A friend of mine a few weeks ago came across this Substack article: “63 Chinese Cuisines: the Complete Guide – Not one cuisine, not eight, but many more. Our best shot at a comprehensive-ish guide.” I re-posted the YouTube video on Facebook, and like myself, others were blown away by the extensive discussion of the topic.
I thought it was worthy to share for those who might be interested!
I’ve been woefully behind in my blogging, but I wanted to get around to writing about actor, comedian, entertainer, and fellow Duke alum like myself Ken Jeong getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (back on Wednesday, October 23rd):
“Comedy star and actor Ken Jeong has officially received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! Known for his unforgettable roles in The Hangover series, Community, and as a judge on The Masked Singer, Jeong has become a beloved figure in Hollywood. From his medical career to a comedy breakout, Jeong’s unique journey and charisma have earned him a special place in fans’ hearts worldwide. Join family, friends, and co-stars as they gather on Hollywood Boulevard to honor his contributions to comedy, film, and television. Don’t miss this star-studded celebration of Ken Jeong’s incredible career!”
For the full ceremony instead of the highlights, you can check out this link. This is what Duke’s ‘The Chronicle’ wrote about Ken:
“Actor, comedian and campus favorite Ken Jeong, Trinity ‘90, was awarded the 2,794th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Wednesday, where he was recognized for his work as a comedian, actor, producer and writer. …
Per Jeong’s request, his star will be placed next to that of Chinese American actress Lucy Liu and Anna May Wong, the first Asian American actress awarded a star on the Walk of Fame, to honor the Asian American and Pacific Islander community’s contributions to Hollywood.
“If it wasn’t for Duke, I would not have gotten my star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, much less a career in the arts and entertainment,” Jeong wrote in a Thursday morning message to The Chronicle.””
I have missed a few opportunities (once due to a flight cancelation / reschedule for weather) to meet Ken, but one day I will meet him!
Model Daniel Liu leads off this 2024 Holiday “Happy Holidays with Love: The Journey” Mercedes-Benz USA commercial:
“Celebrate the journeys that bring us closer together. The Mercedes-Benz Holiday Love Celebration is back. Discover the vehicles you’re bound to love this season. Hurry in now through January 2nd.”
It’s been a while since we blogged about Liu – in fact, not since 2011. So it’s good to see he’s still been able to get work, given how competitive I imagine the industry is and will become even more so with generative AI …
@forkingaround_tv The Jollibee and In-N-Out collaboration that no one asked for and everyone wanted with @Your fave Kuya 🇵🇭 #jollibee #innout #fastfood #foodreview #filipinofood @Jollibee USA @InNOut
If you are tired Thanksgiving leftovers, consider the Jollibee and In-N-Out mashup suggested by this TikTok. For those of you who don’t know, Jollibee is a Filipino Fast Food chain that has spread all over the world (my brother recently went to one in London). In-N-Out is a quintessentially Californian institution and hamburger chain. The video above investigates what it would be like to combine both. Interestingly enough, Filipino food is a mash up already, with Chinese, Malay, spanish, and American influences. Moreover, Jollibee is another kind of mashup – famous for serving burgers, fried chicken, and spaghetti all in one restaurant.
A special thanks to The Wife for showing me this video.
(photo credit: patrickroque001 licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.)
Edwin had mentioned that there was a close election between Democrat Derek Tran and Republican Michelle Steel in his post about Westminster’s Little Saigon, I was curious about how this race would end up, and finally the race has been called, more than three weeks after the election. Derek Tran is projected to the winner of California’s Congressional District 45 after a particularly nasty campaign season between two Asian American candidates.
The close vote is a reminder that every vote counts. At the time that the above projection results were published, Derek Tran was ahead by only 600 votes. In a race earlier this year, Evan Low won a primary slot by beating Joe Simitian by five votes.
(photo credit: This is a cropped image from Twotwofourtysix licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.)
Little Saigon, Orange County – a small Vietnamese ethnic enclave nestled between Garden Grove and Westminster, home to the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam. With almost 100,000 Vietnamese living within Little Saigon, making up over 40% of Little Saigon’s population, this neighborhood is an important cultural hub for Vietnamese immigrants. Unlike Little Tokyo, Koreatown, and both Chinatowns in LA and San Francisco, Little Saigon is nestled in suburban Orange County, with low density development and paltry public transit options–not exactly a hotspot for young adults to congregate in. It may not be as trendy as its other ethnic counterparts, but this isn’t the only thing that sets it apart; contrary to most Asian political voting patterns, Little Saigon has consistently been a Republican bastion along with the rest of Orange County–a trend that has been set ever since the first wave of migration following the fall of Saigon.
