On September 3, 2026, the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY)’s Women’s Committee hosted an evening of dumpling-making, community-building, and cultural connection at its dumpling-making class in Chinatown. The event brought together AABANY members and friends for a hands-on culinary experience, with attendees learning how to make dumplings completely from scratch. The event was generously sponsored by Ashurst Perkins Coie and hosted through The Dumpling Circle.
From the moment participants arrived, the room was filled with excitement as attendees gathered around workstations and introduced themselves over nostalgic snacks and refreshments like sour plum tea and haw flakes. Attendees received random seat assignments to foster new connections. Yi, the founder of the Dumpling Circle, began the evening by emphasizing how making dumplings and eating together were important family traditions with her now 97-year-old grandma. She guided attendees through the fundamentals of dumpling making including how to knead and shape the dough wrapper from scratch.
As the class progressed, attendees rolled, filled, and folded their dumplings. Experienced cooks and first-time dumpling makers alike exchanged stories, compared folding techniques, and helped one another perfect their creations. As Yi emphasized, none of us “owned” our dumplings – they were a communal effort. Attendees also participated in a friendly competition to see who could come up with the most creative dumpling shape.
After their dumplings were assembled, Yi and her team began boiling the dumplings in the kitchen, while the attendees helped to clean up and push all tables together to create one large communal table. Once the dumplings were cooked, attendees gathered to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The shared experience of preparing and sharing food together created an atmosphere that encouraged meaningful networking and forging new friendships.
We extend our gratitude to The Dumpling Circle and Welcome to Chinatown for hosting and leading a wonderful class that brought together culture, food, and community.
Finally, thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the evening a success. We look forward to seeing you at future Women’s Committee programs and continuing to build connections across the AABANY community.
This event was covered by Law 360. Check out our In the News blog post about that article here.
Learn more about the Women’s Committee here, and reach out to Bianca Lin (Allegaert Berger & Vogel LLP) and Michelle Nguyen (Ashurst Perkins Coie), Co-Chairs of the Women’s Committee, and Nisha Gera (Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone LLP), Vice Chair of the Women’s Committee, to get more involved.
-Written by Michelle Nguyen, Co-Chair, AABANY’s Women’s Committee