It Happens Here: Homemade dumplings by Mei Mei in Boston's Fenway neighborhood
BOSTON – While the Red Sox seem to get all the attention in Boston's Fenway neighborhood, it is actually a hub for higher learning and the arts.
Nine colleges and Universities are there, along with the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Boston Symphony Hall.
Back Bay Fens park is smack dab in the center, bringing beauty of the country right into the heart of city.
Inside Irene Li's small kitchen space, it's about bringing a unique Chinese taste to Massachusetts.
"For us just getting to share with so many people, is an incredible way to share our love of food," Li said.
Li is the founder of Mei Mei Dumplings, a dumpling company that didn't start out that way.
"We started as a food truck in 2012. It was my brother Andrews idea," Li said.
Along with her sister and brother (Mei Mei means younger sister), they hit the road with a unique Chinese-American menu. And that quickly grew into a real restaurant, then catering, then a cookbook and even sauces.
But then, came 2020.
"When the pandemic hit we were convinced we were taking this business in a certain direction, and then everything changed the rug was pulled out so we had to try every last thing to stay alive," Li said.
And that meant getting Mei Mei back to basics.
"We took a step back and focused on what community meant to us," Li said. "Not just the people who can afford to come eat at the restaurant, but also our neighbors our workers people all over the country looking to connect with each other."
Li took over the company herself and decided to focus on what they did best. And that was the dumplings.
The dumpling, down to the wrapper, is homemade.
To connect the consumers with their product, they go to local farmers markets. Taking the dumplings into every community they can provides an unexpected turn on a whole new journey.
"You just never know where life is going to take you and something that may seem like a detour or pitstop, that may be the new pathway," Li said.
You can buy the dumplings at the Fenway kitchen or at one of the many farmers markets they go to every week.