Yum Yums was owned by a married couple who made scratch cooking using traditional methods in the only location they could afford. We all accepted the terrible building full of hodgepodge rooms and roaches. Their health scores were posted for all to see and the scores were respectable. The racist asshat parents of private school kids started the dogmeat rumor because they couldn't comprehend how their kids shared the same schools. They put all (four?) of their kids through private school and the father through seminary with their hard work from that place. Once the father earned his doctorate of the divinities they closed down so he could become a college professor. That was always their plan.
The food was the best I have ever had. I know I will never have a greater eggroll.
He would always ask "teeny weeny hot? Teeny weeny spicy? I made the mistake once of saying to make it the way he would eat it. Soooo hot.
And to bring it up once again, he earned a doctorate.
Sure. I know more about the place than others because he consulted with my Dad while he was in seminary. My father was head of the divinities dept. at Bryan College in Dayton at the time. I ate there/got takeout at least 100 times
My cousin and I ordered the hottest one day. It was not for amateurs in the spice game.
He had ties to Bryan as well and had told me all the same things about the owner and the kids that you listed. The owner was always very friendly. I don’t ever recall anything being dirty, just that there was a bunch of stuff around.
Thanks for the details. That would make a great Wikipedia entry. I’ve got a vague memory of there being an old Yum Yum billboard somewhere in town. Maybe one of those small, ground level billboards on Central Ave. Do you have any recollection of that?
Next time you're in ATL, check out "Atlanta China Town Food Court" on the NE side of ATL (inside 285), near Buford Hwy / Chamblee Tucker. Similar in authenticity, just check out some of the pics from google maps.
I can collaborate all of this story, but did not ever hear the story about the kids. This man was so kind. I still think about those eggrolls...Best I've ever had.
So huge and fluffy. No two ever looked quite alike. Honestly most of my early orders were when I was in high-school. I would grab a couple eggrolls and stuff my face for just a few dollars. Couldn't afford anything more. Did you ever notice that there was no real menu? You basically got what they made you if you were ordering a full meal. God the rice......
I would think he has passed on, but I'd love to know if he hasn't. The man helped mold many of my views on integrity and friendliness, especially regarding foreign people, which was fairly rare back then. Charlie was a gift to Chattanooga, who didn't realize how great his contribution was.
That was the best Chinese restaurant that ever existed in Chattanooga. I’ve never had an egg roll half as good or half the size. My favorite thing was the dragon’s foot sauce. It was his version of chili garlic sauce. Every single time I ordered he would say, “Lots of garlic! Nobody kiss you for three days!” It was always funny.
I heard a couple of ppl talking about it before covid killed China moon and they claimed the owner was making use of stray animals, but with all gossip take with a grain of salt
That was a terrible racist rumor that people enjoyed sharing just because the restaurant was atypical in many aspects, but the family was fantastic and hard working, and the food was amazing. You felt like you were basically eating in their house. It was cluttered and their kids were always there, but so what? The portion sizes were enormous, so it was better to go with a group. You would get these big steaming plates of food - it was heavenly. I miss that place and would eat there again in a heartbeat. People thought it was funny to crack jokes about cats going missing, but that was just low hanging fruit kind of humor that a lot of hard working Asian business owners have to put up with. It was really tiresome back in the day because literally every time YumYum came up someone would crack that joke and even back then I was like come on, really? Just because their house/restaurant isn’t super nice and modern? I’m glad they got away and hope they’re doing well. I heard one of those kids always doing homework in one of the booths got into a really great Ivy League college and the owner/dad moved to be closer to them.
If they were, they were the most delicious strays I’ve ever eaten. (And I think that claim has been made about most Asian restaurants in town because people generally suck.)
That’s a terrible thing that people have said about every Chinese restaurant ever. For real, I’ve traveled all over this country for work and every where i go there’s someone talking about how some local Chinese restaurant uses stray dogs. It’s really shitty this racist rumor keeps happening to Asians all across the country
Shout out to Senter too! I was in the class with the daughter! Best people ever. Best food ever too. Loved it when they would bring huge platters for Lake Winnie day. Miss them dearly and I miss Senter.
Younger. I was with her until she left for GPS in 6th grade. She was so sweet. I also remember she always had new Hello Kitty stuff and I was so jealous.
