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Awkwafina cooks her way toward a family restaurant that closed in 1982 in Apple TV series The Unlikely Cook
The eight-episode Apple TV series sends Awkwafina across the US to learn from Asian American chefs, with her family's long-closed Cantonese restaurant as the goal.
A restaurant that closed before she was born
The family restaurant Lum's closed in 1982, before Awkwafina was born. [1] The stated goal of her new series is for her to possibly revive that long-closed Cantonese restaurant. [1]
The series is new on Apple TV, and its eight episodes are set to premiere on Nov. 6. [1][2] A special screening of Apple TV's Awkwafina: The Unlikely Cook was held on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, at the Crosby Street Hotel in New York. [3]
What the series does
In the series, Awkwafina travels across the US to learn from a new generation of Asian American chefs. [1] It is a cross-country road trip in which she learns to cook in honor of her great-grandfather, who opened one of New York City's first Chinese American restaurants, Lums. [2]
Actor Jimmy O Yang, Awkwafina's real-life best friend, has a starring role in the series. [1]
Awkwafina, whose real name is Nora Lum, is 38 years old and is best known as a rapper, comic actor and writer. [1] Her 2020 comedy television show was titled Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens. [1]
The House of Nanking stop
Awkwafina dined at and filmed part of the series at House of Nanking, a landmark Shanghainese restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown. [2] The restaurant opened in 1988. [2]
House of Nanking is known for signature dishes including sesame chicken, chili oil-tossed pork wontons and garlic noodles. [2]
Its co-owner, chef Kathy Fang, wrote on Instagram that she never thought she would share a screen with Awkwafina. [2]
How the Lum family restaurant began
Awkwafina's great-grandfather Jimmy opened one of New York's first Chinese-American restaurants, called Lum's, in Flushing, Queens, in the 1950s. [1] Lum's helped popularize Chinese-American food such as orange chicken and BBQ ribs. [1]
Awkwafina said the restaurant is how her family came to the United States. [1]
A love letter to her grandmother
Awkwafina's paternal grandmother raised her after she lost her mother at age four. [1] The series is described as a love letter to that magnetic, occasionally foul-mouthed grandmother. [1]
She had also appeared in the MTV series Girl Code, in an episode titled Bad Sex, Grandparents, Eating Habits. [1] Her grandmother died after the series was filmed. [1]
Her grandmother's own restaurant failed, and her grandparents were forced to file for bankruptcy, losing both their business and home. [1] For a while, the whole family lived in a one-bedroom apartment. [1]
What it means for viewers
If you want to watch, the eight-episode series on Apple TV is set to premiere on Nov. 6. [1][2] Expect a road trip in which Awkwafina learns from Asian American chefs while she works toward possibly reviving her family's Cantonese restaurant. [1]
Awkwafina said that giving back, if she is in a position to do so, feels like a full-circle moment in which she could still make her family proud. [1]
Sources
- ‘I felt bad for my exes’: Awkwafina on making deeply personal TV – with her grandma — theguardian.com
- Emmy Award-winning comic films new TV show at S.F.’s House of Nanking — sfchronicle.com
- NY Special Screening of "Awkwafina: The Unlikely Cook" — rutlandherald.com
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