There is a type of content on YouTube called "Catch and Cook" videos, where people catch fish and then show you how to prepare them. Most people who make these kinds of videos simply take the guts out of the fish, slap them in a grill or a pan with some butter and salt and pepper and eat them like that. Taku, aka Outdoor Chef Life, has elevated the…

April Kim gets one of the best seats at some of Singapore and Malaysia's biggest KPOP concerts! She's literally on the stage with the artists! April is a stage interpreter, who turns the artists' Korean into English for their fans. I noticed April when some videos of her interactions with artists like Taeyeon, CN Blue, and IU went viral! It really …

Would it surprise you to find out that many of your favorite KPOP songs are written outside of Korea? It might also surprise you to find out that a few of these Billboard-charting songs were actually written by a Canadian teenager! Today we're hearing from Toronto-based singer-songwriter Sofia Kay. Still in her teens, Sofia is an uber-talented arti…

Eddie Ahn has been working in environmental justice as the executive director of Brightline Defense for the past 15+ years, here in San Francisco. And you know me, whenever I get a chance to interview someone from SF I'll jump at the chance! Eddie has published his first graphic novel, Advocate, a memoir about navigating family and working on envir…

I traveled to Macau to teach English for 3 summers in the early 90's. It's a really special place to me, since so much of my Chinese identity was formed during my time there. Since I lived there before the internet age, I needed to dial and receive phone calls from overseas, so I was familiar with telling people they needed to dial the country code…

Children of immigrants face unique pressures as adults. They can get stuck in a "repay cycle," (tm) where they constantly feel like they need to always be there for their parents who gave up so much for them, often sacrificing their own desires to do that. Allison Ly is a licensed clinical social worker who offers therapy (in California) and coachi…

This week we had a wonderful chat with Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn! She is a Bangkok-born Malaysian/Chinese-American author and educator who wrote Exclusion and The Chinese American Story a middle-grade history book supplement that delineates the ups and downs of the Chinese American experience from the 1800s to today. It's a fantastic read that is no…

Ally Shen is a rising star in the Mando Pop world! She's part of the 9 member Taiwanese girl group Twinkle Black, but she announced on OUR SHOW that she is officially launching her solo career with 2 new songs in the next few months! It was a complete pleasure to talk with Ally for about an hour, she is so warm, friendly, funny, and smart! I can't …

It's always fun to get together with my teacher pals, but it was even more fun to get together at my new favorite Southeast Asian restaurant, Lime Tree! Loan, Vicky, Jackie, and I got together right before our Spring Break to talk about AAPI history, facts, and historical figures. Pictured here is the Tape family, their 8-year-old daughter, Mamie, …

For someone who plays villains, actor Yvonne Chapman could not have been nicer! Calling in from Vancouver, Canada, Yvonne talked with me about her road to acting as well as her three seasons on CW's Kung Fu, playing villain turned friend Zhilan Zhang. In February of 2024, Yvonne was stunning as the larger-than-life supernatural Kyoshi Avatar in Net…

We headed back to our favorite KPOP store, SarangHello, here in San Francisco to have some fun on a Friday night! We had a Trivia Night with about 30 of our listeners and friends! It was lots of laughs, a few tense moments, but in the end, I think everyone left a winner! Special thanks to Chesca, Pip, (and Kevin in absentia) for hosting us and prov…

This episode was so much fun to record! I was able to get a mini tour of Chinatown with two SF natives who grew up down there, Josh Chuck, co-producer and co-director of the documentary film Chinatown Rising, and my mom Brenda! It was really fun to capture the sounds of Chinatown on this recording, I hope you enjoy! A few FACT CHECK items: I said P…

**No Spoilers For the First Half** Jess Hong plays Jin Cheng in Netflix’s sci-fi thriller 3 Body Problem, adapted from Chinese novelist Cixin Liu’s books, and produced by Benioff, Weiss (Game of Thrones) and Woo (True Blood). Jin is a genius scientist trying to save mankind from a consequence that started over five decades earlier. Jess called in f…

More great recommendations for Asian food in San Francisco from Julia Chen, Senior Staff Writer at the Infatuation SF! Let us know if you try any of our recommendations! As you can tell we love food and we hope you do too! Follow Julia @infatuation_sf or over at their website https://www.theinfatuation.com/san-francisco Restaurants Mentioned these …

Julia Chen has my dream job! (though it does seem like a lot more work than I realized) She is a Senior staff writer at the restaurant recommendation site The Infatuation. (no, the similarity of our media names did not escape us)! Julia eats out in SF 6-10 times a week and writes reviews for The Infatuation website. The Infatuation has quickly beco…

What a year 2023 was for Asian American representation in TV and film. Since the Oscars is traditionally the end of awards season, I figured it’d be fun to do a little recap of some of our favorite AAPI projects that aired in 2023! I brought back 2 friends of the pod to help me with this. We’re happy to have Katie Nguyen back! And joining us again …

We hit the beach for this "on-location" recording (ignore the wind and wave sounds). I had a super fun time trying to catch crab with Kaitlyn and Adam. In between checking our crab snares, we had time to chat about fishing and whatnot. Did we go home empty-handed? Check out our Instagram for pics of the day. Or you can watch Adam's video of our out…

