A Place to Belong: China’s Box-Office Hit Once Upon a Time in the Middle East Comes to North America《歡迎來龍餐館》
Movie Information and Stills Courtesy of WELL Go USA Entertainment
Written by Fête Chinoise Editorial Team
Directed by Wen Muye
Starring Shen Teng, Jiang Qiming, Omar Sharif, Aarif Lee Zhi-ting, and Sherif Sabby
Opens in theatre October 9
A restaurant can offer more than a meal: a livelihood, a connection to home, and a place to belong. In director Wen Muye’s 文牧野 Once Upon a Time in the Middle East《歡迎來龍餐館》, these familiar hopes take on new urgency when a Chinese chef’s fresh start abroad is interrupted by war. Starring Shen Teng 沈騰 as chef Xu Fu, the film follows a man who travels to the Middle East to repay his debts and support his family. Together with restaurant manager Ma Junsheng, he helps turn the struggling Dragon Restaurant into a flourishing business. When conflict reaches the city, however, the restaurant becomes a refuge, and Xu Fu must decide how much he is willing to risk for the community he has come to call his own.
For readers familiar with the sacrifices of building a life far from home, the story offers a point of connection through work, food and family. How does our responsibility to others grow when strangers become neighbours? Already a major box-office success in China, where it had earned more than US$318 million by mid-September, the film opens in theatres in Canada and the United States on October 9, 2026.
Synopsis
One of China’s biggest stars, Shen Teng, leads the acclaimed international box office sensation Once Upon a Time in the Middle East. Seeking a fresh start, chef Xu Fu travels to the Middle East to support his family and repay his debts. Alongside restaurant manager Ma Junsheng, he transforms the struggling Dragon Restaurant into a thriving business. But when war engulfs the city, their hard-won success is shattered and the restaurant becomes a refuge for those caught in the conflict. As danger closes in, Xu Fu must risk everything to protect his newfound community and preserve a small beacon of hope amid the devastation.
徐福（沈騰飾）為養家還債遠赴中東中餐館當廚師，在當地結識了大堂經理馬俊生（蔣奇明飾）。他們以地道中國風味廣招八方來客，龍餐廳聲名鵲起。然而隨著戰爭爆發，當地形勢急轉直下，沒有人能夠獨善其身，徐福和馬俊生也不例外，他們的命運將何去何從？戰火中的龍餐廳又將如何維繫？
Creative Team
Executive Producer: Ning Hao 寧浩
Director: Wen Muye 文牧野
Screenwriter: Wen Muye 文牧野, Zhong Wei 鐘偉, Lang Qunli 郎群力
Director of Photography: Wang Boxue 王博學
Starring: Shen Teng 沈騰, Jiang Qiming 蔣奇明, Omar Sharif, Aarif Lee Zhi-ting 李治廷, and Sherif Sabby
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDDLE EAST Official Trailer
Cantonese (with English and Chinese subtitles)
Wen Muye 文牧野
Director/Screenwriter
Born February 14, 1985, in Changchun, Jilin, Wen Muye is one of China's leading young directors of realist cinema. He studied film and television directing at Northeast Normal University and earned a master's degree from Beijing Film Academy, where he studied under director Tian Zhuangzhuang. In 2016, he joined Dirty Monkeys' 72 Transformations Film Project, initiated by Ning Hao. Wen brings socially relevant themes into polished, genre-driven narratives centered on the struggles and perseverance of ordinary people. His restrained storytelling balances humanistic depth with commercial appeal and has helped renew realist Chinese drama in mainstream theatrical cinema.
More from Fête Chiniose
A restaurant can offer more than a meal: a livelihood, a connection to home, and a place to belong. In director Wen Muye’s 文牧野 Once Upon a Time in the Middle East《歡迎來龍餐館》, these familiar hopes take on new urgency when a Chinese chef’s fresh start abroad is interrupted by war. Starring Shen Teng 沈騰 as chef Xu Fu, the film follows a man who travels to the Middle East to repay his debts and support his family. Together with restaurant manager Ma Junsheng, he helps turn the struggling Dragon Restaurant into a flourishing business. When conflict reaches the city, however, the restaurant becomes a refuge, and Xu Fu must decide how much he is willing to risk for the community he has come to call his own.