On the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Almost everyday, there are long queues at the gates of HCB Halal Hot Pot Buffet, Kung Yuan, and Mon Chinese Beef Roti. They open the door from 7am, until 12pm stop accepting orders. The average number of Mon Chinese Beef Roti sell over 3,000 pieces per day. These delicacies from Chengdu soothe the taste buds of  foreigners.

Spanning more than 3,000 kilometers, how did the food on Tianfu Square in Chengdu get into the bellies of people in Kuala Lumpur? Recently, Ma Zhijun, founder of HCB Halal Hot Pot Buffet, Kung Yuan, and Mon Chinese Beef Roti brands, shared the story behind the popularity of delicious food.

Diners line up to eat Chengdu food in Kuala Lumpur  [Photo via Qingyang District,Chengdu converged media center]

"In 2016, when I came here, there was only one small shop. By 2023, I found that there was hot pot here. but the long queue made me miss it. Finally, this time I can eat hot pot." a diner from Qinghai expressed his enthusiasm at HCB Halal Hot Pot Buffet's entrance, 

Beef Roti is a favorite of many people, with thin skin, plenty of filling and crispness. From 7am to 10pm, the team in front of Mon Chinese Beef Roti has never stoped, sometimes more than dozens of people. Shop staff are busy all the time, kneading, stuffing, frying, customers lined up outside the shop, smelling the aroma and swallowing saliva, while looking forward to the delicious food.

Crossing the long queue of Mon Chinese Beef Roti, Ma Zhijun said, "Decades ago, there were beef rotis for sale near Chengdu Tianfu Square, and many people have tried them. What we do is to make the old flavor appear in the old place.".

For today's Chengdu people, "Huangchengba" is a unfamiliar term, but for"The older generation of Chengdu people", "Huangcheng" and "Shaocheng" are their childhood memories and feelings. Huangchengba is today's Tianfu Square, and there are many delicacies nearby, making this area a gathering place for Qingyang cuisine.

"In 1993, I went to Chengdu to work in the foreign trade industry, and we often came here to eat. Later, after urban transformation and upgrading, some restaurants gradually disappeared, and my stomach and heart felt empty." Ma Zhijun was born into a catering family, and his parents were both engaged in catering. Although he grew up in the food industry, he had seen the hard work of his parents and relatives around him, and he never dared to try to enter this industry. Until 2012, he made up his mind to do catering. He wanted to bring back the memories and flavors of Huangchengba through delicious food.

Ma Zhijun at work  [Photo via Qingyang District,Chengdu converged media center]

Ma Zhijun started from the supply-chain organization, at the same time, made friends with professional and technical technicians who opened restaurants, found raw materials, made recipes. After more than 100 processes and dozens of improvements,  He opened his first beef hotpot restaurant in 2020—— "HCB Halal Hot Pot Buffet", specializing in "fresh beef freshly cut".

Foreign Guests Eat Chengdu Cuisine [Photo via Qingyang District,Chengdu converged media center]

"Let everyone recognize that this delicious and spicy flavor is Sichuan flavor, which is the past of Chengdu Qingyang." Ma Zhijun said that he hopes to open 300 chain stores around the world in five years, so that people all over the world can eat the happiness of Chengdu people and feel Chengdu culture while tasting Qingyang cuisine.