Dim sum is not only a meal enjoyed at a restaurant, it’s also a time to connect with others.
This became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic when socializing was restricted and meeting with families and friends over dim sum was verboten.
Long-time friends Marie Wong, a Richmond resident, and Pauline Kong decided to create a board game called Steam Up to replicate this culturally important pastime and teach others about dim sum culture.
“Dim sum is how I connect with family and friends and when the pandemic hit, it actually took away that connection,” said Wong.
“Steam Up comes in and tries to fill in the gap and is meant to bring that connection back to people regardless of whether we’re at home or at the restaurant.”
The game features a moveable turntable game board, stackable steamers and iconic dim sum games pieces like shrimp dumplings, BBQ meat buns, sticky rice and even phoenix claws.
Kong told the Richmond News they wanted to incorporate cultural awareness throughout the game.
“Dim sum is something many people can relate to, and especially for us, culturally,” said Kong.
“We wanted to design something that is authentic, highly related to us while teaching families and kids about the culture.”
She added there are subtle parts of the game that teach people about Asian culture such as information about the 12 zodiacs and why the number four is blank on the dice.
Steam Up took three years to create, starting with the initial design, then a funding campaign through Kickstarter and finally the official launch this April.
“It’s a meaningful moment for the both of us as women of colour trying to create and share a game based off of our culture and childhood,” said Wong.
“We hope people can learn about new food, try it and learn a little bit about a culture that they haven’t seen before. And of course, for those who are familiar with it, we hope it brings back nostalgic feelings.”