Little Saigon’s history coincides with the defeat of South Vietnam in the Vietnamese war in 1975. Around 50,000 refugees fled and were relocated to Camp Pendleton, Orange County, before migrating to Westminster where immigrants bought out cheap land in the hopes of creating a Vietnamese business district. From there, the seed for a new Saigon was planted, and the neighborhood slowly expanded over the next few decades, moving out into Garden Grove. There was some pushback from the local community, which was predominantly wealthy, White people, but the residents of Little Saigon were lucky to have avoided the massacres, exclusions, and destruction that the other ethnic enclaves historically faced. Nowadays, Little Saigon has a highly educated demographic with consistently growing businesses that outpace even the rest of Orange County, though its housing supply is unlikely to expand, similarly to the rest of Orange County.
Another trait Little Saigon shares with Orange County that separates it from other Asian enclaves is its tendency to vote Republican. This can be attributed to the vast majority of early immigrants being from South Vietnam, which fought against Communist North Vietnam in the Vietnam War. Republicans took advantage of this and sought to recruit the Vietnamese population to their side–Senator John McCain, a former POW in Vietnam, campaigned in Little Saigon to accomplish this task. In 2007, Vietnamese voters were 55% Republican and 22% Democratic, a trend that continues to this day, despite a shrinking gap. The political leanings are evident by the Hi-Tek incident, a series of protests against a TV store following the display of a Communist Vietnamese Flag and an image of Ho Chi Minh by Truong Van Tran, a storeowner. The protest lasted for almost two months, with demonstrators pressuring the storeowner to remove the flag, leading to physical violence where Truong was hit in the head and had to be hospitalized. The incident eventually concluded with the police discovering video piracy operations being conducted within his store, forcing his store to close and sentencing Truong to 5 years in prison. With this incident, Vietnamese residents have proven themselves to be a strong Republican voter base for the next few decades.
Today, Vietnamese voters are still majority Republican voters, as is most of Orange County, but just like Orange County, the gap in political representation is shrinking–Republican incumbent Michelle Steel in CA 45th district seems to be on track to potentially losing her seat in the 2024 House election to Vietnamese American Derek Tran. As younger generations lose the anti-communist fervor their progenitors had, we may see a closer political alignment between Vietnamese and other Asians in California.
(Photo Credit: DHN licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)
When Number Two Son told The Wife and me that he had learned to play Mahjong and was playing it with his Chinese American girlfriend and her family, I was really surprised. Although my father would knew how to play and would on rare occasions play, I never learned to play myself. Later, I saw this Slate article that says a new generation of Asian Americans is learning to play the game of Mahjong.
My experiences largely mirror the experiences of the article author. My parents never taught my siblings and me how to playing, figuring that it was not a good use of time and that we would gamble away our money. Now my Gen Z son is playing mahjong! Mahjong clubs have multiplied beyond Los Angeles and New York to other places with Asian Americans, apparently including my son’s girlfriend’s parents’ house.
I find it interesting how younger Asian Americans are learning a game of their ancestors. All of the founders of these clubs that the article author talked to said that mahjong is a way to connect with others, especially after the isolation of the pandemic. I wish I learned to play – would have made a key scene of the Crazy Rich Asians movie that involved Mahjong more meaningful to me. Perhaps I will get Number Two Son and his girlfriend to teach The Wife and me – a way for us all to connect more closely.
(photo credit: yui by Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license)
Sawtelle Japantown, Los Angeles – a quaint neighborhood in West LA just as big as its downtown counterpart. Born from its historical Japanese population in the early–mid 20th century, Sawtelle Japantown is a cornerstone of Japanese American history and culture, particularly in Los Angeles. With trendy Japanese restaurants and shops dotting its 1.48 square miles, Sawtelle Japantown continues to be a popular destination for young adults, similar to Little Tokyo. Both areas are small, Japanese–oriented communities located in walkable areas, which bears the question: which Japanese community is better to live in? Before we answer that question, we must know where Sawtelle Japantown came from.
Unlike most other ethnic enclaves in Los Angeles, Sawtelle Japantown was not one of the original destinations for immigrants–it attained its Japanese population in the 1910s as a result of discriminatory policies in the rest of Los Angeles that forbade Asian residents from owning property. The neighborhood continued to attract Japanese immigrants who were denied citizenship or who couldn’t buy land until 1952. These immigrants set up shops, businesses, and institutions that supported Japanese migrants, such as the Japanese Institute of Sawtelle. Many of the early residents took up farming despite the aforementioned restrictions, though little remains today as a result of WWII.
