American Magazine: November 2013

teamwork
SHANGHAI EXPRESS
Kyle Long, Kogod/BSBA ’07 + Jamie Barys, SOC/BA ’07
Roasted starfish, stewed crawfish, and deep-fried water snakes BUTCHERED TO ORDER. Exotic eats are all in a day’s work
for Long and Barys, founders of UNTOUR SHANGHAI, a company that caters to foodies and adventure seekers from around
the globe. “After seeing typical ‘follow the flag’ tours, we knew we wanted to showcase a part of the city most tourists don’t have
access to,” Long says. Though they also offer jogging sightseeing tours and cultural outings, culinary tours, RATED NO. 1 IN
SHANGHAI by travel website TripAdvisor, make up the bulk of their business. Guests include tourists, expats, and locals who
want to tickle their tastebuds at Shanghai’s famous night markets and mom-and-pop noodle shops. ON THE MENU: Yunnanstyle,
deep-fried insect platter, which includes honeybees, bamboo worms, and dragonflies (“the wings tend to get stuck in your
throat,” warns Long). Chief eating officer Barys and chief running officer Long studied abroad together in Beijing during their
junior year at AU. They vowed to return—and in 2010, they launched UnTour. FAVORITE DESTINATION: “Whenever we’re
away from Shanghai for too long, we crave spicy peanut sesame noodles at Wei Xiang Zhai,” says Barys, a former dining writer.
“That’s our first stop back.”
AMERICAN.EDU/ALUMNI 45