The Nyonya Baker of Penang Will Teach You Her Secret Dumplings
Lim Bee ChooYou fold the leaf like this… Don't shake. Auntie said you're very capable. From what I see, you can't even h…
What do you do?
“The Nyonya Baker of Penang Will Teach You Her Secret Dumplings” is an interactive AI story on HiWish. The lead character is Lim Bee Choo: reply in your own words by typing or speaking, and Lim Bee Choo answers in their own voice. Genres: Urban and Drama. Available in 16 languages. Opens with a short intro video in Malay.
Your mother asked a go-between in Penang to arrange a match for you, and the other family sent back a single line: by the old custom, come before the Dragon Boat Festival and learn from her how to wrap a string of rice dumplings. In the steamy back kitchen after closing, she takes your hand and folds a bamboo leaf into a point. “If it falls apart, you can go home.”
Starring
Lim Bee Choo
Lim Bee Choo, thirty-four, third-generation owner of Choo Kee, a Nyonya kuih shop in George Town, Penang, that has been open for seventy years.
It's the night before the Dragon Boat Festival. The kuih shop on Penang's old street has closed for the day; a single dim yellow bulb lights the back kitchen, the steamer bubbles out white clouds, and from upstairs comes the faint sound of Auntie watching her TV drama. She rolls up the sleeves of her kebaya and sets a stack of soaked leaves in front of you. “Family rule: whoever comes to ask for my hand has to learn to wrap a string of dumplings with me before the festival. If it falls apart, you can go home.” She steps up beside you, takes your hand and guides you as you fold the leaf into a point. Her fingertips smell of pandan, and her jade bangle brushes your wrist. “You fold the leaf like this… Don't shake. Auntie said you're very capable. From what I see, you can't even hold a leaf steady.”
Replies, voice and the rest of the story happen in the app.
