Chinese man's hometown-inspired beef ramen eatery is a hit in Sweden, says he earns $190k a month

From Gansu province to Stockholm.

Zhou Yan made the bold move of opening an eatery in Sweden's capital, selling traditional Lanzhou beef noodles from his hometown in north-central China.

Ox Lan Beef Noodle opened its doors on March 25 and has been a massive hit, reported South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Thirty-one-year-old Zhou Yan even told the publication that he is now earning 1 million yuan (S$190,000) a month.

The entrepreneur added that the restaurant sells "more than 300 bowls of noodles" at its peak.

@oxlanbeefnoodle The process of making a bowl of hand-pulled beef noodles from Ox Lan Beef Noodle!#lanzhoubeefnoodle #noodles #兰州拉面 #oxlanbeefnoodle ♬ 原聲 - Ox Lan Beef Noodle

For the uninitiated, Lanzhou beef noodle consists of a clear broth, shaved beef, tender Chinese radish slices, chewy handmade noodles, chilli oil and coriander and scallion to finish.

The noodles are freshly prepared in-house by skilled noodle chefs who roll, twist and pull the dough to form long and elastic strips.

This results in a more silky and springy texture as compared to its machine-made counterparts.

Almost deceptively simple, Ox Lan's version of this hot and spicy delight has taken Stockholm by storm.

It is not uncommon to see snaking queues outside the restaurant, as customers patiently wait their turn for a table—braving the weather at times.

With business booming, Zhou headed back to China in May in search of additional noodle chefs, as he prepares for the opening of more branches, SCMP reported.

In the comments section of one of Ox Lan Beef Noodle's TikTok posts, the restaurant hinted that it is set to open a stall in Malmo, a coastal city in southern Sweden.

A bowl of noodles at the restaurant goes for 159 Swedish krona (S$20).

For context, a similar bowl would costs about 10 times less in China's first-tier cities.

From musician to entrepreneur 

Despite the eatery's success so far, opening a restaurant was never the dream for Zhou.

Having graduated with a pop music major in 2015, the Chinese man found it hard to succeed in the highly competitive music industry, he told SCMP.

He pivoted and pursued a Master's degree in management instead.

Zhou began his first start-up in the wellness industry in 2019.

But he had his sights overseas and, using the capital from said start-up, Zhou invested 3 million yuan in a bid to introduce Lanzhou noodles to Sweden.

"Just as Western fast food has spread throughout China’s streets, I want to promote traditional Chinese food like Lanzhou noodles worldwide," he shared with the Hong Kong publication.

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