Dim Sum & Drag
Welcome to Uptown’s Furama Restaurant, a family-owned Chinese restaurant — and home to Dim Sum & Drag. Produced and hosted by drag queen Abhijeet Rane, Dim Sum & Drag is a monthly brunch that celebrates Asian diversity in Chicago’s drag scene.
On Saturday, June 4, Dim Sum & Drag kicked off Pride Month at Furama Restaurant. Prior to the start of the show, attendees were checked in and seated.
Guests lined up at the bar for cocktails and shots as they waited for the show to begin. An $8 tequila sunrise proved popular.
Abhijeet, a local drag queen from Mumbai, opened the show with a mash-up of Kehlani's "Honey," and Darshan Raval and Rochak Kohli's Indian pop song, "Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga." When Abhijeet started drag in 2015, show producers would ask her to rethink her song choices, which drove her to organize an event that embraces her South Asian culture.
“If you like what you see, tip us,” Abhijeet says to the cheerful crowd. “And if you don’t like what you see, still tip us because drag is hard.”
Special guest Rani Ko-HE-Nur from “Queen of the Universe,” an international drag-singing competition, flew in from Mumbai for Dim Sum & Drag. “Don’t watch it because I didn’t win,” she says jokingly to the audience before performing the Indian pop song “Jai Ho.”
An attendee pours herself water as she converses with her friend during intermission. Both women are dressed for the festive occasion with their dramatic makeup and animal prints.
Holding single dollar bills, fans eagerly raise their hands. “We rely a lot on tips,” says drag king Luv Ami, who is volunteering at this event. “A lot of high-energy performers will get more than someone who does a slower song.”
DJ Club Chow mixes while drinking a tequila sunrise. Attendees tip Chow during intermission. Aside from Dim Sum & Drag, Chow DJs at bars and nightclubs in Northalsted.
Drag king Mac K. Roni performs “I Want You Back,” by The Jackson 5. The audience claps and cheers as Mac K. Roni moonwalks across the floor to collect tips. “As a trans man, Mac is the way I get to explore a sexier side of myself,” he says.
After his performance, Mac K. Roni, who is Filipino American, thanks his cousins for coming and supporting him. “It means so much,” Mac K. Roni says as he tears up.
Local drag queen Aunty Chan closes the event with an energetic performance. As cheering attendees wave dollar bills at her, Aunty Chan fans herself theatrically.
Abhijeet invites her friends in the crowd, who are also drag performers, to share a celebratory tequila shot. “Happy Pride!” Abhijeet says before taking the shot.