Making dumplings helps mother and daughter cope with Alzheimer's, realize restaurant dream

Tarn Tayanuth's fondest memory of making meals while growing-up in Thailand is not eating the food; it's lighting the fire to cook it.

“Me as a kid: Get to play with fire?” Tarn laughs. “Sure!”

Tarn was raised by her grandmother after her mom Toom Tayanuth moved to Canada.

“She moved here first,” Tarn says. “To try and get everything settled down before she brought me over.”

By the time she could join her mom, Tarn was a teenager and found the transition a challenge.

“I was 14 and (it was) probably not fun getting along with me,” Tarn admits. “(But) we learned how to get along again.”

Eventually, mom and daughter found a way to reconnect through a shared passion for food.

For decades, they both worked at the same Thai restaurant, even dreamed of opening their own, until Toom began forgetting orders.

“Now I think back, it’s like, ‘Holy crap! That was not her not paying attention,’” Tarn says. “She was getting sick.”

Toom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Her only child committed to do whatever she could to help.

“As an Asian kid, we’re not going to put our mom in a home unless we have to,” Tarn says.

Tarn became her mom’s primary caregiver, before realizing she had to find some way to spend all their newfound time together.

“We just started making dumplings,” Tarn says.

Toom found it effortless; her muscle memory remained. While her neurologist said the process could delay the onset of her Alzheimer’s symptoms, it definitely increased her feelings of joy.

“That’s the only thing that would make her happy,” Tarn smiles. “Hanging out with me.”

But then they became so inundated with dumplings, they ran out of people to give them to.

“One of my friends was like, ‘Dude! You should sell this!’” Tarn says. “‘Maybe it would help financially with your mom.’”

Maybe Tarn could repay her mom’s sacrifices. So Tarn started selling their dumplings out of a cooler on a street corner, which lead to enough buzz to cook the dumplings at pop-ups around town. After earning line-ups around the block, Tarn was able to realize that dream of opening their own restaurant downtown.

“Making my mom proud is the main goal,” Tarn says. “She’s so proud.”

Now, Dumpling Drop is where Toom is benefiting from having a daily routine and Tarn is appreciating the gift of spending time together.

“It’s amazing,” Tarn smiles. “The rest is just extra.”

Although memories are being lost, unforgettable moments are being shared.