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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.
Chef Josh Boutwood at Salisterra at The Upper House in Hong Kong. Once a reluctant cook, he now helms Manila’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant Helm. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Food and Drinks

He swore he wouldn’t be a chef. Now he has a 2-Michelin-starred restaurant

Josh Boutwood began with the belief that a chef’s life was ‘not the life for me’. Today, he has a culinary empire in Manila.

Food and Drinks

The soy sauce artisans making the Chinese condiment with a dash of attitude

Food and Drinks

Kunafa prawn? From Shandong to the Nile, Cairo’s love affair with Chinese food

TV shows and streaming video

Q&A | Asian-American Sheng Wang likes to be bored. His best jokes come from it

The Taiwanese-American talks about how jokes in Purple, now on Netflix, were inspired by small everyday events, and his bond with Ali Wong.

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Sheng Wang performs in Los Angeles in November 2022. The Taiwanese-American stand-up comedian talks about his new Netflix special “Purple” and finding humour in “fleeting” everyday moments. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Social media

All 7 are dentists and hot. The Asian-American family blowing up social media

The Chen family shot to social media stardom over their shared career, good looks and closeness – all achieved without tiger parenting.

Food and Drinks

A Chinese takeaway kid’s Hong Kong-style French toast with a twist

London bakery Cantoast’s deep-fried milk bread comes in flavours such as salted egg. It’s Hong Kong-style baking but not as we quite know it.

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Fashion

US$20 for a jacket, US$280 for tailoring. How demand for tailors is rising

Demand for professional sewers, dressmakers and tailors is growing in the US. Problem is, many are retiring and there are few to replace them.

Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, works on an embroidered shirt at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Food and Drinks

Mouthing Off | Is stinky tofu ban for US restaurant discrimination or lack of common scents?

Whether stinky tofu, durian or strong spices, what smells are acceptable and what aren’t is ambiguous. Where should the line be drawn?

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

The owner of Southern California’s Golden Leaf reveals how a neighbour’s vendetta has seen the popular street food dropped from his menu.

A plate of stinky tofu. The street food popular in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan is prized for its distinct, potent stench - but for some, the smell is simply too much. Photo: Shutterstock
Fame and celebrity

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

The Harvard grad with a Korean background has enjoyed a string of TV successes including the Emmy award-winning medical drama.

Harvard-educated Irene Choi stars in the new season of The Pitt. Photos: Handout, @irenechoi/Instagram
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.

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.

Multimedia artist Lap-see Lam draws inspiration from her multicultural background. Photo: Mattias Lindbäck
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.

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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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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.

Filipino ceviche, or kinilaw, uses a vinegar marinade to “cook” the raw fish, unlike the Latin American version, which uses citrus juice. Photo: Dreamstime/TNS
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.

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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An event organised by Joey Yap, one of “bazi’s” most prominent modern practitioners. Photo: Handout
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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