Truman Lam didn’t set out to become the guy trying to keep one of Chinatown’s most recognizable dining rooms going. He left a finance job in his mid-20s without much of a plan, stepped in to help his family with a few restaurant systems, and never really stepped back out. Now he’s the third-generation owner-operator of Jing Fong, juggling catering deliveries and rising costs while trying to hold onto a place that’s been part of New York Chinese life for decades.
After college, Lam did what plenty of ambitious kids are pushed to do. He got a finance degree, went into investment banking, stayed there for four or five years, and burned out. When he quit without another job lined up, helping his parents at Jing Fong was supposed to be temporary. Then one task turned into another, his role grew, and before long, he was shouldering the weight of a business that had become part of Chinatown’s social fabric.
Jing Fong has already lived a few different lives. It began as a smaller restaurant, then expanded into the giant banquet hall that made its name before the pandemic forced another reset. Lam remembers going there as a kid for family celebrations, including his uncle’s wedding and his sister’s wedding. “It was just like a real, central meeting place,” he says. For many people, Jing Fong is entwined in family memory, weekend ritual, and the history of the neighborhood itself. It has also long served as a gathering place, one of those rooms where big moments in family life get marked and shared.
That beloved history doesn’t solve the day-to-day problem of keeping the place open. Catering helps, but it’s inconsistent. Fewer tourists are coming through. Labor costs are up. Expenses keep climbing. Chinatown is changing too, with Chinese families and businesses spreading out across Flushing and Brooklyn instead of staying concentrated in Manhattan. “A lot of times it doesn’t feel like it’s worth it anymore,” Lam admits. “And I just want to tell my parents, let’s just sell the thing, close it, and move on.” But he also knows what’s at stake beyond the balance sheet. “I think we’re losing a lot of those spaces, and that’s why people are fighting so hard and care so much to want to see places like Jing Fong continue to exist.”
That’s why he can’t walk away. Too many people have built their lives inside that place. The head chef has been there since 1992. Managers have been there since 1992. “It’s really kind of like a family,” Lam says. “We’re still all in it together.” The staff stayed together through years of change, and when Lam looked around and asked whether they wanted to keep going, they gave him his answer. “I told them, we’re only going to keep going if you guys want to keep going,” he recalls. “And everyone decided, let’s just give it a shot.”
That’s Lam’s version of calling his shot. He isn’t chasing some grand reinvention story. He’s trying to make Jing Fong viable enough to keep its people working and keep a place standing that Chinatown still wants and needs. For him, the mission is survival, stability, and the belief that a place like this still has a future.
Created in partnership with Toyota
That drive is what Toyota’s Call Your Shot campaign is built to spotlight: people still betting on what comes next. For Lam, that means doing everything he can to keep Jing Fong going.
The post The Third-Gen Owner Keeping NYC’s Chinatown Dim Sum Alive appeared first on VICE.
