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Asian diaspora

Asian diaspora
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Asian diaspora. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Champuru is a representative dish of Okinawa, Japan. Its use of goya, or bitter melon, reveals its Chinese influences. Photo: Getty Images
Food and Drinks

How Okinawan food evolved with Chinese influences to become ‘truly unique’

Long ago, Okinawa was part of the Ryukyu Kingdom, a trade hub linking Japan to Asia. Today, dishes like goya champuru reflect this history.

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Food and Drinks

Forced to stop selling stinky tofu, this Taiwanese restaurant fought back

Fame and celebrity

Meet Irene Choi, the Harvard grad who plays intern Joy on The Pitt

Food and Drinks

A shaman told him to quit coffee. Now he runs a successful matcha brand

Rocky Xu, who started Rocky’s Matcha in 2022, focuses on selling quality, authentic Japanese tea rather than trying to be a viral sensation.

Rocky Xu, founder of Rocky’s Matcha, says his brand is about “tradition and craft” rather than chasing trends. Photo: Rocky Xu
Food and Drinks

The Hong Kong chef giving remote Canadian town a taste of the city

Unique Chan’s Hong Kong-style bakery attracts many non-Chinese customers curious to discover dishes like pineapple buns and egg tarts.

Art

Fried bananas and family lore: a Swedish-Chinese art story

Lam turns Swedish-Chinese restaurant culture and digital defects into haunting works about migration, memory and generational loss.

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Chinese cuisine

Video | How restaurant Putien brought Fujianese cuisine abroad

Putien is based on homestyle Heng Hwa cuisine from its namesake city of Putian in China’s coastal Fujian province.

Dishes from Fujianese restaurant Putien
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Food and Drinks

Trailblazing Chinese restaurant is showing Swedes what the culture is all about

From baijiu to Sichuan cuisine, Surfers in Stockholm has it all. Now, this Chinese culture hub is gearing up to celebrate 20 years.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How the Hakka spread in China and beyond, their cuisine reflecting hard lives

A people shaped by centuries of migration, Hakka communities are found across China and are prevalent in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Food and Drinks

How a Taiwanese chemist built a soy empire in Australia

Eric Hsu put his chemistry degree to good use, turning his garage-based business into one of Australia’s biggest makers of soy products.

King International co-founder and managing director Eric Hsu was born in Taiwan and worked as a chemist before immigrating to Australia in the 1980s. Photo: Eric Hsu
Chinese culture

This Cantonese language course is 85% Mandarin speakers. Here’s why

Originally targeting heritage speakers, the University of British Columbia’s language programme is proving more popular among another group.

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A Cantonese language course at the University of British Columbia that was originally geared towards heritage speakers is proving far more popular among Mandarin-speaking students. Photo: Getty Images
TV shows and streaming video

‘People can tell us apart’: Bridgerton’s Katie Leung on her acting journey

The Scotland-born actress of Hong Kong Chinese descent reveals which TVB shows she grew up watching and how she fell into acting.

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Food and Drinks

Filipino food’s secret weapon: vinegar, sharpening dishes for centuries

Cooks in the Philippines have used the ‘ingredient of 2026’ to bring out complexity in dishes long before the condiment started trending.

Food and Drinks

‘My dad thought I was crazy’: Thai-American chef pushes family joint forward

Justin Pichetrungsi shares how he is transforming Anajak Thai in Los Angeles, which counts John Legend and The Bear actors as regulars.

James Beard Award-winning chef Justin Pichetrungsi of Anajak Thai is pictured at his family’s restaurant in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. Photo: Carter Hiyama
Books and literature

How Asian-American couple’s Tubby Nugget went from silly doodle to viral fame

The husband-and-wife creators of Tubby Nugget reflect on their character’s incredible success as they release their first graphic novel.

A image of Tubby Nugget with his dog, Hunter, from the Tubby Nugget Instagram account. Photo: Instagram/tubbynugget
Food and Drinks

She hated working at her parents’ Chinese restaurant. Now she’s made it viral

Anna Peng shares the daily joys and challenges of running Canada’s Great Fountain Fast Food to its nearly 40,000 followers on Instagram.

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Chinese culture

Ancient Chinese astrology gets a Gen Z rebrand in Southeast Asia

Forget rituals and superstitions, today’s young professionals are using ‘bazi’ 10-year luck forecasts to plan their next career pivot.

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American cinema

Why Saving Face is the most important Asian-American lesbian film ever made

Alice Wu fought to film Saving Grace with an all Asian-American cast, and the film inspired a generation of Asian-American filmmakers.

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Michelle Krusiec (left) and Lynn Chen in a still from Saving Face (2004), directed by Alice Wu.
Food and Drinks

Chinese food, but make it fine dining? Chefs push back against stereotypes

Forget fast food in boxes: chefs at upscale restaurants in the US are elevating Chinese cuisine to fine dining status, tasting menus and all.

TV shows and streaming video

Asian-American comedians get a new platform to have their voices heard

Jokes with JoySauce is part of a US streaming channel that gives a home to Asian-American talent across film, comedy and reality TV.

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China technology

Opinion | ‘Becoming Chinese’ memes reflect a world shaped by China’s ascent

The memes are really about how deeply global digital life is embedded in Chinese-built systems – and how comfortable young people are with that.

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There is an emerging trend where foreigners are embracing aspects of Chinese culture by adopting habits such as drinking warm water, herbal teas and wearing slippers indoors. Photo: SCMP composite / TikTok
Mahjong

Painted tiles, loud tables, new faces: shaping mahjong’s next chapter

The next generation of mahjong players around the world is preserving and reinventing a Hong Kong tradition.

Today, more than 40 variations of mahjong are played around the world. Photo: Andria Lo/Mahjong: House Rules from Across the Asian Diaspora
Food and Drinks

Hollywood Boulevard gets a new star, and it’s a bubble tea giant from China

With its affordable soft serve and boba, bubble tea megachain Mixue has opened its first US store opposite Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

Food and Drinks

Craft beers, dim sum, hotpot and more: a culinary trip through Brussels

From craft beers to Chinese hotpot, Brussels’ vibrant food scene blends Belgian tradition and global flavours in unexpected ways.

Food and Drinks

Famous San Francisco Chinatown restaurant reveals its recipes in new cookbook

Kathy and Peter Fang’s cookbook is full of recipes of House of Nanking’s most popular dishes and others from Kathy’s childhood.

Kathy Fang grew up in her father’s restaurant, House of Nanking in San Francisco’s Chinatown, which opened in 1988. Together with her father, Peter Fang, she has released a cookbook featuring recipes from the restaurant and from her childhood. Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey
Icons and Influencers

Designer Hung La shares the inspo behind his ‘bad boy’ brand Lu’u Dan

La’s misspent youth crystallised into a subversive style whose celebrity fans include Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish and Lewis Hamilton.

Hung La of Lu’u Dan at Fashion Asia’s “10 Asian Designers to Watch” exhibition in Hong Kong, in December 2025. Photo: Handout
Food and Drinks

5 lucky foods to savour this Lunar New Year for wealth and happiness

Here are the lucky dishes to eat this festive season, from prosperity-generating oysters to biang biang noodles symbolising a long life.

Food and Drinks

How did China’s dan dan mian noodle dish become so popular in Japan?

Known as tantanmen in Japan, the sesame-flavoured noodles have spread across the country and appear in a variety of creative takes.

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