Science fiction with feelings! Mike Chen is a New York Times bestselling author. He's written parts of both the Star Wars and Star Trek collections. He has penned 6 original novels including, Here and Now and Then, Light Years From Home, and the recently released A Quantum Love Story. Besides both being geeks with the same last name (in Chinese), M…

It’s not every day that we have a reverend on the InfatuAsian Podcat! Reverend Eugene Cho has made it his mission to end suffering around the world. He founded One Day's Wages, a grassroots organization that uses small donations from everyday people to help people all over the world. He’s written and co-authored 3 books and speaks all over the worl…

Michelle has been traveling the world for the past 10 years. She has been to over 68 countries on all 7 continents… and she’s gotten paid for most it! It started by teaching English in Japan, which turned into teaching English and taking care of kids on cruise ships. This past year (November to November) Michelle was working at the South Pole Stati…

Love is still in the air over here at the InfatuAsian Podcast... you get a 2nd Valentine's Day episode! This time Jennifer, Nadira, and I asked some of our podcasting friends to pick their favorite K-Drama romance of ALL TIME!!! I loved hearing all their answers, and I hope you agree or maybe even get a few dramas to add to your watchlist! Special …

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! Whether you're married, dating, or single we have a fun episode for you. Jackie, Loan, and I talk about random Asian love facts and stories this week, just in time for V-Day 2024! So cuddle up with someone you love... or enjoy some black bean noodles by yourself and have a listen! Special thanks to fellow teachers Lo…

*Spoiler Free 1st Half* Netflix’s The Brothers Sun started 2024 with a bang! Starring Michelle Yeoh, it is a non-stop adventure from episode one. It is far from simply being a show about fighting a triad war, it has lots of comedic and heartfelt moments. At its core, it is a story about loyalty and family both born into and chosen. My co-host Katie…

This week we break down Netflix’s hit show Singles Inferno 3. Watching 12 beautiful Korean singles compete for each other’s affection has become a winter tradition for Netflix. Curtis is a little late to the Singles Inferno franchise, watching the show for the first time this year, but it didn’t disappoint. It is very entertaining! Helping out this…

We recorded this episode in late June of 2023, but we held it up due to the Hollywood writer’s strike, but it’s finally time to bring it out of cold storage! Leo Xia, professionally known as LowHi, is a singer/songwriter, rapper, and music producer. His solo work showcases his sensitive side that’s filled with authenticity and subtlety. When he rap…

The Fetishist is a book written over 10 years ago by Katherine Min. Unfortunately, Katherine passed away in 2019, and it was left unpublished. The book has just now been published posthumously and is available for you to read. One of the people who made sure that this book got out into the world is Katherine’s daughter Kayla Min Andrews. It was a r…

Friend of the podcast Chloe Choe came back to talk side hustles, real estate, and more money tips! Chloe is a software engineer by day, but she loves little and big ways to generate extra income. She got her real estate license last year and bought her first home! We had a lot of fun talking about big and small ways to get more money in your pocket…

Happy Solar New Year Everyone! Welcome back to the InfatuAsian Podcast's first episode of 2024!! New year, new look logo! What do you think? Shout out to Justin from We Are Half The World, who designed it for me. If you want to help me advertise, fill out the form that I linked in our Instagram bio, and I’ll send you one when I get them made! We’re…

2023 was a really great year for me as a podcaster. This year we uploaded about 50 episodes, all of them special to me in one way or another, so it was hard to boil it down to just the 5 "best." So I let the numbers do the talking and went with the top 5 episodes based on how many people listened to them. I'm joined by my co-host Jumi, to recap som…

We picked up where we left off last week with our top 5 Chinese dishes/foods! In this part of the episode we got lots more cooking tips from Bill, Kaitlin, and Kat! We spent almost two hours making 5 picks each, but we could have gone even longer if we hadn't gotten so hungry! Thanks to my guests: Kat Lieu from @subtleasian.baking, Bill and Kaitlin…

I gave my guests an impossible task. I asked Kat from Subtle Asian Baking, Lingjie from the Worst Asian Pod, and Bill and Kaitlin from The Woks of Life to pick their top 5 Chinese dishes and place them on tiers! It was a difficult task, but we had a lot of fun doing it! This episode came out to be almost 2 hours long, so I'm splitting it into two p…

We are speaking with Abigail Wen today. She’s the author of the Loveboat, Taipei series. Book 3 just came out last month, it’s called Loveboat, Forever! It is based on Abigail and other’s experiences at the Taiwan Study Tour trip that many people took in the 80’s and 90’s. It's called the "Loveboat" because, while touted as a study tour, it's actua…

I stumbled across the Invictus Quartet on Instagram and loved seeing and hearing their talent, energy, and creativity. Based in Melbourne, Invictus performs classical pieces, covers, and mash-ups all over Australia and beyond. There's really no limit to their creativity. I had so much fun chatting with Nyssa, Annika, Jin, and Bec. I'm so glad they …

