Rejoice! There are Finally Emojis for Dumplings and Chopsticks

By Josh Parker

Starting this week, you can download Apple's iOS 11.1 update.

While the software comes with the return of 3D Touch multitasking and other such technological advances, what is perhaps most intriguing is that over 70 new emojis are now available.

Among all the new dinosaur, broccoli, hedgehog and curling stone emoticons are some pretty iconic Chinese ones too.

Ever found yourself incredulously questioning the lack of a chopsticks emoji to position beside your "food porn" Instagram post? 

Or have you found yourself reeling following the absence of a dumpling emoticon to brag about that hidden gem of hole-in-the-wall jiaozi shop on WeChat Moments?

Then fear not, as both are now among the new batch of iOS 11.1 emojis. 

Also included in the new OS are some classic staples of the "American Chinese" restaurant experience: the takeout box and the fortune cookie.

The new dumpling emoji can also be used in the context of various world cuisines in addition to the one we all know and love in the Middle Kingdom. It can also represent Spanish empanadas, Japanese gyōza and Polish pierogis, among others.

Some of these new emojis were already available on other operating systems and platforms earlier this year following the announcement of Emoji Version 5.0 at the Unicode Consortiumin March. The graphic styles vary by medium. Here are a few different versions of the dumpling emoji, first launched in June:

Top: Unicode standard dumpling emoji. Bottom (left to right): Google, Twitter, Emojidex, Emojipedia and Facebook dumpling emojis. Image via Fast.Co

The addition of the dumpling emoji comes to us thanks to the efforts of Shanghai-born, US-based designer Yiying Lu. After discovering that the icon was missing from her keyboard during a 2015 conversation with friend (and former New York Times journalist) Jennifer 8. Lee, Lu set out to fix the oversight, launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise awareness for the missing dumpling emoji. After months of campaigning, they were finally successful.

"This might feel small in the grand scheme of things," now reads the "Where Is the Dumpling Emoji?" Kickstarter page. "But it’s one small step that we, with our collective talents of writing, designing, lobbying and racking up airline miles, felt that we could take to foster inclusion, representation and richer forms of expression in our emoji keyboards."

Now if only they'd standardize the burger emoji...

Cheese under the patty? WTF Google.

Additional writing by Bridget O'Donnell

[Images via Emojipedia, Fast.Co, MacWorld]

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