Why Phil opened a boba cafe... (Part 1)
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
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Part 2: • What happened when Phi...
Part 3: • Will Phil's cafe survi...
Featuring
BOPOMOFO CAFE bopomofocafe.com
/ bopomofocafe
Philip Wang / wongfuphil
Eric Wang / ewangus
Shot by
Chris Lam
Andrew Yi
Christopher Yang
Edited by
Michelle Hsieh
Taylor Chan
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● INSTAGRAM: / wongfupro
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● STORE: wongfustore.com
● OFFICIAL WEBSITE: wongfuproductio...
Heard about this place through my sister. Ate there, thoroughly enjoyed the friend chicken sandwich. Also, unlike other restaurants by celebs that only borrowed their fame, Phil was really there waiting our table and he was super chill and down to earth!
Definitely not just there for "marketing purposes". I love working and serving the community. But I'm also happy to take photos if y'all want ;)
instagram.com/p/Bwvogc8h0LA/?igshid=nawkfbjlk65j haha yes here is said pic on my insta
5:36 "It's too spicy" "I don't think it's too spicy"
Literally my family at every meal.
O literally? Instead of figuratively?
Phil. Congratulations on opening up your boba space. You have all my respect. I really do not have anything against you. Why did you open your shop next to Labobatory? There were so many other locations you could have chosen. Yes, of course it’s a free market and anyone can start their business wherever they want. Phil you already have a brandname and you know that eventually they will be gone. I don’t think that two boba shops in the same plaza will survive. One will eventually close. You could have opened your store where sharetea was. Why did you open your boba shop next to Labobatory?
@@johndee759 it's not that easy finding available real estate, you know.
@@howdy0000 This one was the only one available?
You tubers flipping their money into cafés. I support this. It's trending
The popcorn chicken is so good!! The fresh quality of the drinks was really nice too y’all. I was just there so it’s interesting to see the struggle that you went through. Congratulations!🎉
Oh my god I went there and I saw Phil and I was kind of internally freaking out because this guy I’ve been watching since I was in middle school was just a few feet away from me but then I just walked out because I was too star struck to exist properly in that moment
FennXFox Phil. Congratulations on opening up your boba space. You have all my respect. I really do not have anything against you. Why did you open your shop next to Labobatory? There were so many other locations you could have chosen. Yes, of course it’s a free market and anyone can start their business wherever they want. Phil you already have a brandname and you know that eventually they will be gone. I don’t think that two boba shops in the same plaza will survive. One will eventually close. You could have opened your store where sharetea was. Why did you open your boba shop next to Labobatory?
@@johndee759 Because they know sharetea is a bigger competition, so they gotta go against the little guys. Rooting for phil but im sad. Dog eat dog world man. =/
@@saechak206 I like Phil, too but he should not go after his fans. At the Labobatory the black gentlemen from JK works there.
Phil should open in a white neighborhood that has no boba. Look at Tpumps on lake close to CalTech, they are so packed all the time. Don't open in the heart of SGV where the competition is already saturated. Don't try to be premium and all this stuff. It's just tea with milk. The margins on that are super high. I like Hong Kong Lai Chai and Malaysian Teh Tarik.
I like David So's approach with his Bae store in little Tokio. He seems to know what he is doing.
subtle asian traits would love this LOL.
Lol I made sure to post and it blew up 😂
Lol I am in that
Subtle Asian Eats
lol. half of those people are sensitive fools .
When I visit Cali next I’ll have to make sure I visit your shop. It’s on my bucket list now!
2013: every youtuber going into music
2019:every youtuber going into food (backup plan)
Who else is going into food?
@@cloudnosh11 I'm not sure of anyone else, but Ryan Higa has Ninja Melk now
JK fam- (if you know of them) have had SIP for a while now
David So- dips and swirls
@@NapQueen96 my Jk brother hahah how are you
Phil. Congratulations on opening up your boba space. You have all my respect. I really do not have anything against you. Why did you open your shop next to Labobatory? There were so many other locations you could have chosen. Yes, of course it’s a free market and anyone can start their business wherever they want. Phil you already have a brandname and you know that eventually they will be gone. I don’t think that two boba shops in the same plaza will survive. One will eventually close. You could have opened your store where sharetea was. Why did you open your boba shop next to Labobatory?
seems like the perfect place for WongFu meetups and lunch breaks ^^
Yes! :D
The watermelon with oat milk was to DIE FORRR!! Thank you so much for providing a wonderful experience, not just a cafe!!
