 The Hokkien song Bong Chun Hong" (Pining for the Spring Breeze"  serves as a recurring motif in the film. The song is very popular in  Taiwan, where its almost their unofficial second national anthem.  When the directors were writing the script in New York, they wanted  a song to evoke the past, and also illuminate the characters of the  parents. Yen Yen Woo (qv) called her mother in Singapore to ask  for songs from the days when she was dating her father. The first  song she came up with was "Bong Chun Hong", which unlocked a flood  of memories in the old lady about many places in Singapore that have  either disappeared or have changed beyond recognition. The directors  picked the song and incorporated Woos mothers memories into the  script.