Carving out a niche in South Florida’s vibrant food scene, Chifa du Kang, is bringing “chifa” to Miami,  honoring the rich cultural exchange between China and Peru.  A unique fusion of Asian culinary techniques with bold South American flavors, Chifa Du Kang is part of a revolution in South Florida’s food movement,  bringing a taste of Peruvian Chinese culinary gastronomy to Miami’s mainstream.

What is Chifa?

Peruvian cuisine’s diverse menu, 5,000 years in the making,  is gaining popularity around the United States. The mix of flavors reflecting a synthesis of cultures in Peru, a melting pot of immigrants that arrived from different parts of the world, has melded into culinary Peruvian gastronomy. 

Lima, the capital of Peru, with a population similar to that of  New York City, has over 6,000 Chinese restaurants, more than double the number in the Big Apple. The name of these establishments, known as chifas, is derived directly from the cuisine they serve. Wherever you go in Peru, from the Andean peaks to the Amazon jungle, you can find chifas.

A tourist visiting Lima’s Chinatown might imagine chifas to be typical Cantonese restaurants, similar to those in the United States, but chifa is actually a combination of Chinese and Peruvian food cultures that naturally evolved over the span of more than a century. Based on ingredients such as ginger, soy sauce, and scallions, the cuisine involves stir-frying in woks or steaming in bamboo baskets. But instead of strictly replicating dishes from their home country, Lima’s earliest generations of  Chinese families began incorporating native Peruvian ingredients into their cooking. Nowadays, a third of the city’s population eats chifa dishes on the daily.

For Peruvian families, chifa is synonymous with comfort food, and for Peruvians in the US, it’s  a connection to home.

The Chifa Du Kang Family, pictured from left: Jingquan Du, Vikki Tou, Juana Liu, Anson Tou

Coming to America

Chifa Du Kang owners, Jingquan Du and Juana Liu, originally from China, migrated to Peru in the ’80s, opening three popular restaurants. When the family migrated to the United States over 15 years ago, they brought a desire to introduce the richness of Peru’s culinary culture and create a niche for Peruvian Chinese gastronomy in the States. Settling in Miami, they opened their first Chifa Du Kang on Bird Road in 2008, introducing this authentic South American culinary culture to South Florida’s diverse restaurant scene. 

After over a decade of popularity at their Bird Road location, the Taos expanded their operation, opening their Kendall location in December 2021. In the midst of an off-premise boom in the restaurant industry, their Kendall location launched offering take-out and delivery to customers in the expansive Miami area.

Anson Tao, the couple’s son, and manager of Chifa Du Kang explained, “when we opened our Kendall location, we knew delivery and take-out would be a key to our success—and we needed a partner who would uphold the integrity of our business by delivering on time and keeping orders straight. That’s where Sauce came in.”

By partnering with Sauce,  a commission-free delivery platform that lets restaurants reconnect with their customers by facilitating the delivery experience, Chifa Du Kang was able to up their restaurant’s game by offering delivery to customers up to 15 miles away, opening up their customer base to folks all over the Miami metropolitan area. 

“We love having Sauce as a partner,” Tao added. “The technology is great… It gives us the confidence that our orders will reach our customers quickly and reliably. It’s really helped us to get off to a great start.”   

When the Kendall location opened, in the midst of a labor shortage and a health crisis, it was difficult to fill the establishment’s open staff positions, and with 60% of the business coming from delivery orders, this could have left them in a lurch. By eliminating the need to hire their own drivers, the restaurateur explained that “Sauce technology let us invest our time and focus on other aspects of the business because the pressure to hire drivers was lifted.” 

And because Sauce allows customers to order directly through their website, or through the restaurant’s  Google, Facebook, or Instagram pages, “the operation runs smoothly.”  

The Menu

Ancient Peruvians discovered healthy eating long before it became en vogue in other parts of the world. In fact, even before colonization began, they were keenly aware of the nutritious advantages of eating quinoa, potatoes, corn, and other superfoods. Chifa Du Kang’s menu holds true to the traditions and culinary spirit of the Chinese Peruvian culture with a variety of traditional and specialty options available. Below are some of the customer favorites:

Chifa Du Kang’s Top 5 Menu Items

#1 Chaufa Especial: 

Chicken, pork, and shrimp special fried rice 

#2: Pollo Chijaukay: 

Crispy fried chicken with savory oyster sauce

#3 Tallarín con Pollo: 

Stir-fried noodles with chicken and vegetables

#4:  Kamlú Wantán: 

Sweet and sour shrimp, chicken, pork, quail eggs with golden fried wontons 

#5: Lomo Saltado with French Fries: 

Wok-stir fried beef, onions, tomatoes, and french fries

The future

With 90% of Chifa Du Kang clientele originally being Peruvian nationals, the restaurant is noticing an expansion in the customer base to include Brazilians, Cubans, and an array of diverse nationalities, indicative of the widely expanding palette of the Miami food culture.

“We're happy to see Peru gastronomy becoming more a part of the Miami mainstream," Tao offered.  

And with delivery still on customer's holiday menus, the restaurant experienced higher than expected orders on Mother's Day weekend.

"We were pleasantly surprised at the number of delivery orders we had on Mother’s Day,” Tao expressed, “60% of our orders were for delivery that Sunday. It seems that everyone is still more comfortable staying at home, so we're looking forward to a successful Father's Day as well." 

As the Miami community embraces Chifa Du Kang and the chifa niche as a whole, the family business is looking to expand to a third location and add ghost kitchens in the near future. 

Peruvian Gastronomy seems to be part of a booming trend in South Florida’s food-centric neighborhoods as other Asian culinary genres join in on this epicurean rage.  “Peruvian gastronomy has grown a lot in the last decade,” Tao added, with diverse culinary cultures like Peruvian Japanese Fusion Nikkei entering the Miami food scene.  

And as with so many other food fads that have gotten added momentum on the trendsetting streets of Miami, Peruvian gastronomy just might  be the next  foodie fan favorite in cities across the nation.

Chifa  Du Kang Locations:

Bird Road: 9899 SW 40th ST Miami, FL 33165 - (786) 953-7165

Kendall: 9899 SW 40th St, Miami, FL 33165 - (786) 953-7165