2.5/5 stars
The inspiring true story behind the founding of an iconic Hong Kong food brand receives a largely uninspired retelling in The Dumpling Queen, a glossy if unabashedly melodramatic and run-of-the-mill biopic set primarily in the city in the late 1970s and 80s.
It begins in 1977 in Qingdao, Shandong province, where the mother of two young daughters bids farewell to her own mother and sister before travelling to Hong Kong to meet her husband (Kenny Wong Tak-bun) after four years apart.
However, upon arriving at the border railway station, Lo Wu, she learns that, under the influence of his wicked mother (Nina Paw Hee-ching), he has left her and married another woman, who has borne him a son in Thailand. Zang soon decides to leave him for good.