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Food is never merely food, it is a distillation of culture and history, a communication satellite through which love is given and received. That was what I felt every time I walked into Kitchen Cô Út, tucked along 85 Chrystie Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown – a small room that somehow carried the scent of my mother’s kitchen all the way from Vietnam.
In October 2025, my husband Nick and I showed up to a beautiful community space in Manhattan's Chinatown with dice, character sheets, and a big dream. We were about to run our very first public tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) event. We had no track record, no past customers, and a concept that was genuinely hard to explain in one sentence.
What happened next set us on a path to making our dreams become reality. And in the process, helped us connect with other founders who are realizing their big dreams, too.
We're going behind the names of five Chinatown businesses by exploring the stories, cultures, and personal histories that inspired them. Each name carries something worth knowing, and here are those stories.
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We're going behind the names of five Chinatown businesses by exploring the stories, cultures, and personal histories that inspired them. Each name carries something worth knowing, and here are those stories.
From a basement on Mott Street to a beloved Chinatown institution, Fong On's story is one of roots, reinvention, and the quiet power of knowing where you come from. We sat down with Paul Eng, the third-generation owner of New York City's oldest tofu shop, to hear how a 90-year-old legacy got a second life (and why the best is still yet to come).
Food is never merely food, it is a distillation of culture and history, a communication satellite through which love is given and received. That was what I felt every time I walked into Kitchen Cô Út, tucked along 85 Chrystie Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown – a small room that somehow carried the scent of my mother’s kitchen all the way from Vietnam.
In October 2025, my husband Nick and I showed up to a beautiful community space in Manhattan's Chinatown with dice, character sheets, and a big dream. We were about to run our very first public tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) event. We had no track record, no past customers, and a concept that was genuinely hard to explain in one sentence.
What happened next set us on a path to making our dreams become reality. And in the process, helped us connect with other founders who are realizing their big dreams, too.
From a basement on Mott Street to a beloved Chinatown institution, Fong On's story is one of roots, reinvention, and the quiet power of knowing where you come from. We sat down with Paul Eng, the third-generation owner of New York City's oldest tofu shop, to hear how a 90-year-old legacy got a second life (and why the best is still yet to come).