The relocation of Japanese residents led to a population decline that the neighborhood would never recover from. Without an established Japanese population, empty shops and buildings became prime real estate for new real estate development done mostly by wealthy White residents. Many of the historical and culturally significant buildings were torn down to make way for new luxury apartments. The increase in construction did increase the population, but at the cost of pushing out the existing ones; though Sawtelle Japantown had always been a working class community the recent arrivals tended to be wealthier and younger. The construction acted as a double edged sword–on one hand, it provided new business opportunities and revitalized the region, making it more attractive to wealthier residents; but on the other, it nearly destroyed the cultural significance of this Japantown, a story shared by many other Asian ethnic enclaves.
The “reconstruction” of Sawtelle Japantown gets us to where we are today–as one of the more diverse neighborhoods in Los Angeles, the region is home to a variety of cultural amenities aimed towards Japanese residents. Along Sawtelle Blvd, one can find multiple Japanese restaurants on each street, with the Hashimoto and Yamaguchi nurseries preserving a bit of Japantown’s farming past. One can get to the neighborhood through the LA Metro E and D line in the future, though it is a bit of a walk from either station to get there. The location is very attractive for graduate students at UCLA looking for cheaper renting options, commuters who work in more expensive places but don’t have the option of living where they work, and wealthy Angelenos who are able to bask in the affluence of West LA. Being one of the most walkable places is another benefit for residents as well, particularly for young adults as reflected by the community’s age demographics. With all the construction occurring in the mid to late 20th century, Sawtelle Japantown isn’t going to be expanding anytime soon in the future, as reflected by its paltry amount of ongoing construction.
Both Little Tokyo and Sawtelle Japantown have reached the peak of their expansion, and there are many overlapping similarities between the two. Both are in very walkable and geographically important locations; both have good access to public transit, although Little Tokyo has the advantage of being located closer to LA Union Station; and both are immersed in cultural amenities that appeal greatly to teenagers and young adults. Little Tokyo may be more desirable due to how close it is to LA’s financial district and civic center, which are major job centers, but this benefit is weighed down by its higher crime rate as a result of being located next to Skid Row. All in all, neither neighborhood is outright better than the other, and it ultimately comes down to one’s preference, career, and safety when deciding which neighborhood to live in. As for me, a college student, I am more fond of the hustle and bustle of Downtown Los Angeles, and the sheer convenience of transportation in the region is more than enough to take me across Los Angeles–which includes UCLA when the D Line extension is complete in 2027.
(Photo Credit: Doc Searls licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)
The BBC reports that in South Korea, Apt. by Rose and Bruno Mars is considered such an dangerous earworm by many South Korean students studying for the Suneung university placement exams that many are taking it off their playlists. One student is quoted as saying the following:
“I’m worried that the song will play in my head even during the exam.” Adults might laugh and say, ‘Why stress over something like that?’ But for us, with such an important test ahead, it can feel unsettling.”
I have to agree that is an incredibly catchy song, and at times, it has gotten stuck in my head!
You might wonder why it is a such an earworm. It’s likely because it uses catchy melodies and beats that recall familiar songs. When I first heard that song, I thought of Mickey by Toni Basil (showing my age), and it turns out that this song was sampled in Apt.. Other people have pointed out sections sound like Lady Gaga songs and others.
It’s pretty amazing to me that Asians and Asian Americans as pop music performers and song writers are becoming normalized now, especially a song about something so Asian as a Korean drinking game. Let’s hope that continues to be the case. As of now when I am writing this post, Apt. is number one on the Billboard Global Charts that include and exclude the US. It has gotten as high as 8 on Billboard’s hot 100.
Little Tokyo, Los Angeles – the largest official Japantown in the US and a bustling center of activity in the heart of LA. With strong connections to Japanese culture, cuisine, and media, Little Tokyo is one of the most popular destinations for young adults looking to buy merchandise or enjoy authentic Japanese cuisine found nowhere else. Being located next to important destinations such as the Financial District, LA Union Station, and having access to the metro A and E lines, Little Tokyo acts as a convenient place to live as well. With over 1500 people living in its 0.1 square mile boundary, Little Tokyo is one of the densest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, which has led to high rent prices and an exorbitant cost of living. Compared to the other Asian enclaves in LA – Koreatown and Chinatown – Little Tokyo shares a similar origin story, though there are varying differences in its recent history.
Little Toyko finds its origins in the late 19th century, when a large wave of immigrants from Japan came to replace cheap Chinese laborers following the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. These immigrants found their way to the present day location of Little Tokyo where they set up Japanese shops, restaurants, and businesses, which attracted more Japanese immigrants to the area. The starting population was around 3000 in the early 1900s, but following the San Francisco Earthquake in 1906, many Japanese residents moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles, bumping up its population to 10,000. Like the other Asian enclaves, however, growth in Little Tokyo was hindered as a result of the Exclusion Act of 1924, which barred future immigration from Asian countries.
