Celine Pun
46 articles
Soothing video of soy sauce being made from scratch in rural China goes viral on TikTok
A soothing TikTok video showing the process of making soy sauce from scratch has gone viral. When the soybeans can be mashed between his fingertips with no resistance, he spreads the steaming beans…
Iconic Chinese paddlefish and wild Yangtze sturgeon officially declared extinct
In 2019, the Chinese paddlefish was listed as extinct in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. A recent reassessment published on Thursday verified the…
Tô Văn Lai, creator of ‘Paris by Night,’ dies at 85
In 1983, Tô Văn Lai produced the first “Paris by Night” show to reach Vietnamese refugees living in France who felt distant from their culture. “Paris by Night,” a Vietnamese-language musical variety…
Thai student turns discarded billboards into shelters for stray dogs
A Thai design student converted discarded billboards into environmentally friendly shelters to protect stray dogs from heavy rain and heatwaves. Ajarn Yossaphon Chanthongjeen, who is based in…
Forget pineapple pizza — it’s all about durian mango pizza with fried chicken
In Pizza Hut Taiwan’s Durian Water Gold Pizza, large chunks of durian add creaminess and softness to the pizza’s standard base layer. Meanwhile, a mango sauce introduces a sweet and tart flavor to…
Hot pot how-to: 10 simple steps to have the most epic dinner party
When I was at UC Santa Barbara, I hosted a lot of hot pot dinner parties. My college apartment grew fragrant for the stragglers, the ones who couldn’t go home and the international students who…
Toronto’s ban on single-use plastics could cripple some Asian businesses, say restaurant owners
On July 7, Canada released regulations prohibiting single-use plastics and suggesting alternatives to reduce the environmental impact and wildlife harm of plastic pollution. The new measures also aim…
Right person, wrong time: Vince Xu, Kasey Ma show ‘what Asian love is’ on ‘The One That Got Away’
“The One That Got Away” premiered on June 24 with 10 episodes on Amazon Prime Video. The show centers on a social experiment that has six singles dating random people from their past to see if one of…
Soda chanh muối: The perfect summer drink from Vietnam that only takes 4 simple ingredients to make
Have a glass of soda chanh muối – a salty, sparkling Vietnamese drink – to keep you refreshed this summer. Soda chanh muối is a type of limeade or lemonade made at home and also served in most…
Honoring my scallions: How my Asian parents’ food waste made me an environmentalist
Growing up as a low-income, first-generation Asian American, I was motivated by my immigrant parents’ food insecurity to fight for our planet. I was born into an American culture of honoring…
New ‘mabuhay’ kicks from Vans shows off Filipino culture, ‘Checkerbayan’ pattern with Philippines flag
Filipino American artist DJ Javier collaborated with skateboarding shoe company Vans to design three new pairs of kicks celebrating Filipino culture. Raised in Goleta, California, DJ Javier began…
Uncle Roger gives his take on Singaporean cuisine: ‘weird, less good version’ of Malaysian food
Nigel Ng, the 31-year-old Malaysian comedian known for his Uncle Roger persona, ranked Malaysian cuisine as better than Singaporean food. The spontaneous ranking was spoken lightheartedly out of…
Watch: Hong Kong residents bid farewell to Jumbo Floating Restaurant as it is towed to secret location
The Jumbo Floating Restaurant offered Chinese banquet-style fine dining and was known for their Cantonese cuisine and seafood dishes. The venue boasted more than 45,000 square feet over three floors…
Canadian students saved customers $450k in grocery bills with their ‘peculiar’ delivery service
Canadian university students Sang Le and Arielle Lok created Peko Produce, a produce delivery service that reduces food waste and promotes the accessibility of affordable, healthy food. The Vancouver…
California bakery releases ‘mochi muffin’ trademark after online backlash
A gay-and family-owned bakery in Berkeley, California, released their trademark on mochi muffins after receiving heavy criticism and poor Yelp reviews from baker netizens in an uproar over…
Toothy takes: In defense of Asian fusion cuisine
If American Chinese food isn’t authentically Asian then neither am I Growing up with the privilege of nightly access to fresh, homemade Chinese food, I have always taken its Americanized cousin for…
Pepsi Japan releases new cola formulated to taste best when paired with karaage fried chicken
Pepsi Japan is releasing a special soda made specifically to pair perfectly with fried chicken. “Pepsi Zero Karaage Senyou Cola,” which translates to “Pepsi Zero Exclusively for Japanese-Style Fried…
Malaysian short film ‘Plastik’ imagines a world where plastic pollution continues unchecked
A Malaysian short film produced for World Environmental Day shares the horrifying normalization of plastic pollution. The short film, “Plastik,” was developed by The MeshMinds Foundation and produced…
Eat your avocados with condensed milk to try the Filipino dessert trend on TikTok
