This story is part of the Cost of Living Project and was published in collaboration with 285 South.
Making 600 dumplings by hand is no easy task, but Candy Hom knows her customers appreciate the process—and the story behind her work.
Six years ago, Hom started selling frozen dumplings to a small customer base in an H Mart parking lot. From there, her pop-up business—which she called Soupbelly—took off, and Hom earned a reputation as Atlanta’s “dumpling lady” by hosting workshops and telling food stories on her blog. As a Chinese American chef, she blends cultures, and some of her fusion creations have earned her recognition: Last year, Eater Atlanta named Soupbelly the best pop-up of 2024, and Hom’s Cantonese fried-chicken sandwich made it into a cookbook celebrating “fearless innovation” in Atlanta cuisine. But each Lunar New Year, Hom returns to tradition and makes dumplings like her grandmother and mother used to make.
Dumplings, with their pouchlike shape, resemble ancient Chinese coins, and their pleats symbolize good fortune. This year, she made them with spinach wrappers, the color of American money, and added extra pleats for extra luck.
But luck won’t shield her from rising costs—or from the fallout of a potential trade war.
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