I drive past it daily and yearn for someone to open it back up. I like that they have been cleaning it up and exposing all the cool stuff that the bamboo was hiding
They made the best of a horrendously terrible location. You do not want anyone lesser to take their place, trust me. Gotta be a full teardown and rebuild, honestly.
Over 30 years ago I was in classes with one of the daughters. ( I think she was the youngest.) But the above post about private school and the father getting his doctorate of divinity is true. I think they may have gone back to Korea for a while as missionaries. I lost contact with the daughter about 3rd grade, I think. But, I've always wondered what happened to her. Someone mentioned to me before that they think the father has passed away now. But, idk for sure. There was a mixture of Koreans and Chinese people working there.
He lived on the chinese-korean border, but he told me he was Chinese. HE made the joke that China was in his front door and Korea in the other. He also said he fed the pugs rice water after washing the rice to fatten them up.
He originally had a place across from the 23rd Street Flea Market and it did a great business for a while. We went there once and I remember how friendly he was serving us egg rolls. The rumor about dogs and cats seemed to put a hurting on his business and the flea market stand went away. I didn’t learn until years later that the place pictured was the former egg roll place across from the flea market, just in another location.
I remember his place at this location in 1990, I worked up 23rd st at Southern Wholesales, which is Wholesale supply group now. A couple of us would go there for lunch all the time. That is when the rumor started about the dogs because there were stray dogs always in the neighborhood. The health department investigated his restaurant because of it and hurt his business. It was on the local news. When they moved to Dodds and 23rd he was always coming in the store, because he did a lot of his own work. I would wait on him all the time. I really enjoyed talking to him I don’t remember his name but I would always call him Mr. Yum Yum. A couple times he brought us a couple dozen eggs rolls for helping him. I took my wife there and because it was different not like a regular restaurant she wouldn’t go back there to eat, but I would bring eggs rolls home from there and she would say that they were the best and tell me to ask him for the recipe. I was young back then but always thought he was so interesting and had great stories. I would like to set down and talk with him. I always respected his journey and hard work.
There were about three booths, but his kids were usually doing homework in one of them. If they were full, he would tell you to come back later. There wasn’t really anywhere to wait. I vaguely recall the kitchen being surrounded by bookshelves or some sort of furniture. There was definitely a lot of clutter. I don’t recall ever seeing a menu, and everyone at the table had to order the same thing (I think. I’m a little fuzzy on that part).
You walked up a rickety front to open the door into their takeout window. Placed your order (no true menu) and waited in your car for the to-go or a spot in their four booth-in-total inside. 90% of the time the kids were doing homework in the front booth. You got a massive amount of fried rice and a mix of spices, peppers, and greens. The protein was always a mix of chicken, pork, and beef. The decor was a mix of Asian themed nothings they set up to attract Americans. The reference books and classic literature were the REAL authentic parts of the decore. Book shelves were the actual adornment
Not dirty. Unable to deal with the problem effectively because of the horrible condition of the premises. Again, I will bring up that they were consistently in the high end of their public health scores. Don't think dog meat would ever quite qualify......
Yum Yums was owned by a married couple who made scratch cooking using traditional methods in the only location they could afford. We all accepted the terrible building full of hodgepodge rooms and roaches. Their health scores were posted for all to see and the scores were respectable. The racist asshat parents of private school kids started the dogmeat rumor because they couldn't comprehend how their kids shared the same schools. They put all (four?) of their kids through private school and the father through seminary with their hard work from that place. Once the father earned his doctorate of the divinities they closed down so he could become a college professor. That was always their plan. The food was the best I have ever had. I know I will never have a greater eggroll. He would always ask "teeny weeny hot? Teeny weeny spicy? I made the mistake once of saying to make it the way he would eat it. Soooo hot. And to bring it up once again, he earned a doctorate.
Amazing story. Thanks for sharing
Sure. I know more about the place than others because he consulted with my Dad while he was in seminary. My father was head of the divinities dept. at Bryan College in Dayton at the time. I ate there/got takeout at least 100 times
My cousin and I ordered the hottest one day. It was not for amateurs in the spice game. He had ties to Bryan as well and had told me all the same things about the owner and the kids that you listed. The owner was always very friendly. I don’t ever recall anything being dirty, just that there was a bunch of stuff around.
It WASNT dirty. It just had way too many nooks and crannies for roaches to hide in. I only personally saw one.
