DumplingDudez

DumplingDudez From dumplings to discovery.

We left six-figure jobs to build a life rooted in creativity, connection, and adventure—now exploring yoga, storytelling, coaching, and joy-led experiences. 🌈
Portland, Oregon

Rice for breakfast??? Yes, I did. So many of you suggested Sweet Bacon Cafe on NW 21st, so we finally checked it out to...
09/04/2026

Rice for breakfast??? Yes, I did. So many of you suggested Sweet Bacon Cafe on NW 21st, so we finally checked it out today!

I ordered the Yakuza Katsu Curry—an omelet, crispy chicken, curry, and a big pile of rice.

Was it a slightly unexpected breakfast? Yes.

Was it delicious? Also yes.

I guess this is all part of my “Keep Portland Weird” journey— and I freaking love it!

What’s a food you absolutely love, even though other people might think it’s weird? Also where to try next that's a little weird but good!

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Chih

Thank you, Portland, for all the love on “WTF Do I Do Next?” Walking along the waterfront today, I kept thinking about y...
09/02/2026

Thank you, Portland, for all the love on “WTF Do I Do Next?”

Walking along the waterfront today, I kept thinking about your messages and how grateful I am that we moved here from Texas.

Then I looked at the Broadway Bridge. It was closed, and now it’s open again.

After taking a year off from my own career… honestly, same.

This year has given me room to enjoy my life and notice what I’m excited about. I keep coming back to teaching, creating experiences, and helping people discover what they’re capable of.

I’ve applied to teach at Portland Community College and Portland State University, and I’m building this workshop. It feels good to be excited about what’s next.

I’ve changed careers, built Dumpling Dudez with Mike, and started over more than once. I know how to turn an idea into something real.

And it still scares me every time. I have self-doubt. Imposter syndrome? Yep, that shows up, too. But I also have experience worth sharing, and I trust myself to keep figuring things out.

So no, I’m not a guru. I’m not creating “WTF Do I Do Next?” to stand in front of you and pretend I know what you should do with your life.

I’m doing this with you.

I’ll bring practical tools, creative exercises, and lessons from building businesses and starting over. We’ll explore our own questions, try small experiments, and leave with actual next steps—and have each other to lean on along the way.

I’m aiming to start in October, with a virtual workshop spread over a month.

Portland inspired it, but you can join from wherever you call home.

Each group ( 2 max ) will have no more than 12 people, so we have room to talk, connect, and support each other, with time between sessions to try things in our everyday lives.

I’m still shaping the details, and your stories are helping me build this. Thank you for being excited with me.

Want to take this next step with me?

Let me know below ( if you haven't yet) if you’d like the details when they’re ready.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Chih

WTF do I do next?Moving to Portland has changed me. Something about being here has made me believe I can try something c...
09/01/2026

WTF do I do next?

Moving to Portland has changed me. Something about being here has made me believe I can try something completely new—even while I’m scared of it.

Looking back at these photos from our Dumpling Dudez days in Houston reminds me how many times I’ve started over.

I built a successful corporate career. I was also miserable. Walking away meant letting go of a version of success I’d spent years working toward.

Then Mike and I built a successful dumpling business. Something creative, meaningful, and ours. I’m incredibly proud of what we created and the people we brought together.

But eventually, I realized I didn’t want to keep doing it forever.

That was hard to admit. We’d poured so much into it. I worried about regretting the decision, disappointing people, and having to be a beginner again.

It’s uncomfortable to work so hard for something and then realize your dreams have changed along the way.

But building Dumpling Dudez taught me so much about myself. I discovered how much I loved creating experiences, telling stories, and helping people surprise themselves with what they could do.

Those discoveries are helping me choose what comes next.

Here in Portland, I’ve found community and the courage to explore parts of myself I hadn’t given much room to before. I’m beginning to believe I can do this again.

I’ve applied to teach at Portland Community College and Portland State University. And I’m exploring an affordable, interactive workshop called “WTF Do I Do Next?”

A space for people approaching retirement, rethinking work, or feeling ready for something new. We’d use honest conversations, creative exercises, and small experiments to discover what we want—and take a manageable step toward it.

And yes, putting this idea out here makes me nervous. I care about it. I want to create something useful, and I’m still learning to trust myself through the uncertainty.

Each reinvention has taught me something I couldn’t have figured out by staying where I was. I’d love to help other people explore that possibility, too.

Would you be interested in a workshop like this?

Let me know in the comments—and feel free to share what you’d want help figuring out.

I’d love your input before I build it.

You can DM me, too.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Chih

I just hit ENTER… again… on another potentially life-changing decision here in Portland. And I need your help!!!!I just ...
08/31/2026

I just hit ENTER… again… on another potentially life-changing decision here in Portland. And I need your help!!!!

I just submitted my application to teach part-time at Portland State University in New Product Development, New Venture Management, and Product Design.

A lot of you already know I also applied to PCC.

