Think of this as a mega double date, only bigger. Last week in Harbin, China, 18 couples tied the knot at a group wedding, which was part of the 28th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival. I gotta say, it doesn’t get much more communist than having a communal wedding sponsored by the Chinese government! Besides the mass nuptials, the event also featured huge ice sculptures that are sure to impress anyone who has suffered numb fingers from building a snowman.
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With the brains of a former lawyer, the charm of a TV personality, and the ability to make mouth-watering pork belly buns, Eddie Huang defines fobby hotness. The 30-year-old Taiwanese American recently began hosting the show, “Cheap Bites,” on the Cooking Channel, which aired January 1. The show features cheap but high quality dining places around the U.S.
So why the career move from attorney to chef? Huang says he used to get very upset when, as a kid, his classmates criticized his meal box as stinky and filthy. I can totally relate—I was also made fun of in school as a kid when I brought spring rolls and Vietnamese fish sauce to school for lunch (I bet they’d be jealous now!). But to prove this stereotype wrong, Huang decided to move into the restaurant industry and open his own place.
Huang began pursuing his passion for the food business by opening a Taiwanese restaurant called Xiao Ye. Unfortunately, the restaurant closed down, but Huang wasted no time and began his next venture. He opened up Baohaus, a tiny shop in the Lower East Side of NYC famous for its pork-belly buns. I was fortunate to stumble upon Huang’s shop a few years ago when it first opened, and for a guy who has no formal culinary background, Huang’s pork-belly buns left me craving more fatty goodness.
Huang has risen in popularity and was named in Zagat Survey in May 2011 as one of 30 up-and-coming chefs under the age of 30. He stays in touch with his fans by tweeting and keeping a personal blog titled, “Fresh off the Boat.”
Hmm…with my J.D. and similar love for food, I wonder if I can convince him to let me be his co-host for the show?
(Thanks, Aileen!)
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Can someone tell me what China can’t replicate? Because apparently cloning food is no challenge. Caliburger recently opened in Shanghai to bring the taste of the popular American fast food burger chain, In-N-Out, to the Chinese. What’s really sparked controversy is that Caliburger even went further to trademark In-N-Out’s burger names outside of the US.
Although many Chinese copies of products don’t have a reputation for high quality, the Caliburger actually has good reviews. People described the quality of the Caliburger to be up to par and the taste to be similar to an In-N-Out burger. The buns are locally baked, the vegetables are locally sourced and delivered daily, and the meat is freshly imported and never frozen. Impressive I must say.
However, Caliburger isn’t In-N-Out’s true twin unless they can copy In-N-Out’s “animal-style” menu!
(Thanks, Thai!)
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I’m sure you guys know our “Fob Revelation” series, where we muse on such topics as discovering what a “spork” is or the actual meaning of a “douchebag.” Turns out, a German DJ named Flula Borg a.k.a. DJ Flula shares our sentiments about weird Americanisms. His amazingly hilarious videos capture him (often chilling in a car) pondering the meanings of American idioms such as “shooting fish in a barrel”, “shoot the sh*t” and “party pooper.”
Watch his video on the meaning of “balls to the wall” (fob confession: I actually didn’t know what this idiom meant either!).
(Thanks, Katie!)
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Love karaoke? Well, if you’re truly a hardcore singer then you’ll love these solo karaoke rooms. Popping up in Japan and China, these small booths are perfect for those who want to practice their pitch alone. According to a big karaoke chain in Japan, 18% of its customers are solo singers. And it’s not just because they’re microphone hogs–many singers sing alone to practice before a big karaoke party, while others are housewives who just want to belt it out on a weekday afternoon.
I spotted solo karaoke rooms while I was traveling in China. They were about the size of an old-school telephone booth, and you could actually record your vocals on a CD. Gotta love how Asians take karaoke to a whole new level.
Clueless about karaoke? Read our do’s and don’ts on karaoke etiquette.
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Look closely. Drivers in China are slowing down instinctively after seeing what looks like a highway patrol car. But after passing by the vehicle, it turns out it’s actually just a cardboard cutout placed on the side of the road! The cutouts even have a solar-powered flashing light to make it look super realistic. The point is to reduce speeding by making drivers think that cops are close.
Love it or hate it, you gotta admit it’s kind of amazing how people in China can figure out a cheap way to get the job done!
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If you brought a bologna or peanut butter and jelly sandwich to school in Japan, you’d probably be made fun of. Japanese students don’t take lunch time lightly. This is a chance to show off “food art” in the form of bento boxes, and moms can spend hours creating packed lunches made to look like anything ranging from cute animals, to cartoon characters, to Barack Obama!
As you can imagine, there’s a good amount of competition among moms. The meticulousness and creativity of bento probably comes from the Japanese culture of precision and detail. In fact, bento-making classes are even offered to moms to perfect their skills.
Check out the video below to get a closer look into the bento culture.
(Thanks, Arthur!)
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It’s crazy how much has happened just this past year. AbFob turned two, and despite me and Emily’s initial doubts when we started the blog in 2009, there is always something fobby to write about. Here’s a recap on a few of 2011′s best posts:
Inspired by the role of social media in the Middle East uprisings, an Egyptian man names his daughter, “Facebook.”
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By now you’ve probably seen the videos of North Koreans sobbing hysterically over the passing of their dictator, Kim Jong-Il. Turns out, Singapore’s got problems, too. I seriously don’t go one day without seeing a breaking news update about Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit system (the public train everyone takes to get around the sunny island). The MRT faced a recent series of breakdowns that had commuters out of sorts. But who knew both Kim Jong-Il mourners and distraught Singaporeans could relate to each other in their time of sorrow. Watch the video below to see what I mean:
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By now, you’ve probably seen the popular Sh*t Girls Say YouTube video that had girls confessing, “Oh my god, that’s so me!” and guys shaking their heads mumbling, “Story of my life.” I’ve seen spoof videos pop up and one of my favorites is the Sh*t Asian Girls Say version. Perhaps because I can totally see a lot of my Asian friends saying some of the quotes. And if I’m going to be really honest, the comment about bad driving hit really close to home. Watch below to see what I’m talking about:
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