I hope you open a location in NYC so I can visit one day.
Congratulations Eric and Philip. May you both have much success with the café.
Hey i really like the concept of bopomofo in this video. Maybe another way you guys could stand out from other places is being environmentally friendly (use biodegradable plastic, provide ways for customers to bring or buy their own reusable bubble tea containers )
Vivian Chou They actually posted on their Instagram story that they collect their used straws because they’re made of sugarcane and they’re compostable!!
Hi Vivian! Being Eco-friendly is a HIGH priority to us at BPMF. Here's how we're trying to do our part!
-We're currently using sugarcane fiber straws which are compostable even though they cost 6x more.
-We also collect the straws in a bin at the cafe for people who aren't going to compost them.
-We offer a discount for people who bring in their own reusable cups.
-Our waste collection company recycles our plastic cups.
-We don't use any styrofoam. Only paper/biodegradable food containers are used for dining in-house and to-go
-These are only the first steps, and we hope to make more, but for now, as a new business, this is what we're doing.
Hope that answers your questions!
Thank you preach
Congrats Phil and Eric. I wish you success in your new venture.
Love watching this video - the REALITY behind the process and hard work!
Hey! I went there yesterday. It was SO good. That watermelon oat milk is BOMB. First time having a boba drink that doesn't taste like artificial fruit. Bopomofo is something different that I haven't seen in the SGV yet.
I think that's a good move with the website. When looking up info for a business, I always check if they have a website first. Especially if it's a food establishment, their website is my go-to for their menu and prices. It really irks me (plus it's bad business practice) when they're only on social media and it's not updated.
Wow! This is so impressive Phil! Glad that you're able to share a new food experience with the world ♥️♥️♥️
phil is still so cute after all these years! congrats on opening your new cafe!
This is also a really cool documentary-like style that Wong fu has never explored before. Maybe we can see a new series on Wong fu documentaries exploring Asian American stories!
Congrats! I've been following the whole process through your guys' instagram and I'm excited to see it all more detailed here
This is really amazing. I’ve been watching you guys since Wongfu weekends and you guys have really aspired me to pursue my passions including opening up a shop one day. Thank you for posting this because it really shows how much work it does take to open up a business 😊
Went there today to study and hang out and man was it amazing! Phil was there too and people were constantly taking pics lol. Their taiwanese fried chicken was bomb and their matcha tea was such a great suprise. Great customer service and great food, definitely recommend the place.
I love your cafe! I love that it’s so close to my house so I try to stop by every week! Thank you phil for opening such a homey boba shop!
I literally drove by it earlier today on my way to the Costco in Alhambra. I saw this new cafe and was thinking in my head.. "hm... I'm gonna check it out when I have a chance." Cool!!!
I’m so excited for this. When my friend, rice and travel, posted a picture of your cafe with the drinks i was so excited. ALSO SO GLAD you didn’t want to make it too spicy and people can just add more spice. I can’t take spicy at all and I really want to try the tofu with tater tots. I hate it when boba places add spice in their popcorn chicken already... it means I can’t eat it without downing a bunch of milk tea .
Can't wait for other parts of this journey to be uploaded! Would definitely love to visit one day if I go to Cali!
I’ve noticed that boba shops use a lot of single use plastic but if there was a boba bar/cafe near me that was more eco friendly, I would rather go there even if it was a bit more expensive.
Yeah this was one of their cool things. I was very pleased to see bopmofo use paper straws
Phil. Congratulations on opening up your boba space. You have all my respect. I really do not have anything against you. Why did you open your shop next to Labobatory? There were so many other locations you could have chosen. Yes, of course it’s a free market and anyone can start their business wherever they want. Phil you already have a brandname and you know that eventually they will be gone. I don’t think that two boba shops in the same plaza will survive. One will eventually close. You could have opened your store where sharetea was. Why did you open your boba shop next to Labobatory?
You could always bring your own waterbottle and reusable boba straw. I always ask for it in my own cup and I've never been refused.
Linda Zhang that’s a wonderful idea!
