Lunar New Year is in full swing — and for a Boston-area Chinese restaurant business, it's an increasingly busy time of year.
Dumpling Daughter, founded by Nadia Liu Spellman, has three locations — Weston, Brookline and South Boston. When Spellman was growing up, dumplings made by her mother were a huge part of her childhood.
"When I was in my 20s and working in New York City, I was in my small apartment trying to make dumplings," Spellman said. "I didn't have a recipe to go by, and I also couldn't get them in the supermarkets the way I could get them in the Chinese supermarkets. And so I decided that these dumplings need to be shared with more people."
That was the whole idea behind Dumpling Daughter, a brand that also includes a cookbook and line of frozen foods.
Spellman's mom is Sally Ling, the name behind one of the area's most legendary restaurants. She opened it in the 1980s and helped to usher in a new era of fine Chinese dining in the United States.
Ling was at first against her daughter opening up her own food business in 2014.
"Such a hard business for women," Ling said. "You have very little time to spend the time with the family… But since your kids have a passion for it, you have to support it."
That support is everything for Spellman.
"I know why my mom didn't want me to go into the business, because I think as a mother now, I know I don't want to see my kid to work too hard," Spellman said. "But I also feel that the journey of doing it with support is everything. And so when you work really hard and you become smarter and you travel that path and you have support behind you, it's the most rewarding experience of your life."
A lot has changed in Boston since the 1980s, when Ling opened her restaurant. For one, the Lunar New Year is now recognized as an official holiday in the city.
"I think since the first year of Dumpling Daughter, until now, every single Lunar New Year is incrementally busier because of the awareness around the holiday," Spellman said.
It's a source of pride for Ling to see Chinese cultural representation grow in Boston, and to watch her daughter successfully navigate the food industry with a venture of her own.
"I still feel rewarded that people remember my restaurant," Ling said. "Chinese culture is being recognized by the Westerner, which I'm very proud of."
