have imagined that he would end up in the restaurant business.
But the state-owned enterprise he worked at was closed. A Russian literature major with few other prospects, Li was offered a chance to manage a Chinese restaurant in Pechersk that was owned by his friend.
And if back then Li didn’t have any other choice, now the restaurant in the Ukrainian capital is his life – especially once Li became the restaurant’s owner two months ago.
“You either survive or you leave – that’s life,” philosophizes Li, masterfully operating his chopsticks as he plucks a piece of meat from the plate of chicken with pineapples (Hr 28 ) and mixes it with rice with vegetables (Hr 10).
And because Li didn’t really wanted to stay, he tried hard to understand the Slavic mentality and adjust his character accordingly in order to survive in the ever-tricky restaurant business.
“You know, I used to be very quick-tempered, but I am not anymore,” shares the restaurateur easily.
“Now I smile, and I say ‘thank you. Please, come back,’ even if the clients happen to be monsters,” says Li.
It seems that this kind of attitude along with the number of good cooks that Li has been bringing in from China are working out well: the numerous regular clients never stopped making their pilgrimages to his restaurant even after it moved from its old Pechersk location to a new one in Podil a couple of months ago.
Li claims that after five years of managing a Chinese restaurant in Ukraine, he knows how to make his clients happy, despite the cultural differences in terms of eating and drinking between Ukraine and China.
“Unlike Ukrainians, the Chinese eat their food in big groups of people and from shared plates,” says Li, explaining that the round shape of the plate symbolizes union and friendship in Chinese culture.
“And when we drink, we try to get the other person to drink more so we don’t get too drunk and act out of character,” adds Li, who is by now quite used to the fact that in Ukraine, “people drink what they are given and rarely refuse.”
Lonely workaholic
Li says life is good for him in Ukraine – “it’s not too hot in summer and not too cold in winter” – but adds it’d be even better if he had more time to find a wife.
A decade ago, the Chinese authorities warned their citizens who were traveling to Ukraine “not to fall in love with the Ukrainian girls” out of fear that the former would never return home. Those times are long gone, says Li, and many Chinese men have since married Ukrainian women and, indeed, ended up staying in the country. But Li bitterly admits to still being a bachelor.
“I spend all my time in the restaurant, while Ukrainian girls like to have fun, and don’t just want to be at work,” he explains, half-joking, half-complaining.
And it’s not that Chinese girls don’t interest Li, who says nationality does not matter to him at all.
“Chinese girls are much scarcer than Chinese men in Ukraine, so competition is fierce,” says Li humorously.
In the meantime, during his rare work-free hours, Li likes to entertain himself by reading Ukrainian news in Russian on the Internet and serving as a guide for occasional delegations of Chinese businessmen arriving to Kyiv.
Li says he had quite a few delegations recently and even read a book on Kyiv history to be a better guide.
“I also like Chinese karaoke, which I hope we’ll have here in the restaurant soon,” adds Li, before turning his eyes to the table to make sure everybody’s plates are still full with food.
He stands up to refill my own and invites me to eat more in that disarmingly caring way that my grandmother does when I happen to visit her.
The food is good, and Li has certainly learned his business’ specifics well enough to make his guests want to come back. Perhaps one will end up marrying him.
Victory
58 Hlybochytska vul. (Officially opening May 1)
Open daily from 11 a.m. until 11p.m.
English menu: Yes
English-speaking staff: NoAverage price of main dish: Hr 30