@@lindazhang23 I tried asking all the mostly famous boba place here in Malaysia and all of them tells me that they MUST use their (plastic) cup before pouring into my own cup. so unnecessary!
Oh man. I could ha e watched another hour of this. So excited to come check the cafe out
This looks awesome and I wish y’all so much success! My husband and I opened a geeky/anime boba shop but unfortunately we didn’t make it. It’s overwhelming at times but y’all are pros, you got this!
Think of ATL for your next location!!! This is so exciting! Congrats!
whoa a congratulations is in order. THIS IS SO AMAZING THAT YOU FOLLOWED A DIFFEreNT DREAM and the success is so beautiful. I'm so happy for all of WONG FU PRODUCTIONS and continue to be a huge fan of the reality you put together!!
This is so interesting to me how even with Boba cafes being relatively new (over the last few decades), you're still pushing boundaries and trying to experiment and go being the norm. I wholeheartedly believe BPMF will become so so successful!
food industry life is hard lol
Fancy Nancy TV especially for labobatory who have their shop right next to Phil’s.
This is so insane and I would love to go there one day!! And I know you guys just opened but I’m hoping eventually in the future there are options for those of us with dietary restrictions(vegetarian, vegan, gluten free). The food and drinkslooks amazing though 😭😭😭
Congrats Phil & Eric!!! All the best on your guys new venture!!! It looks amazing...
Hi man, that is so cool, ㄅㄆㄇㄈ（bo'po'mo'fu'o）cafe is OMG definitely awesome for representing "ABC" culture or modern Asian culture! I have been following your Y-Channel for about 6 years since I just started my Uni, now I just back to China, but still following Wong Fu with VPN lol. Really wish there will be more connection between "ABC“ and Mainland born Chinese or Taiwan born Chinese..., I mean, maybe you can think about open a ㄅㄆㄇㄈ cafe in China or other Asia country. All the best bro!
i hope that one day i can go to this amazing place. i was already blessed to meet phil at sjsu and i am hoping to go to this boba cafe! congrats guys, you made all our asian dreams come true with a stunning boba cafe
Man something about that music at 1:52 is so specifically Wong Fu... Immediately nostalgic somehow
Yup definitely
Crazy how this is truly the modern day Asian American dream and the safety net for AsAm content creators...to start a boba shop/cafe
SHIRI by opening up right next to labobatory who had also this Asian American dream. Simply crushed by the nice guy.
Omg! Super excited for you guys!! I hope you venture out and open one up in NorCal! 🤗😉
Amaaaaaaaaazing! Congrats on opening the cafe. If I go to LA, I'll be looking for this! But if you end up opening chains, think of Toronto!
This is amazing & I cant wait to check this place out when I visit LA this summer!
This place is officially on my TO-DO list now :D
i've stopped in every weekend since early march. the seats are always full and there's always a line. i recommend the club sandwich and the sweet potato potato salad.
We need a store in AUS hopefully one day you guys can expand internationally
OMG this place is 8 minutes away from where I live!!! I think my aunt's been here before.
BOPOMOFO in Atlanta, GA pleeeease! Or Duluth, GA...I actually live more south Atlanta. Jonesboro/Morrow.....so I'd be even happier if you could be close to me. People here love boba, but there's very few boba places, and they don't make it well.
Omg Yessss!!!! Duluth is my happy place! ❤❤❤🙌🙌🙌
Ryan Higa made Ninja Melk now Phil is making a Boba Cafe???!!!??
Asians love food haha
Holy snacks, Batman! I was over here thinking this whole time that Eric was some kind of culinary master and that's how you got into this... I am so impressed and proud of you guys for just jumping in with both feet and really making this happen! And kudos to your head chef for sussing out the balance between you two. Can't wait to come to Cali sometime and stop by!
Heard about this ahead of time through Corridor Cast, actually! I'm out in MN, so unfortunately, I won't be able to visit, but I am rooting for you guys! Been a fan for a long time, and I hope to see you guys flourish even more! BoPoMoFo!
thanks for sharing the process Phil, Eric, and team! it's really fascinating to see all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into building a passion project from the ground up (literally). would love for your next branch to be in seattle hehe!! until then, will definitely visit bopomofo the next time I'm in the SGV, and looking forward to part 2! :)
Leanne Hwa Phil. Congratulations on opening up your boba space. You have all my respect. I really do not have anything against you. Why did you open your shop next to Labobatory? There were so many other locations you could have chosen. Yes, of course it’s a free market and anyone can start their business wherever they want. Phil you already have a brandname and you know that eventually they will be gone. I don’t think that two boba shops in the same plaza will survive. One will eventually close. You could have opened your store where sharetea was. Why did you open your boba shop next to Labobatory?
