The first time I tried to fold a dumpling, I was a pre-teen. My fingers were clumsy and the folds looked more like crumpled paper than dumplings. My mom took one look and kicked me out of the kitchen.

I still laugh about it because somehow, over twenty years later, I opened my own dumpling shop.

My family’s story has travelled a long way to get here. My great-grandparents left Húběi 湖北, China, and settled in West Bengal, India, back in the 1920s. Four generations grew up in the city of Kolkata before my parents moved to Taipei, Taiwan and eventually Vancouver, Canada, where my brother and I were born. Each place added something new — different cultures, flavours, and traditions — but one thing always stayed the same: dumplings.

For us, dumplings are more than just food. They keep us connected to our roots, no matter how far from home we are. I grew up sitting around the table with family and friends, wrapping dumplings, and laughing as we swapped life stories. Those moments taught me that food brings people together, and that belief is at the heart of Mèiwèi 妹味.

With love,
Cynthia (a.k.a Mèi Mèi)