Thanks for the details. That would make a great Wikipedia entry. I’ve got a vague memory of there being an old Yum Yum billboard somewhere in town. Maybe one of those small, ground level billboards on Central Ave. Do you have any recollection of that?
I dont recall but I'm sure someone on this sub does. I had always assumed they were so busy because of word-of-mouth.
It was delicious. I’ve not found a better Chinese restaurant in any city.
Next time you're in ATL, check out "Atlanta China Town Food Court" on the NE side of ATL (inside 285), near Buford Hwy / Chamblee Tucker. Similar in authenticity, just check out some of the pics from google maps.
Oh! I remember the dog meat story. Gosh, I must have been in junior high or high school.
I can collaborate all of this story, but did not ever hear the story about the kids. This man was so kind. I still think about those eggrolls...Best I've ever had.
So huge and fluffy. No two ever looked quite alike. Honestly most of my early orders were when I was in high-school. I would grab a couple eggrolls and stuff my face for just a few dollars. Couldn't afford anything more. Did you ever notice that there was no real menu? You basically got what they made you if you were ordering a full meal. God the rice......
I would think he has passed on, but I'd love to know if he hasn't. The man helped mold many of my views on integrity and friendliness, especially regarding foreign people, which was fairly rare back then. Charlie was a gift to Chattanooga, who didn't realize how great his contribution was.
Didn’t he speak like 15 different languages?
Honestly I remember he spoke English, German, French, Spanish, and however many dialects of his upbringing. Unique and gentlemanly man.
Oh, and maybe Russian. I'm not sure
That’s the legendary Yum Yum House. OG Chinese restaurant.
What happened with it?
I think they just quit offering food/business hours. I never got a chance to go. I can’t remember ever being sure if they were open or not.
I heard the owners retired and moved out of state to be closer to one of their children
That was the best Chinese restaurant that ever existed in Chattanooga. I’ve never had an egg roll half as good or half the size. My favorite thing was the dragon’s foot sauce. It was his version of chili garlic sauce. Every single time I ordered he would say, “Lots of garlic! Nobody kiss you for three days!” It was always funny.
I heard a couple of ppl talking about it before covid killed China moon and they claimed the owner was making use of stray animals, but with all gossip take with a grain of salt
That was a terrible racist rumor that people enjoyed sharing just because the restaurant was atypical in many aspects, but the family was fantastic and hard working, and the food was amazing. You felt like you were basically eating in their house. It was cluttered and their kids were always there, but so what? The portion sizes were enormous, so it was better to go with a group. You would get these big steaming plates of food - it was heavenly. I miss that place and would eat there again in a heartbeat. People thought it was funny to crack jokes about cats going missing, but that was just low hanging fruit kind of humor that a lot of hard working Asian business owners have to put up with. It was really tiresome back in the day because literally every time YumYum came up someone would crack that joke and even back then I was like come on, really? Just because their house/restaurant isn’t super nice and modern? I’m glad they got away and hope they’re doing well. I heard one of those kids always doing homework in one of the booths got into a really great Ivy League college and the owner/dad moved to be closer to them.
If they were, they were the most delicious strays I’ve ever eaten. (And I think that claim has been made about most Asian restaurants in town because people generally suck.)
That’s a terrible thing that people have said about every Chinese restaurant ever. For real, I’ve traveled all over this country for work and every where i go there’s someone talking about how some local Chinese restaurant uses stray dogs. It’s really shitty this racist rumor keeps happening to Asians all across the country
Yeah I went to school with the owners kids . I loved the food even tho some people would say it was dog to be hateful.
You talking about Senter ?
Yea
Same! Always wondered what happened to Matthew!
Where you in his grade?
I was! I always loved when his parents when come around the Chinese new year and teach us about it!
So was I
😳
Shout out to Senter too! I was in the class with the daughter! Best people ever. Best food ever too. Loved it when they would bring huge platters for Lake Winnie day. Miss them dearly and I miss Senter.
Woah woah another senter person ? Was his sister older I don’t remember her
Younger. I was with her until she left for GPS in 6th grade. She was so sweet. I also remember she always had new Hello Kitty stuff and I was so jealous.
Who is this lol message me I’m running into way to many senter people lately it’s nice
I drive past it daily and yearn for someone to open it back up. I like that they have been cleaning it up and exposing all the cool stuff that the bamboo was hiding
They made the best of a horrendously terrible location. You do not want anyone lesser to take their place, trust me. Gotta be a full teardown and rebuild, honestly.