So happy for you, Phil! I am not a boba person myself, but I will definitely go check out Bopomofo when I have the chance ^ - ^
Wow lol, Ryan higa has his ninja melk out and Phil has an entire bubble milk tea shop
Susan Song i think this calls for ninja melk and boba
I’m dying to visit Bopomofo!! ❤️❤️❤️
Very cool place to hang out with friends!!! Staff is very friendly. Drinks were very refreshing. Had the pleasure of meeting Phil very humble guy...
Michael Yee He better be humble because he is about to take down labobatory. Wong Fu aren’t nice guys as they pledge to be. They have such a celebrity status why don’t they help the community instead they are going after such a small shops like labobatory. I think wongfu has a responsibility to make the community a better one and not destroy businesses. I personally don’t know labobatory. It could be that they are bad people and now they got all the bad karma. On another note, David So opened his shop Bae in Little Tokyo. The rent over there is most likely much more expensive. JK also opened up a store in Fig and 7th before. These people dared to open in a different market.
When i went to the bts concert at the rose bowl and being my second time in California i had to stop by and glad i did its a must for every wong fu fan.
Asians, Indians and Latinos like myself second generation come from working hard backgrounds and embrace the possibilities of this country..We love education, taking care of our communities, keeping safe, clean and open for everyone to enjoy with love..
so tired of one group complaining...
no need to say who..they seem to NEVER get it..
Blessings and super success..
congrats! will the kids be helping out after school? just kidding. the first year is the toughest, but grind it out and keep your heads up and i can see great things happening. you guys are talented, and leveraging your social media presence will help immensely for sure - as long as the food is still decent! definitely looking to stop by when i'm in the area in the future!
nice job! I'm definitely going next time I come to LA, Next Cafe in NY?
Who says who cant be a multitasker? Anyone can!
Yay yay! Support from Hong Kong! :D what a journey for you & gang! (P.S. When I studied abroad in the US, my favourite food ever was tater tots!!!)
this is super cool, thank you for letting us in on the (very hard but very worthwhile) process of opening up a business! I would love to come visit and try sometime, but I'm in Canada right now LOL
came here from fung bros. i must say the menu is highly impressive! you guys really thought it through well. is it crazy to want to travel all the way there just to try the food...
This is honestly so sick! Congratulations Phil! Will go if I visit LA one day!
You guys should do team building dancing during less busy hours. It's pretty common in China for restaurants to make their employees do a dance routine every day as a team building exercise.
I like that.
LAOGANMA!!! I cannot keep quiet when I saw it! 6:10
I'm excited! I'm sure this will be amazing
Love the bts; takes a lot to run a restaurant, let alone a cafe. My friend was able to go & told me about meeting Phil (not jealous at all....hahaha jk). Cant wait to pay a visit when I go to Socal!
I knew I recognised "Sharing a Birthday with Christmas"!
Thought you’d name it ‘Wong Food Cafe’ haha
They don't use bopomofo on the mainland, so to say you're representing chinese culture and ABC culture through this cafe is actually a very niche culture. Not to say that it's a small niche but you are identifying from a chinese/taiwanese second gen american immigrant perspective. I don't have a problem with that, being a hapa chinese/taiwanese second gen american immigrant myself lol greetings from the East coast!! Next time I visit relatives I'll try to bring them there - love good boba and taiwanese food!! Mapo tofu is also my grandma's fav so I wanna try your tots
Can’t wait visit next time I’m in the area! Best of luck!
Congratulations! Hope business is going well and continue to prosper. Thanks for sharing!
Jacqueline Rogers Phil. Congratulations on opening up your boba space. You have all my respect. I really do not have anything against you. Why did you open your shop next to Labobatory? There were so many other locations you could have chosen. Yes, of course it’s a free market and anyone can start their business wherever they want. Phil you already have a brandname and you know that eventually they will be gone. I don’t think that two boba shops in the same plaza will survive. One will eventually close. You could have opened your store where sharetea was. Why did you open your boba shop next to Labobatory?
