[1][2] He fled to Taiwan when the Communist Party took over mainland China in 1949, and opened a street food stall in Yingqiao [zh], Taipei in 1951, where he created the popular dish Mongolian barbecue.

[5] Wu's food stall became very popular, and even attracted foreign diplomats and wealthy businesspeople as customers despite being a cheap eatery.

[5] When he exited the restaurant business to develop his xiangsheng career, numerous imitators emerged to capitalize on the popularity of the dish he created, which was later also introduced to the West.

[14] On 14 October 2018, Wu Zhaonan died from multiple organ failure in Los Angeles, California, aged 92.

[3] A memorial service was held at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on 2 November, which was attended by many dignitaries including Ma Ying-jeou, Hung Hsiu-chu and Jason Hu, as well as Wu's disciples including Lang Tzu-yun and Liu Erjin.