Rapper and actor Awkwafina explores her family’s culinary roots in the new Apple TV series Awkwafina: The Unlikely Cook, traveling across the United States to learn from Asian American chefs while reflecting on her immigrant family’s long-closed Cantonese restaurant and her close relationship with her paternal grandmother.
Nora Lum Travels Across the United States for Awkwafina: The Unlikely Cook
The Apple TV series Awkwafina: The Unlikely Cook follows the star of Crazy Rich Asians and Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as she visits Asian American chefs across the country. Her stated goal is to learn the craft well enough to potentially revive her family’s historic restaurant, though she insists on camera that she cannot cook.
That self-assessment is playfully contradicted by her willingness to tackle hot oil, intense wok heat, and sharp knives under professional guidance. She attributes whatever kitchen intuition she possesses entirely to years of ordering takeout and eating out rather than formal culinary training, paired with a lifelong familiarity with diverse Chinese dishes growing up in a food-focused immigrant household. For fans of her hit 2020 comedy television show Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens—which starred her as directionless, awkward Nora living in Flushing with her widowed father and boisterous grandmother—there may be a particular, parasocial joy in watching Unlikely Cook.
The History of Lum’s and Flushing Roots
The establishment became a prominent local institution that helped popularize Chinese-American staples such as orange chicken and barbecue ribs. The restaurant is how we came to this country, Lum explains of the enterprise that closed in 1982, years before she was born.
Relatives speak of the shuttered establishment with the heavy reverence usually reserved for a deceased family member. Yet the business also exacted a steep toll. After a later restaurant venture failed, her grandparents faced bankruptcy and lost both their home and business.
Working Alongside Her Paternal Grandmother
At the core of the new programme is Lum’s relationship with her paternal grandmother, who raised her after her mother died when Lum was just four years old. The two share an on-screen dynamic that began years ago when her grandmother appeared in an episode titled Bad Sex, Grandparents, Eating Habits
on MTV’s Girl Code.
It’s crazy. I’ve been asking my grandma to be in things since my first [TV] job, which was on MTV’s Girl Code.
Nora Lum, via The Guardian
The production brought the pair even closer, with late-night phone calls dedicated to brainstorming menus and conceptualizing dishes. During one recent late-night conversation, her grandmother proposed serving a volcano platter
instead of a traditional pu pu platter, noting the literal meaning of the older term.
Awkwafina takes a cross-country culinary road trip to revive her family's Chinese restaurant. The Unlikely Cook premieres Nov 6, 2026 on Apple TV, 30 days to go. #AppleTV #UnlikelyCook #Awkwafinahttps://t.co/W4Hg55JvnS pic.twitter.com/KYsKnODo5Y
Reflections on Immigrant Labour and Future Plans
The series examines the complicated legacy of the restaurant industry within immigrant families. Lum notes that many older elders discouraged their children from entering the trade because early generations faced severe career limitations, working primarily in laundromats and restaurants cooking food that was historically stigmatized. At the same time, Chinese restaurants achieved massive saturation across the United States, outnumbering major chains like McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King.
Whether a permanent iteration of Lum’s will eventually open remains undecided. Meanwhile, filming the project has left practical traces on her daily habits, including dabbling in breakfast preparation such as a four-egg omelet with spinach and cheese while on location in Kentucky.