There is one thing in common between what Bai Yunzhong has eaten up until this week and what he is served now: He doesn’t pay it. Chung, a gastronomic influencer whose New York adventures are best known … He has walked out of expensive restaurants without paying on dozens of occasions in recent weeks. Now she can’t go anywhere because she’s imprisoned on Rikers Island, New York’s famous prison island. And you don’t have to have credit cards or view Instagram stories to be able to pay for a slice of prison pizza and boiled cabbage. Chung, who is of Taiwanese origin, is not only facing fraud crimes. It could be so He was deported: According to local media, he could have missed the expiration date of his student visa.
New York’s “Simba” queen is in Rikers’ cell after trolling a few restaurants in Williamsburg, the upscale Brooklyn neighborhood where she lives. The young woman, 34 years old, is A classic case of cheeky “foodie”.But with a lot of excitement: He stopped at establishments, asked for what he wanted and then offered to pay with his social media spokesman. Some restaurants turned a blind eye. Others called the police. Agents have shown up dozens of times in recent weeks and detained her. Until this Monday, when a judge imposed bail on him, which he did not pay, and he ended up in the dangerous Rikers prison, which has once again made the news for episodes of prisoner abuse.
Chung is a mysterious character. Her Instagram account reflects the shared life of the “jet set” and “millennials”, where the extent of the truth is unknown: luxury brands, cool cars, trips to Las Vegas and Miami, upscale restaurants and bars, shopping and more shopping… Plus, numerous nude photos of herself, in which she defines herself as someone “1.63, 99 lbs (45 kg) and without plastic surgery.”
Queen Simba came to the United States to study at Pratt Institute, a university specializing in design and fine arts, also in Brooklyn. He claims on his LinkedIn account that he was working Graphic designer For JPMorgan Chase as of 2022, but the bank said so There was no one by his name In the template. It’s impossible to know how much truth to life Chung showed on Instagram, or who paid for it.
The truth is that since the beginning of October, he has tried to maintain this lifestyle, but on the face of it. He was one of his first victims Franciea Michelin-starred brasserie in Williamsburg. He came in on October 22 and ordered foie gras, bucatini, a $52 lamb dish, and chocolate mousse. the total, $188 Excluding taxes and gratuities. When the bill arrived, he said he was very sorry, because he had been waiting for the money to come from his family. The next day, as a form of payment, he sent the restaurant a post on Instagram that included the delicious dishes that his 45-kilogram body had devoured. He came back a second time, and ran away again without paying. The third time, they did not allow him to do so. “I’m glad they finally got justice for him,” restaurant owner John Winterman told the New York Post, the local newspaper that followed Chung’s adventures the most. “Only in a place like New York does someone like that become a kind of folk hero,” Winterman lamented.
Social media star
Because, Simba after Simba, Chung has become famous in the Williamsburg restaurant scene and some are no longer surprised. But, at the same time, he became a kind of fraudster Social media star He gained many followers after learning his story. Along the way, eat for free at Motorino, Lavender Lake, Hole in the Wall, Misi… and even at popular restaurants peter luger, New York steak temple. She appeared there with her hair and makeup to perfection, with luxurious accessories and spent hours photographing her food, like any “influencer.”
Most restaurants end up calling the police, but Chung will be arrested and then released. Immediately, he went back to his old ways, which wasn’t just about not paying at restaurants. He did not do this with his rent. According to the post, it should already be $40,000 from his studio In a luxury skyscraper, also in Williamsburg, on the banks of the East River, with the best views of Manhattan. It is scheduled to be vacated next month.
The latest arrest occurred after he did not want to receive $149 in his account at Mole Mexican Restaurant. Judge A imposed Bail is $4,500 Which he has not yet been able to confront. When diners don’t have money, “we usually leave it, if the situation is desperate. But taking pictures with a high-definition camera and an Hermès scarf is a different matter. “He was playing with us,” Matthi Palombino, owner of the Motorino restaurant, where Chung went on November 11, told the New York Times.
Ironically, Chung’s misdeeds and his presence in the press Some restaurants benefit from it. “It gives us more exposure than any of these ‘influencers’ we’ve worked with,” Tom Rose of Hole in the Wall told New York Times. In this crazy New York, which also made a hero to some of Tim Mangione, the young man who fatally shot a health insurance executive from behind on a Manhattan sidewalk, Chung’s fame soared. A drawing will be made for Queen Simba so she can eat for free in restaurants now. When I leave the trullo. If he obtains permission from the immigration authorities not to impose his deportation.