If it's too spicey for some people, that's good. They will come back. They will get addicted to the spice and come back. When I started dating my wife, I made dinner for her. Over time I gradually increased the heat. 3 years later she said "I just realized you've been gradually increasing the heat".
Id make a trip down south just to check the place out!!! Wish you all the best!!!
ㄅㄆㄇㄈ(F)TW!
References:
www.zomato.com/melbourne/pure-boba-carnegie
www.zomato.com/melbourne/tea-delight-oakleigh
Phil - I'm going to be in the LA area next week! My friend said he saw you when he visited a couple weeks ago, are you usually there on weekends?
I loved this concept. I don’t know if bopomofo would actually read this but I am a huge fan of WongFu and this channel and everything it stands for. But I think it would be really good if this shop would also think about making it drink products sustainable. There is a huge issue with plastic waste with drink shops especially with non reusable plastic cups with straws. I know it’s difficult to establish a store from scratch but if bopomofo is thinking about doing things differently with fresh ingredients and authentic flavors, it should be doing things differently in thinking about how “authentic abc/abt food” can also be sustainable and keep environment in mind. Maybe with reusable cup program and paper straws?
Oh my!!!! Sooooooooo exciting!!! I've been meaning to try this place out!!! 😲😲😲😲😲😲
Congratulations! It is great you are following your passion.
more of this series please it's so interesting
Is there a video series of the remodeling process? I'd love to see more of the little behind the scenes clips you guys put in.
Just tried it for the firs time today,
god it was so good the spicy taiwanese chicken sandwich was amazing
Please come to the east coast! Preferably Boston. Huge college town and tons of ABC around to reminisce their childhood memories.
After covid I’m definitely stopping by.
besides kimchi based dishes, there is also a lot of hype over Mala (麻辣香鍋), probably due to the huge overseas chinese community in SE Asia. Maybe you can consider a couple of new dishes based on that .
Can’t wait to visit when I come down to So-Cal!!!
Was this the place they used for merry birthday
Love this! Will definitely visit !!!!!
Lol first Sip with JKF crew and now Bopomofo with the WF crew. I love this. it's just sad that I don't live in LA where I can visit these places regularly!
Best of luck to you guys I would've stopped by if I lived around the area to give it a go.
Wongfu opens a cafe, nigahiga makes energy drinks, what's next?
David So and a few other Jkparty members run SipMatcha!!(:
You gotta stretch this to Canada specifically Calgary, Asian trends are on the rise
Toronto too! We need some of this uniqueness!
Lol if you want Asian, it's gotta be Vancouver.
Appreciate the grind.
No idea why the RUclips algorithm recommended this or who you guys are but a very interesting behind the scenes video.
ugh a little bit of correction, no other mandarin speaking countries except Taiwan uses zhuyin aka bopomofo alphabetic system
most people just go for the easy route and learn pinyin smh
ikr. props to them for staying true to culture.
@Lobster Dragon no that'd be zhuyin 注音, pinyin literally means spelling alphabets 拼音 and we don't learn pinying (except for language schools) in Taiwan. Taiwanese people use zhuyin aka bopomofo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ)
Love to see the growth
Out of curiosity Would you ever release the total cost and break down of this adventure?
Dude....dont mean to hate but this is why you dont open a cafe/restaurant unless you’ve had prior experience.....it’s so hard for food businesses to stay afloat for 5 years and the profit margins aren’t the best...good luck man....owning a business means getting in the nitty gritty aka cleaning up and doing all the hard labor b/c it sets the tone for the rest of your staff to follow.
orangej how do you feel about Phil having opened up next to a small boba shop called labobatory? You already know how tough the business is and you have a RUclips celebrity with a huge following right next to you. Wonderful. Of course it’s a free market. But if I was labobatory, I for sure wouldn’t be so generous, and say I am so happy that I have a new competitor right next to me. I am sure phil could have chosen a different spot.
@@johndee759 i guess time will only tell! I just find it strange when ppl open up even just small cafes or drink places but never had any experience....like....wwhhhaaaht...but y doe? Heh
orangej yeah. The hospitality industry is tough.