Dumplings and Wontons: Siblings or Cousins?

We tried lots of Chinese restaurants to find out which one is the best, or what dish in which restaurant is the best. We found China Blue has got the best Eight Jewel Rice Pudding and Three Cup Chicken; Han Dynasty has got the best Dan Dan Noodle and Mapo Tofu; Joe's Shanghai has got the best Soup Dumplings; and Shanghai Asian Manor has got the best Lo Mein and Sesame Chicken. Although each Chinese restaurant has its own menu because Chinese cuisines carry distinctive tastes as they originated from different regions across the nation, I noticed that dumpling is served in almost every Chinese restaurant. Looking down to people's plates, I can always find dumplings. Moreover, there even are restaurants only serve dumplings like Dumpling Kingdom and Vanessa's Dumpling House, which is unusual in China. .
             Then, I started to think about why dumplings are so popular; even more popular than they are in China. At first I thought it is because, compared to other Chinese dishes and dim sums, dumplings are cheaper as said by most of my American floormates. But this cannot be the only reason because not every cheap dish is popular. Soon after, the idea of homesickness came to my mind. We, as students who go back to China for winter or summer recess, even miss home this much, not to mention those immigrants who cannot go back to China for several years. To them, food is the easiest way to reconcile with their homesickness. Dumplings, not only a part of the daily diet but also serving as a significant symbol of reunion during Chinese holidays, including the New Year, make a good choice for immigrants. Indeed, food helps define the identity not only of individuals but also of groups. ("Food and Identity") Since people are social creatures, people of the same ethnicity are naturally attracted together, especially when they are not in their homelands. In their minds, food is a way of ethnic recognition.