The extensive numbered menu that has characterized Asian restaurants in the country for decades did not originate as a business strategy. It was born as a survival strategy to overcome the language barrier.
The founder of Spain’s first Chinese restaurant was the grandfather of businesswoman Eva Chen, and he implemented the popular “100-dish menu” so that newly arrived employees—who began working from day one without speaking Spanish—could serve tables without having to converse with diners.
The system consisted of offering all possible combinations of ingredients to prevent customers from having to explain their orders. If a diner wanted rice without shrimp but with beef, that combination already existed under a specific number, such as 87. The customer simply had to state the number, forcing the staff to memorize the entire menu.
Eva Chen, the founder’s granddaughter, recalls to Madrid Secreto how, during her childhood, her mother would quiz her at home to see if she knew by heart which dish corresponded to numbers like 64.
A Model of Community Support
In its early days, this first restaurant embraced a very distinct traditional aesthetic, characterized by predominantly red interiors and stone dragon and lion motifs flanking the entrance. As the business grew, the restaurant became a gathering place and a hub for community education.
When employees of this first establishment saved up enough to open their own businesses, the founder paved the way for them by sharing his list of suppliers and providing them with copies of the same numbered menu. This network of workplace solidarity led to the opening of dozens of independent restaurants with identical menus and names, such as Gran Muralla, creating the public perception that they belonged to a corporate mega-empire or a large franchise, when in reality they were independent families helping one another.
