September 16, 2008 by willng24.

Hey All!  Miss me?  Sorry I’ve been away for so long, but I’m back and on the attack!!  To see what I’ve been up to visit my other blog at WillNg.com

However, I’m not the only one back on the scene, my favorite Chinatown restaurant has finally reopened its doors.  Royal Palace Restaurant (use to be named Royal Pacific), which use to be housed at the food court on Beach St., has reopened its doors at 70 Tyler St. (the old Cindy’s Planet location).  After 16 long months, I’m now able to enjoy my favorite Salt & Pepper Pork Chop dish at my favorite restaurant.  And to note, it is 2 blocks closer to my apartment…ohh that is way too close for comfort.  Royal Palace opened its doors on August 20th to a crowd of hungry fans.  Follow this link to a review of the restaurant.

Sadly we had to say goodbye to Cindy’s Planet.  I will surely miss the Watermelon drinks during the hot summer months.

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May 12, 2008 by willng24.

This morning a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit central China with a death toll rising close to 9000.  This earthquake was so large that vibrations were felt as far away at Thailand and Vietnam.   

Besides the major disaster that this earthquake has caused, it couldn’t have come at a worse time as China still struggles with relations with Tibet along with preparations for the looming Olympics in August. 

We can only pray for those involved in the disaster and their family members.  Even though I don’t have relatives in that area I can surely feel for the magnitude of this disaster.  Surely there will be relief efforts in play and hopefully it won’t be anything like the barriers that Myanmar is facing. 

For more information, please visit: CNN & Boston.com

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April 7, 2008 by willng24.

As in any Olympics the journey of the ceremonial torch from Greece to the site of the Olympics is always adventurous. Not only does the team have to be concerned with weather conditions, but also protesters. This year, it seams like the torch is confronting more protesters than I’ve ever seen. Well it can probably be explained by:

1 – Media has gotten a lot better in getting information to the public. Additionally, everyone likes to see the drama of the Olympic torch.

2 – Since my heritage is Chinese it probably catches my attention more than before.

Keep in mind that the torch has yet to even arrive in China and it is already hitting all sorts of speed bumps. Just looking at the map above you can expect some craziness as the torch hits China.  Sadly, the torch isn’t coming to Boston anytime soon, but hopefully in the future we can host the Olympics.

I personally think that attacks on the torch are the biggest waste of time for protesters. The best protest is probably to not attend or watch the Olympics. If you really want to go to the extreme, don’t spend any money on businesses that support the Olympics and tell others why you are doing so. I think the business ratio is 1 happy customer tells 8 others, but 1 unhappy customer tells 32 others.

I have views on the issues with Tibet and China, but that isn’t going to stop me from watching the Olympics. Plus, it will surely be exciting to see how the Chinese plan to secure the whole Olympics event. Funny, I actually considered going to the Olympics as a graduation gift to myself. Thank god I’m too broke to do so.

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March 28, 2008 by willng24.

This is the same post I have on my own site, but I thought it would be an interesting topic for this site.

The big movie coming out today is 21. This movie is based on the book Bringing Down the House about a few MIT students who took Vegas for millions. Many Asians are angry because of Hollywood’s decision to change the race of a few of the characters. In actuality a majority of the MIT group were Asian, but Hollywood decided to cast Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth instead. Is this Hollywood’s way of white washing a movie so it is more appealing to the general population? Yes. Does Hollywood think that Asians can’t hold a lead role? Yes.

A recent article by the Angry Asian Man provides more insight to the character changes and response by Jeff Ma, the character who Sturgess plays in the movie. Jeff does have a cameo in the film as a Planet Hollywood dealer (ironic).

I don’t think that this is a racist move targeting Asians, but more of a financial move. The bottom line is if statistics show that movies with lead characters played by monkeys make more money, well we’d see more monkeys on film….simple as that. However, I also consider that if the roles were reversed, would the general Caucasian population have a similar response? How about other races. If Malcom X was played by Spacey instead of Denzel we’d surely hear about it everywhere.. I think it is up to us to voice our concerns to movie producers, but I don’t think this is racism…is it?

Remember, we make up the statistics that movie producers go by. If you are offended by this, don’t watch the movie.

Just because a movie isn’t true to life doesn’t make it a bad movie. Hollywood has been doing this since day one. Keep in mind it is a movie. It is designed to entertain you for 2 hours for $10. If you were entertained, then you should be satisfied. I’d probably watch this movie as I’m a huge fan of movies involving Boston.

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March 24, 2008 by willng24.

Recently there hasn’t been much in Chinatown that has caught my attention to write about. However, that hasn’t stopped me in the past so…

I had the privilege of dining at King Fung Garden on Kneeland St. a few weeks ago. This place is as much a part of Chinatown culture as the pagoda. Yes, I should be ashamed that it took me 29 years to step foot into this place. However, it may be my last trip. I knew what I was expecting after reading a few reviews on Yelp (great food, horrible atmosphere), but these are the places I love. Sadly, the food didn’t live up to expectations. The meal began with steamed dumplings and scallion pancakes. I have to admit that the scallion pancake was great, but the dumplings weren’t much better than what I’d get at the frozen food section of C-mart. The noodles that followed were even worse. A greasy dish with sub par ingredients.

I didn’t get the Peking Duck that everyone was raving about, but maybe if I was daring…again.

Steven Chow’s new movie CJ7 is playing at the Kendall Square Theater. I’m a huge fan of his comedy and can’t wait to see this one. If you’ve already seen it, drop me a review. Until then, enjoy the trailer from Youtube.

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