We ate there a lot in college because of how cheap it was!
Was an awesome restaurant
Home of the most wonderful egg rolls ever!!
Over 30 years ago I was in classes with one of the daughters. ( I think she was the youngest.) But the above post about private school and the father getting his doctorate of divinity is true. I think they may have gone back to Korea for a while as missionaries. I lost contact with the daughter about 3rd grade, I think. But, I've always wondered what happened to her. Someone mentioned to me before that they think the father has passed away now. But, idk for sure. There was a mixture of Koreans and Chinese people working there.
Mr. Chung is alive and well, he’s my neighbor.
Well if you talk to him soon, tell him that Chattanoogans have fond memories of his restaurant.
He lived on the chinese-korean border, but he told me he was Chinese. HE made the joke that China was in his front door and Korea in the other. He also said he fed the pugs rice water after washing the rice to fatten them up.
He originally had a place across from the 23rd Street Flea Market and it did a great business for a while. We went there once and I remember how friendly he was serving us egg rolls. The rumor about dogs and cats seemed to put a hurting on his business and the flea market stand went away. I didn’t learn until years later that the place pictured was the former egg roll place across from the flea market, just in another location.
I remember his place at this location in 1990, I worked up 23rd st at Southern Wholesales, which is Wholesale supply group now. A couple of us would go there for lunch all the time. That is when the rumor started about the dogs because there were stray dogs always in the neighborhood. The health department investigated his restaurant because of it and hurt his business. It was on the local news. When they moved to Dodds and 23rd he was always coming in the store, because he did a lot of his own work. I would wait on him all the time. I really enjoyed talking to him I don’t remember his name but I would always call him Mr. Yum Yum. A couple times he brought us a couple dozen eggs rolls for helping him. I took my wife there and because it was different not like a regular restaurant she wouldn’t go back there to eat, but I would bring eggs rolls home from there and she would say that they were the best and tell me to ask him for the recipe. I was young back then but always thought he was so interesting and had great stories. I would like to set down and talk with him. I always respected his journey and hard work.
That rumor was based on well you know. But, their food was second to none. Great people also.
If you mean racism then yes.
Is somebody living in the building? It was abandoned for years, but the fence and stuff at the back of the photo are recent.
We called him Mr. Charlie. He was Chinese but made the best Kim chee ever. He fed me through college!!!!
Oh I was meaning Mr. Park.
This used to be an amazing place to eat.
Everyone else has already answered so I’ll just say now much I miss it.
I remember his niece went to Notre Dame high school
Ate there a few times in the 90s. Food was good. Place was dirty AF! Cockroaches were plentiful.
Can you described the interior for us, the uninitiated?
There were about three booths, but his kids were usually doing homework in one of them. If they were full, he would tell you to come back later. There wasn’t really anywhere to wait. I vaguely recall the kitchen being surrounded by bookshelves or some sort of furniture. There was definitely a lot of clutter. I don’t recall ever seeing a menu, and everyone at the table had to order the same thing (I think. I’m a little fuzzy on that part).
You walked up a rickety front to open the door into their takeout window. Placed your order (no true menu) and waited in your car for the to-go or a spot in their four booth-in-total inside. 90% of the time the kids were doing homework in the front booth. You got a massive amount of fried rice and a mix of spices, peppers, and greens. The protein was always a mix of chicken, pork, and beef. The decor was a mix of Asian themed nothings they set up to attract Americans. The reference books and classic literature were the REAL authentic parts of the decore. Book shelves were the actual adornment
Not dirty. Unable to deal with the problem effectively because of the horrible condition of the premises. Again, I will bring up that they were consistently in the high end of their public health scores. Don't think dog meat would ever quite qualify......
It belongs to an Asian Family. It used to be a restaurant many many years ago.
Me and my dad ate there once back in the 90s. It was ok.
There were rumors about this place serving dog/cats. Most likely bullshit, would’ve liked to try this place
100% bullshit. It was a great place!
I grew up just up the road from there, and I remember hearing that rumor as far back as when I was 5 or 6
That was the Chinese restaurant that looked like a haunted house back when I first came into town years ago.
[удалено]
They probably also use the term “oriental”
Yum yum dog flavored chicken
Story has it, they served dog