Shirley is a Taiwanese-American woman preparing a meal from her childhood. Using her deceased immigrant mother’s recipe book, she makes zongzi, turnip cake, and hand-cut noodles. Each dish she makes evokes a childhood memory, tracing a history of growing up balancing the pull of two cultures -- and growing more distant from her Taiwanese culture and mother as Shirley gets older.
Shirley assimilates as she gets older, culminating in her election to Homecoming Court in high school. But when Shirley’s mother makes a mistake and embarrasses Shirley, Shirley lets loose the resentments and grievances of many years, culminating in cruel words that have haunted her since.
Directed and written by Anne Hsu (who plays the lead role of Shirley as an older teen and adult)