The sounds emanating from within the nondescript Baba’s House snack shop are the first clue that something special is happening inside. Follow the din of voices and neon signage up the back stairs, and a scene awaits: On one side, a cozy mahjong den, alive with the sound of clacking tiles, laughter, and two DJs spinning beats; on the other, in a former storage room, a brand-new, extremely chic speakeasy serves food and soju drinks.

This is 13 Orphans, the latest addition to Baba’s House from cofounders Jenn Lui, Alan Chen, and Eman Garcia. The party for the grand opening last week sold out so quickly, they threw a second one.

Mahjong is having a moment in the Bay Area. From clubs to books to dedicated dens, the pastime that might once have been considered the purview of grandmothers is extremely in with young people. For Lui and her cofounders, mahjong has given Baba’s House focus and energy.

Originally just the snack shop downstairs, too tucked away to get much foot traffic, Baba’s House started hosting community events, including spelling bees, comedy shows, and workshops. 

“But mahjong is the one that just stuck,” Lui said at the May 31 launch party. Soon, the game became the focus for the rest of the events. DJ sets,  jam sessions, and karaoke all take place while mahjong goes on, as a complement to the game.

“The addition of the mahjong feels like a modern way of reclaiming our culture. There’s lots of sass built into our game, especially in the Cantonese origin. Inevitably, you’re going to butt heads, but it’s all in good fun,” said Chen, Lui’s fiance.

Inside the buzzing playing rooms at the party, two DJs passed the beats back and forth amid intense and friendly games, the clacking of the mahjong tiles just audible under the music.

13 Orphans is a refuge from the competition. The speakeasy is a fiercely well-thought-out room illuminated only by the contrasting colors of neon signs. On opening night, 13 Orphans — a reference to a mahjong hand — was filled to its capacity of 16 for each of three seatings, with beautiful young people bumping elbows and trying not to spill soju or dumplings on the ornate rugs. 

In the mix was Alisha Fong, whose acrylic earrings in the shape of Chinese characters caught the green light. Fong explained that the characters were a “cliche Cantonese-ish greeting” meaning “Are you hungry? Have you eaten? Are you fed?”

Fed she was, by Garcia. For the launch menu, the chef and co-owner  wanted the offerings to be like tapas, “but that word doesn’t resonate with our community.” So he described the food as dim sum.  “Its literal translation is ‘Touch the heart,’ and this is all made really, really intentionally,” Garcia told each round of diners in a heartfelt speech packed with information about the leaf-lined plates. 

The final seating of the night was mostly for friends of the Baba’s House team, many of whom are visionaries, artists, and movers and shakers in their own right. 

But you don’t have to be that to enjoy 13 Orphans. You don’t even have to know how to play mahjong. At the launch party, friends and strangers offered to teach one another the game. Pieces of fish were passed from one plate to another. The owners toasted their staff and customers with pear-infused soju shots. 

Hillary Chin has been a regular since September, when she learned to play mahjong, and often volunteers to help out.

“I’m soon getting a mahjong tattoo, because this has become such a special place for me,” she said. “If I don’t have anywhere else to be, I can always come to Baba’s House. I love the connection to my culture — that’s a big part of the space and the game.”

As the opening party wound down, Andy Tran sat in the neon light, wearing a Club Chazu necklace sourced the night before from an AAPI night market in SoMa. “It feels Chinese, it feels Vietnamese, but it’s new school,” he said of the design. Suddenly he realized that just across the table was none other than Club Chazu’s founder and designer, known as Leean. Soon, they were lost in conversation. This is the magic of 13 Orphans.

“If other people are having a good time, that’s what matters,” Lui said. “We poured our heart and soul into it, and people get the vision, so it’s a major win.”