You have heard of hot dog and wing-eating contests, but how about a dumpling-eating contest?
If you have been on YouTube, you may have seen one as they are popular in Asia.
But now Unique Slow Rise Bakery, which is located in the Klahanie Campground, is bringing a dumpling-eating contest to 麻豆社国产on May 25.
The idea is that participants have 40 minutes to eat an extra-large dumpling.
"Whoever makes the best time will win."
The pork and vegetable dumplings will be two kilograms, the equivalent of 100 regular-sized dumplings, said Unique Chan, co-founder of Unique Slow Rise Bakery, as she took a quick break from the kitchen to sit at a sunny picnic table in the shadow of Shannon Falls on Wednesday afternoon.
The event will last three hours, with three rounds of the contest.
"I think it's fun to have something like this in Squamish, and then something cultural as a dish that people will get excited to learn more about the culture behind it," she said.
"I really want to do another one with a big, huge barbecue pork bun as well. I think it would just be plain fun."
The winner gets a prize donated by local companies.
In its second year of operation, Slow Rise Bakery has made some changes for this summer season.
They have launched a Sunday pop-up with unique (pardon the pun) items. The next pop-up is on April 20, Easter.
"Every Sunday, we have a different exclusive baked goods menu. And it's ever-changing. So, I think it's giving new experiences to people. They can't really purchase these things in town in Squamish, but it's actually everywhere in Asia, so I want to give that to our community," said Chan.
There is a new menu rolling out too.
Though it is still in the works, Chan said it will include new rice bowls, Hong Kong-style wonton noodles and more dinner items.
Also, they will be introducing a whole list of matcha specialty drinks.
The new menu will be launched in May.
More than anything, Chan says she wants to "entice people's curiosity" around foods they may not have tried before.
"When people haven't actually visited here before, they [may have had] no idea what dim sum is. They think it's just dumplings, but the dim sum ... is like Spanish tapas. They come together. They share small plates of food essentially. That's like the Hong Kong version of it," said Chan, who is originally from Hong Kong, adding that typically, Sunday is a time to have dim sum with family.
"That's like a ritual, and I think it's building up now. I see a lot of families come here on Sunday."
She said others may not necessarily know the different types of dumplings and where they're from.
"Some of the soup dumplings, let's say a small dumpling with a tiny pocket of soup inside, actually originated in Shanghai, and people would be interested to learn about that."
The bakery also has some products on offer at Strong's Market on Cleveland Ave.
The current hours of Unique Slow Rise Bakery are Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (In May, hours will be extended.)
To keep up with the contest and all that is happening at the bakery, go to their Instagram page @.
