ICE Arrests Owner Of YaYa Noodles In Somerset County

MONTGOMERY, NJ — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended the owner of YaYa Noodles in Montgomery and Chinese national who was convicted of illegally acting as an agent of a foreign government.

Ming Xi Zhang was arrested by ICE Newark on Monday in Newark. He remains in ICE custody.

"Any illegal alien conducting activities related to espionage, sabotage or export control against the United States is subject to deportation," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Newark Field Office Director John Tsoukaris.

Zhang is the owner and operator of YaYa Noodles at the Montgomery Shopping Center in Skillman, multiple reports say.

Known as “Sushi John” to some local residents, Zhang has been praised for his culinary prowess, once serving a well-received lunchtime meal to celebrity chef Bobby Flay. He studied electrical engineering at Ocean University of China in Qingdao, worked in human resources for the government, and opened up a restaurant before moving to the United States in 2000 when the Chinese economy was struggling, reports say.

Zhang lawfully entered the United States in June 2000 at the Los Angeles International Airport; however, he violated the terms of his lawful admission, according to ICE.

Zhang was previously convicted by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey for illegally acting as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General.

He was sentenced on April 30, 2024, to probation for three years.

— With reporting by Eric Kiefer

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.