From beggar to king of the noodles

Some thought Zhang Tianyi was wasting his education, but now he is reaping rich rewards

Zhang Tianyi decided that he never wanted to see, let alone eat, a bowl of noodles again. And who could have blamed him? In the interests of market research, the law graduate sampled 30 tiny bowls of noodles every single day for three months, at the end of which his tongue was numb and his stomach seemed to be perpetually on fire, he said.

Yet, Zhang somehow convinced himself that his future was inextricably intertwined with noodles, a decision based on his discovery of what he said is the ideal noodle recipe. That recipe brought about Funiutang, his branded beef and rice noodles dish, based on the most common street food in his hometown, one he has turned into a multimillion dollar business success in Beijing, and whose fame he hopes will stretch to the four corners of the globe.