For some reason, I always forget the name of my favourite dim sum dish. It's the first thing I think about when we go to dim sum - I think of the crispy, almost wafer-like outside, the purple-y, starchy inside - and I worry about how I can get my Poppa to order it for us (by order, I mean 'flag the lady with the right cart down'). Every time I ask her what it's called and then it slips from my mind when I start eating it.

But that was before I lived with my grandparents and I finally learned it. Wu Gok. Taro dumpling.

Taro is a type of tuber that's popular in Asia (among other places). I just call it a purple potato. The funny thing about it is that, aside from my precious wu gok (and apparently taro cakes? I've only had lo bak go - turnip cake - which is clearly the better of the two), taro is normally used in desserts. It fits the Chinese model of dessert foods - dense, starchy and sweet (sugar is added) - and it is, quite frankly, the best flavour for ice cream and bubble tea. (Don't argue with me here; I've done extensive research.)

Since I think of it as a potato, it got me thinking: have I eaten a lot of Chinese dishes with regular potatoes? There is this awesome curry dish that my Poppa makes, but we eat it rarely. She uses it in tong (soup) too, but I couldn't think of any other dishes off of the top of my head. So I decided to ask her if potatoes appeared in more (Cantonese) dishes.

"Mmmm....No."

"Really? Oh. How come you don't make that curried potato dish more?"

"I don't like potatoes. I ate them too much when I was small."

This was strange for me to hear because my Poppa's father was a big business man who always took her out for yum cha (tea and dim sum). He owned a dye factory and they had a big house. How did she end up eating so much of this Irish staple?

Communism. My Poppa explained that, in 1949, people came and took all the furniture from their house. Took her father's factory away from him. He tried to get it back, filled the house again with more furniture. But those people came back and told him that his house was too big for them and threw all of their furniture out on the street.

She told me that they took him away for a while, and, while he was gone, she was taken care of by an aunt, and everyday they had to eat the same meal: a sort of stew with veggies and potatoes. Every day the same dish, with the same potatoes, because no one could afford any meat. She told me then that China is only good for visiting, not for living - "You know, I really hated those people."

That same day, my Dad asked her her opinion about the riots going on in Hong Kong. She told him that she hated the young people. He was really surprised, because weren't they rioting against Communism?

"No, I hate young people. They were the ones that took away my father's factory, threw out our furniture, and made us eat potatoes." 

The young people were the ones who carried out the rules of the party. And regardless of which side in Hong Kong won, it would be young people who would carry out the new rule. If it was bad, then back to potatoes. And now, here I was, a young person, asking her to make more of what she hated. Man, I hate young people too.

Q: Why dwell on the past when you can eat meat?

A: Too bad, potatoes.

p.s. Potatoes are a thing in other Chinese cuisine, just not really Hong Kong/Cantonese/my Poppa's cooking.