Back in Japan, Fumiji Aoki wanted to go to college and become a lawyer. But the support for her to achieve those dreams was unfortunately not there. So before finishing high school, she flew to Virginia as a foreign exchange student at 17 years old. Now, she operates Ms. Fu’s Yummy Food Truck, our latest addition to The Best New Jersey Food Trucks.
Fumiji learned to speak English by watching TV shows and movies like Wayne’s World and Beverly Hills: 90210. Throughout the 90s, she found a successful career in finance before moving over to the banking side of things. But after nearly two decades in the field, she no longer found her job as fulfilling. So in 2014, Fumiji made a major career change.
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She named her food truck Ms. Fu’s Yummy Food Truck. (“Ms. Fu” is the nickname given to her from her son’s friends.) The truck serves Asian-fusion-inspired dishes, mixing Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and even American styles into the menu. Fumiji’s son, Taichi Rebele, helps operate the truck, and will soon manage his own food truck as well.
Best of NJ spoke to Fumiji about growing up in Japan, moving to America, and opening two food trucks.
The Best New Jersey Food Trucks Interview: Ms. Fu’s Yummy Food Truck
Best of NJ: Can you tell us about yourself?
Fumiji Aoki: Originally, I’m from Japan. I came here when I was 17 as an exchange student.
BONJ: Where were you located in the U.S.?
Fumiji: First I came to Virginia and then went to college in New Hampshire at Plymouth State University. There’s not a lot of Asian students [laughs]. That’s why I chose to go to school, because I needed to learn English quickly; and I needed to force myself not to speak anything but English. I learned a lot of English watching TV and movies.
I just passed 30 years in the US, and I was in finance for 20 years. I’m still CFP, keeping my license, but I don’t do anything with that now. I do Ms. Fu’s Yummy Food Truck full time.
BONJ: Where are you from in Japan?
Fumiji: Tokyo. I was born and raised in Yokosuka, but my family is in Tokyo now.
BONJ: What made you start your own food truck?
Fumiji: I love food, and I love to eat, mainly [laughs]. I love to eat. And I feel like the happiness comes from eating food and hanging out with good people. So I always cook for all the family members and all the family birthday parties and get-togethers.
BONJ: When did you open your food truck?
Fumiji: 2015. In 2014, I set up my company, but Ms. Fu’s Yummy Food Truck has been running since 2015.
BONJ: What was your first season like?
Fumiji: I wasn’t in the food industry before starting a food truck. So I YouTube’d everything and learned everything [laughs]. I didn’t know what worked, what did not work.
The first season was rough, and I learned a lot of lessons. I used to just write the menu on the side of the truck, and I erased it every day. I’m like, “Okay, this is not working.” I had a lot of fun and a lot of pain.
I’m going through that again right now with a second truck. It’s going to be an Asian fusion taco truck. And my son is going to be hopefully run it. It’s called Bebop Food Truck.
BONJ: What’s your cuisine like on Ms. Fu’s Yummy Food Truck?
Fumiji: It’s probably not authentic Japanese food. It has a lot of twists to it, like a cheesesteak. We have Asian flavor cheesesteak, it has ribeye on Portuguese bread. What I want to eat is on the truck, like fried chicken wings.
Yaki Soba Noodles is definitely our staple, like, popular item. But we use different special salt that we have that is different than other Japanese places. So I think it has Japanese flavor, but with a twist, too. And we have Pork Buns that won at the taco festival, as Asian bun. We are doing Korean kimchi tacos, and we have the chicken nuggets and Japanese tacos.
BONJ: Has your time in Japan influenced the cuisine of Ms. Fu’s Yummy Food Truck?
Fumiji: Yeah! I always think that Japanese people make a lot of different cuisine better. Like, Japanese ramen. Ramen comes from China, definitely. But I think when I eat the noodles, Japanese ramen is the best [laughs].
I think Tokyo has more Michelin stars than any other place in the world. So when you go anywhere, you can find the best of everything, even convenience. Even the Japanese 7 Eleven, they have single cups of coffee. They grind it right there and brew the coffee right there.
BONJ: What kind of catering options do you offer?
Fumiji: We do a lot of private events—weddings, corporate lunches, corporate dinners. We do a lot of bar mitzvahs.
We can do a lot of vegan options, too. There’s not a lot of vegan-only trucks, so we can be the vegan truck for an event or offer vegan options. It’s easy for us to do that.
Click here to see more of The Best New Jersey Food Trucks.
All Photos: © Patrick Lombardi / Best of NJ
