Mahjong, every day: introducing the Bo & Mei plush pillow and dragon tee collection
When the mahjong set gets packed away at the end of the night, the connection doesn't have to go with it.
That thought kept coming back to me. We built Mahjong Together so families could pass down culture through play and feel genuinely connected to something that mattered. But what about the rest of the week? The ordinary Tuesday afternoons, the school drop-offs, the couch time? The things we love don't only live in the moments we set aside for them. They live in the objects around us, the ones so familiar they stop being special and just become part of home.
That's why we made the Fat Choy plush pillow and the dragon tee collection. For the families who grew up with mahjong as part of their cultural heritage and want their kids to carry that forward. And for the families who have fallen in love with mahjong and found something worth passing down. Whichever is true for you, the instinct is the same: you want this thing you love to exist outside the box.
The Fat Choy plush pillow
The Green Dragon tile, 發, pronounced Fā in Mandarin and Faat in Cantonese, is one of the most recognizable tiles in mahjong. It represents prosperity, growth, and good fortune. In the game, drawing it feels lucky. Beyond the game, it's a symbol that carries the warmth of every mahjong table it's ever sat on.
The Fat Choy plush pillow takes that symbol and makes it soft. Literally. It's cube-shaped like a real tile, printed with the 發 character and a little smiley face peeking out beneath it, because we wanted 發 to feel as joyful as what it represents. The fabric is velvety, the detailing is embroidered, and at about 8 x 10 x 4 inches it's just the right size for squeezing, displaying, or dragging around the house. If you're already a fan of our Fat Choy keychain charm, think of this as its larger, squishier sibling: the keychain keeps 發 close on the go, and the pillow brings it home.
For a kid who grows up with it on the couch, 發 is just a shape they've always known and loved. Maybe because it connects them to a grandparent's mahjong set, or a family tradition, or a culture they're still learning. Maybe simply because it's the tile their parents always got excited about. Either way, that kind of familiarity is its own quiet gift.
$30 · Shop the Fat Choy plush pillow →
The dragon tee collection, made with Asian Baby Clothing
In mahjong, there are three dragon tiles, and each one carries its own meaning:
- Green Dragon 發 (Fat Choy): prosperity and good fortune
- Red Dragon 中 (Zhong): hitting the mark, success
- White Dragon 白板 (Baiban): a blank slate, pure potential
Each dragon has its own personality in our tile designs: the Red Dragon 中 with its little antenna dots and gentle smile, the Green Dragon 發 with the same joyful face as the plush pillow, and the White Dragon 白板 with a playful wink. We gave each one a face because we wanted these symbols to feel alive and approachable, the kind of thing a kid wants to wear rather than just learn about.
The dragon tees are made in partnership with our friends at Asian Baby Clothing, a small, AAPI-owned brand doing something I deeply respect: putting Asian culture on kids' clothing in a way that's joyful, wearable, and genuinely cool. They're the kind of brand that gets it without needing it explained, and working with them felt less like a vendor relationship and more like finding your people.
The tees come in kids ($30) and adult ($35) sizes, because a parent and child in matching dragon tees at a family dinner is a specific kind of joy. And because whether you're wearing the 中 because it's your culture or because it's your favorite tile to draw, you deserve a tee that carries the same joy as the tiles it came from.
And if you want to take 發 a little further, we also have the Fat Choy hat, also made with our friends at Asian Baby Clothing, also in kids ($30) and adult ($35) sizes. Same character, now on your head.
Shop the dragon tee collection →
Why everyday objects matter
There's something that happens when the things we love show up in ordinary life, not just in the time we deliberately set aside for them. When the plush is just the thing on the couch, and the tee is just the one your kid reaches for on a Saturday morning, and the symbol on both is so familiar they recognized it long before they could name it. That kind of quiet, accumulated knowing, whether it's cultural knowing or just the deep comfort of a game you love, becomes its own form of belonging.
I think about my daughters growing up knowing what 發 means, not because I sat them down and taught them, but because it was just always there. I think about the kids of mahjong lovers growing up with these tiles as part of their family's story too. The plush and the tees are for all of us. A way to let mahjong exist outside the box and in the ordinary texture of our families' lives.
The full collection
| Product | Price | Sizes |
|---|---|---|
| Fat Choy / Fa Cai Green Dragon Plush Pillow | $30 | One size (approx. 8x10x4 in.) |
| Fat Choy 發 Keychain | $15 | One size (approx. 3.5" tall) |
| Green Dragon 發 Tee | $30 kids / $35 adult | Kids + Adult |
| Red Dragon 中 Tee | $30 kids / $35 adult | Kids + Adult |
| White Dragon 白板 Tee | $30 kids / $35 adult | Kids + Adult |
| Fat Choy 發 Hat | $30 kids / $35 adult | Kids + Adult |
Shop the full collection at boandmei.com →
— Mai, Founder of Bo & Mei
Bo & Mei creates modern games, activities, and everyday objects that help families connect to Asian cultures through play. The Fat Choy plush pillow and dragon tee collection are companions to our bestselling Mahjong Together family game set.