Need something to listen to while you're preparing your Thanksgiving feast? Here's a replay of our conversation with legendary chef Ming Tsai from November 2022! He is an Asian American legend, and a fantastic storyteller and interview. Thanks to my sister Caryl for asking Chef Ming to come on with us. He did not disappoint. Happy Thanksgiving Ever…

Here's an episode for you data-loving nerds out there! I heard Dr. Chris Williams give a brief synopsis of one of the papers he's working on that had to do with using computer learning to understand more about racial biases in emergency room treatment. I was curious to know more about ways health professionals may leverage massive amounts of data t…

Now that the SAG-AFTRA strike is over, I feel better about posting this episode with the amazing actor and musician Perry Yung!!! We recorded this on July 13th, 2023, one day before the actor's strike was declared. Perry is a Bay Area native, born and raised in Oakland, California. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in a…

Chin-Sun Lee was named one of Poets & Writers 5 over 50 (authors who publish their first books over the age of 50)! A daughter of North Korean refugees, Chin-Sun has written a deep psychological thriller called Upcountry. It is a great Fall read, so I hope you get a chance to pick up a copy! Find Upcountry wherever you get your books (or ask your l…

It's spooky season here in the US (and increasingly overseas as well)! I don't know what it is, but I think Asia has some of the spookiest ghost stories. Today fellow teachers Jackie and Vicky helped me talk about some Asian ghost legends and stories. Make sure you are sitting alone in the dark when you listen for full effect... perhaps in a haunte…

Rose Crelli is a classically trained violinist who travels the world to play at a wide range of events. Based in San Francisco you can find Rose playing at City Hall for weddings or at the Chase Center during Warriors games. Her repertoire spans everything from classical to hip-hop, but best of all, her joy of playing comes through regardless of th…

We interviewed Linda Nguon (founder of Banh Mi Media) in 2022 on Zoom, and we could tell that we had a lot in common, even though we grew up in different countries and had different backgrounds. We both have a vision of using media to tell stories and give a voice to our Asian communities. Since then Banh Mi Media has done a LOT to bring visibility…

We're back at it again with our K-Drama Draft Show! Jennifer and Nadira are back, and we brought in another old friend from our C-Drama episode Jessica from Daebak K-Rambles Podcast. It was good fun picking dramas with these 3! To keep it fresh, we created 5 new categories: A 2023 show, A drama with a 2nd lead that you liked, A drama starring a K-P…

Happy Filipino History Month!!! I was born, raised, and work in San Francisco, but I actually currently live one mile south of SF in a heavily Filipino suburb called Daly City! That said, I find it strange that I've never gone to a sit down Filipino restaurant before... until now! We also tried something else new this week! We recorded on location …

I love making these compilation episodes! For the past 6 months, I've been asking my guests questions about travel in Asia. It's been so much fun hearing their answers and chatting about their travel stories! Coming along to help me break down the previous guests' responses is our old pal Isabel Wong, from the Proudly Asian Podcast (Isabel was a gu…

This Chinese drama started popping up all over my Instagram feed around the end of 2022, so when Nadira suggested that I watch it curiosity got the best of me. We roped in Jessica from the Daebak K-Rambles Podcast to come along too, and my journey into Xianxia C-Dramas began! Love Between Fairy and Devil is a 2022 high fantasy drama out of China. I…

I read Grace Lin's The Ugly Vegetables to my kids when they were little, and it quickly became one of our favorites, for so many reasons. It was an honor to speak with her over Zoom last week and I'm happy to bring you this episode! Her latest book, available September 12, 2023, is called Chinese Menu, and it is fantastic! It is a collection of abo…

If you get a chance to see The Harvest at a film festival or special showing, you definitely should! It is an amazing film written by and starring Doua Moua (Gran Torino, Mulan). It also stars Dawn Ying Yuen, newcomer Chrisna Chhor, and our pal Perry Yung! It is a beautiful look into a Hmong family, that you just don't see anywhere else. I had the …

I'm so happy to bring CRAXY to you! CRAXY is a 4-member KPOP group that is on a North American Tour at the moment. They performed at K-Con LA two weeks ago, and are headed across the US on their way to perform in Puerto Rico on August 31, 2023 (If you're in Puerto Rico, it's not too late to get tickets)! I dropped by their fan meet event at our fav…

It's hard to believe our 2-year anniversary mark came and went last June! I genuinely had no idea where this was going back in June of 2021. I just wanted to get positive stories about Asian things and Asian people out there. I never would have guessed who we would be talking with and who would be listening! It's been a really fun journey so far an…

Blackpink was the first K-Pop group that I really started listening to in 2019. Their music was so catchy, but what really sold me was when I saw them speaking English fluently on American TV shows like James Corden and Good Morning America. They had so much swagger, but were also sweet and silly. Their Born Pink tour is almost coming to an end, an…

One of my favorite things to eat, especially when I want a quick satisfying meal any time of the day, is INSTANT RAMEN!!! As good as that is by itself, sometimes it’s nice to mix things up a little. Today we are going to try some of the most popular ramen hacks found on the internet to elevate your instant ramen experience. These recipes are all ea…