Despite this, the population eventually reached 35,000 residents by WW2, which led to LA County containing one of the largest Japanese populations in the US alone. WW2 saw a turning point for the neighborhood – due to the hostility between the US and Japan, Japanese Americans were rounded up and sent to internment camps during the war, which decimated Little Tokyo and its Japanese population. Around 37,000 Japanese were imprisoned in LA County from 1942-1945, yet despite this, Little Tokyo’s population continued to grow as a result of new immigration trends.
Vacancy rates in Little Tokyo skyrocketed, and white landowners had to find new tenets to replace the previous Japanese residents. An opportunity presented itself in the Second Great Migration, which saw millions of African Americans relocate out of the South to the West and Midwest regions of the US. Tens of thousands of African Americans moved to Little Tokyo, which saw a population increase from 30,000 to 80,000 during the war, leading to the renaming of Little Tokyo to Bronzeville for a short while. The neighborhood became incredibly overcrowded, with residents taking turns to sleep on a single bed, or living amongst 15 other people in a room. Around 57 buildings were deemed unfit for human habitation, and many families were evicted from the region. Crime skyrocketed in the region, and health problems were widespread due to overcrowding.
Bronzeville lasted for the latter half of WW2, but after jobs in the defense industry disappeared, so did many of its recent short lived residents. Japanese Americans began to return to the neighborhood, pushing out Bronzeville residents, and re-establishing their presence in DTLA. However, a lack of housing led to some Japanese residents moving into areas next to DTLA, such as Boyle Heights, and as a result, the Japanese American population was only 1/3rd its pre-war levels. Little Tokyo continued to shrink as the construction of the LAPD headquarters removed parts of the commercial area, displacing 1,000 residents.
Little Tokyo would find a second life in the Little Tokyo Project, which sought to revitalize the region through the opening of shopping plazas and redevelopment projects in the area. This attracted new residents, businesses, and redefined Little Tokyo as a touristy region with increased commercial activity. Today, Little Tokyo is a community center for Japanese Americans, with strong cultural and historical connections through its numerous authentic restaurants and the Japanese American National Museum. With ease of access through the LA Metro A and E lines, Little Tokyo is a popular place for teenagers and young adults to hangout and enjoy the numerous shops and cultural amenities of the region. Unlike Koreatown however, construction is minimal, with only 2 apartment projects currently undergoing construction. Given its small location and established infrastructure, it’s unlikely that Little Tokyo will grow anytime soon, and with such a small population, it’s more of a place to visit rather than a place to live. But despite its small size, Little Tokyo continues to occupy a big place in the heart of Angelenos.
(Photo Credit: Jusetefrain licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License
After calls for her resignation after a number of incidents, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao was recalled from her office in this November’s election. She has to vacate her office after the election is officially certified, sometime between December 5 and December 17. A special election for Oakland mayor will be held within 120 days to select Oakland’s new mayor.
Frustration with crime was a major factor in Thao’s recall in Oakland and in California in general. Proposition 36 was approved, increasing penalties for retail theft. Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price was also recalled over crime. How she handled the Jasper Wu shooting left many incensed, particularly when she said she proposed pursuing non-jail options for the three men involved in the toddler’s death. Ironically, crime in Oakland has recently trended down.
By Guanxiong Qiao
Out of all the new game releases of 2024, one of my favorite ones is definitely Black Myth: Wukong. This is a game about the classic Chinese story Journey To The West, a book written in the Ming Dynasty, and it is one of my favorite books of all time. It’s considered as one of the greatest novels in China and also listed as one of the four great classics of Chinese literature, the other three being Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and A Dream of the Red Mansions.
The reason why Black Myth: Wukong is such a great game is because this is the first triple A quality video game that China has ever made, and it’s based on one of the most famous novels. One aspect that I like the most is that the game didn’t just copy the whole story and turn it into a game; it’s an entirely different story based on and inspired by the novel. It’s not even the original Wukong, but the main character is a random monkey in the mountain where all the monkeys were, and this re-imagining of the story is one aspect that makes the game good. It would be boring if the game was just another version of the same novel. The story line in the game is great and enriched by the elements of the original. You will meet a lot of allies and enemies that were in the classic Chinese story.
Aside from the good storyline, the game itself is also a very good video game. Black Myth: Wukong is a RPG (role playing game) with soul-like game elements in it, where there is a dark Chinese inspired fantasy setting and the story telling is not overt. They made the game kind of hard, but not too difficult. I feel like this is also a good characteristic because if a game is too easy, I would get bored fast, and if they make a game super hard, people will be stressed and likely stop playing. Black Myth Wukong has just the right amount of difficulty to keep players engaged but not frustrated. It’s challenging but not unbeatable. In fact, the game developers balanced the game difficulty to a point that it’s perfect. All the big bosses are challenging, so that when you beat it, it will make you feel accomplished, but players won’t be stuck there forever.
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