TikTok user @anna..paull shared a now-viral video of herself trying a Filipino dessert made of avocado, ice and condensed milk. Filipino families have their own variations of this dessert, with some…
Los Angeles’ ban on gas stoves could spell the end for many Korean BBQ, Chinese restaurants
Last Friday, the Los Angeles County City Council passed a motion placing a ban on most residential and commercial gas appliances in an effort to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions. To…
Video of Australian TikToker struggling for a full 2 minutes to open a Ramune goes viral
A viral video by TikToker @thereallifemeggriffin shows her sitting in the driver’s seat of her car, excited to try a blue bottle of Japan’s national soda, Ramune. The video has garnered over 782,000…
New light-up LED chopsticks designed for gamers makes snacking an OP experience
A recent LED chopstick design was created to assist gamers by offering a more enjoyable gaming and eating experience, keeping fingers and keyboards oil-free for snacking. The light’s color can switch…
McDonald’s China unveils chocolate mochi burger, prawn and pineapple burger for Children’s Day
To celebrate the upcoming Children’s Day, McDonald’s China has released nine new items: the Galaxy soda, sea salt coconut McFlurry, star-shaped hash browns, sour plum dip, green pepper dip, prawn and…
A 24,000-square-foot, cyberpunk-styled Asian food hall is coming to Queens
Located in Flushing, Queens, the 24,000-square-foot Asian food hall is one of the many projects in Tangram, a multi-purpose space with architecture inspired by the traditional Chinese puzzle of its…
Japanese one-person instant ramen pot keeps soup warm while you eat from it
Japanese gadget company Thanko has created My Ramen Pot, or “Ore no Ramen Nabe,” with a cube design to allow consumers to conveniently cook blocks of dried ramen noodles. To use this single serving…
Hi-Chew introduces 3 new ‘juicy’ flavors in launch of new version of their classic candy
Hi-Chew’s Infrusion Orchard Mix features three new flavors: Juicy Blood Orange, Juicy Peach and Juicy Strawberry. The new candy has little chunks filled with concentrated apple puree and pectin…
Milk tea eggs: New York City boba shops are helping fuel new viral drink trend
Boba chains in New York City are selling boba drinks in limited-edition egg-shaped containers. I’Milky, founded originally as Mu Bai in Taiwan in 2017, had previously sold their Magic Eggs…
Pizza Hut Taiwan debuts chocolate-crusted pie topped with Oreos, popcorn chicken and calamari
Pizza Hut Taiwan announced a new pizza called the No. 1 Salted Chicken Pizza in Taiwan in a May 10 Facebook post. For only $399 New Taiwan dollars (approximately $13.40), customers can purchase an…
Potato shortage leads to Japanese Burger Kings substituting french fries with dried ramen snacks
Japanese Burger Kings are offering customers the option to substitute their french fries with dried ramen snacks amid a global potato shortage. Japan is among the many countries to experience potato…
Dolly Parton, Doja Cat to star in Taco Bell’s ‘Mexican Pizza: the Musical’
Inspired by Doja Cat’s “Mexican Pizza” song, Taco Bell announced yesterday that they will be releasing “Mexican Pizza: the Musical” – a satirical musical about how Mexican pizza lovers fought for the…
Panda Express worker’s viral TikTok roast of early morning customers has fast-food employees chiming in
A 15-second video posted to TikTok by @isaiahafk shows a Panda Express worker expressing his dismay at the chain’s early-morning customers. While many in the video’s comments section offered up their…
Cafe Maddy Cab: Program that pays cab fares for NYC AAPIs vulnerable to hate crimes relaunches
Food influencer Madeline Park relaunched her Cafe Maddy Cab program on Sunday in response to the rising rate of anti-Asian hate crimes in her home city of New York. “Every single time I see a…
See the long-awaited Nike x Hello Kitty sneakers set to drop just in time for summer
Sneakerheads are pumped for the new Nike x Hello Kitty Air Prestos sneakers collaboration. Those who missed out 18 years ago on the infamous first Nike x Hello Kitty sneakers collab — which is just…
TikTok video showing how a conveyer belt sushi restaurant in Japan quickly calculates bills goes viral
TikTok users are impressed by the clever technology a Japanese revolving sushi restaurant uses to ring up customers instantly. With over 3.3 million views and 800 comments, a 13-second video on the…
Olympic gold-medalist snowboarder Chloe Kim reveals plans for mental health break
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim plans to take a full season off from competition to prioritize taking care of her mental health. Kim still plans to compete, however, in the upcoming Milano…
South Asian Americans are hyped for the return of the Mexican Pizza
Taco Bell recently announced the return of their Mexican Pizza to participating stores across the United States, Aruba, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic on May 19. Taco Bell was one of the few fast…