And the more I sit with it, the more I realize this isn’t really about the pay. Teaching part-time definitely isn’t the most lucrative path I could choose.

But it feels meaningful.

Portland has given me so much — community, belonging, friendship, and a chance to reinvent myself. I think teaching might be one way I can start giving some of that back.

And who knows… maybe this winter I’ll be teaching at both PCC and PSU. That would be kind of wild.

For now, I’d really love to understand PSU better.

Do you know anyone at Portland State — especially in Engineering or Engineering & Technology Management?

I’d love an introduction so I can hear what it’s actually like to teach and work there, learn about the culture, and understand the department from someone on the inside.

Still figuring out this next chapter. But this one feels worth pursuing.

Chih
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

This is the kind of weird little thing that makes me love Portland. It has us wandering around the city like kids again,...
08/31/2026

This is the kind of weird little thing that makes me love Portland.

It has us wandering around the city like kids again, looking for giant beautiful crows and getting way too excited every time we spot one.

They’re part of Wildwood: Follow the Crows — a public art project with 30 giant crow sculptures created by different artists and scattered around Portland.

I’m just so impressed by the creativity behind it.

Every crow feels completely different, and somehow it turns a normal walk into a little adventure.

Have you found any yet? Drop your crow pics below — I wanna see them!

❤️🧡💛💚💜💙

Chih

I did something this week that feels a little scary… but also really exciting.I applied to teach part-time at PCC this w...
08/29/2026

I did something this week that feels a little scary… but also really exciting.

I applied to teach part-time at PCC this winter — hopefully Intro to Entrepreneurship, Social Media Marketing, or Small Business Design.

Then I met April Ann Fong

She spent 30+ years teaching Biology and Environmental Studies at PCC, and hearing about her students, the community, and what made teaching meaningful to her made me want this even more.

She’s a third-generation immigrant. I’m first-generation.

Different generations. Different stories. But some of the struggles around identity, expectations, belonging, and finding your voice felt so familiar.

It gave me a new perspective.

And honestly, it made me realize this isn’t just about teaching a class.

Portland has given us friendship, community, and a sense of belonging I didn’t know I was missing.

I’d love to give some of that back through teaching.

Now I’m hoping to meet a few people in the PCC Business Administration department and learn where I might fit — and hopefully find my way into the classroom.

If you know someone there, I’d love an introduction.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Cheers,
Chih

Tell me you’re ready for fall without telling me you’re ready for fall. Couldn’t find Mike this morning… then I found hi...
08/28/2026

Tell me you’re ready for fall without telling me you’re ready for fall.

Couldn’t find Mike this morning… then I found him on the patio like this.

Blanket. Book. Fully committed.

Portland, Oregon fall mode: ACTIVATED.

What are you most excited about this fall?

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

What does your reflection say about you?Not how you look.But when you really look at yourself… what do you see?Someone w...
08/26/2026

What does your reflection say about you?

Not how you look.

But when you really look at yourself… what do you see?

Someone who should be doing more?
Someone who’s falling behind?

Or someone who has been through some s**t, kept going, learned, changed, and is still becoming?

We’re often way kinder to everyone else than we are to ourselves.

So today, when you catch yourself in the mirror, try this:

Speak to yourself like someone you love.

You’re allowed to be proud of how far you’ve come.

What do you see when you look at the person in the mirror?

Chih

Portland friends—what are you doing tonight? We’re heading to Darcelle XV at 7 PM to support our fabulous friend DeShawn...
08/25/2026

Portland friends—what are you doing tonight?

We’re heading to Darcelle XV at 7 PM to support our fabulous friend DeShawn, aka Jazz Jonez, and we’d love to see you there too.

Come enjoy an iconic piece of Portland’s LGBTQ+ history, support local drag, and cheer loudly with us.

Let’s pack the room and show our friend some love!

Who’s coming?

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Dolly Parton passed away today, and this one hurts.She didn’t just make music.She made people like me feel like we belon...
08/25/2026

Dolly Parton passed away today, and this one hurts.

She didn’t just make music.

She made people like me feel like we belonged.

As a gay Asian immigrant who spent most of my life in Texas, I know what it feels like when faith, family, and tradition are used to tell you that who you are is wrong.

But Dolly showed us another way.

She supported marriage equality. She stood up for transgender people. She welcomed all families into Dollywood. She helped produce a documentary about the AIDS Memorial Quilt. And when Christians used God to judge us, she reminded them:

“We are all God’s children.”

She didn’t speak like a politician or an activist. She simply spoke like someone who understood that love should never require another person to hide who they are.

That mattered—especially coming from a Christian country music icon raised in Tennessee.

Dolly made millions of LGBTQ+ people feel seen in places where we were often told we didn’t belong.

Thank you, Dolly, for using your voice to make this world softer, kinder, and safer for people like me.

You didn’t just sing about love.

You lived it.

Rest in love, Dolly. We will always love you.

Chih

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Portland, OR
97209

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