Monthly Archives: April 2009

Utada on Ryan Seacrest

Follow Japanese American singer/songwriter Utada (aka Hikaru Utada aka Hikki) as she makes stops in Los Angeles, Miami and New York to promote her new album “This Is The One”. (Add her to the list of Asian singer trying to crossover to the USA including BoA and Se7en)She has Japan’s biggest-selling album in history and was born in NYC. BTW – for all you karaoke fans out there, you can karaoke on MySpace to Utada’s single “Comeback to Me” here. (Her song is currently the most popular and the top artist for MySpace karaoke.)

You can pickup her album “This Is The One” on Utada - This Is the One or Amazon.com.

Utada on Ryan Seacrest

LUMINA the Web Series

Here’s an independent thriller web series called *LUMINA* by Asian
American writer, director, and producer Jennifer Thym. The lead actress JuJu Chan and actors Vince Matthew Chung and Michael Chan are also Asian Americans. (well Michael Chan’s Asian Canadian, but technically that’s still North America!) The series was filmed at the end of last year on location in Hong Kong with a Red One camera. (That camera rocks!!)

The first season of LUMINA the Web Series will comprise of ten webisodes,
three to five minutes each, and will be available starting summer 2009. Here’s a synopsis:

Lumina Wong (JuJu Chan) is beautiful but works far too much; although she lives in a city of millions, she still feels lonely and isolated. Late one night, Lumina has a chance encounter with Ryder Lee(Michael Chan), a handsome young man from another world that she can see in mirrors and darkened window reflections. She revels in the fantasy relationship until mirrorspy Eben Sanchez (Jacob Ziacan) comes into her life, warning her of the treacheries of the people of the Dark Realm. Soon Lumina must choose between the safety of the world she knows and the deadly allure of the unknown.

We’ll let you know when the series is available online.

LUMINA trailer

2009 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Opening Night

Los Angeles readers are you ready for the 2009 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (it’s their silver anniversary!!) They proudly present Tze Chun’s CHILDREN OF INVENTION as the Opening Night film of the 25th anniversary edition of the Los Angeles Asian Film Festival on Thursday, April 30th, 2009 at 7:00 PM at the Directors Guild of America.

Director/screenwriter Tze Chun, actors Michael Chen, Crystal Chiu, and Cindy Cheung, and other special guests are scheduled to attend the screening and answer questions from the audience. A reception in the DGA Grand Lobby will follow the screening. (BTW – you might be able to pickup a copy of the Children of Invention DVD after the screening.

Can’t decide what else to watch, check out some of our recommendations here.

Children of Invention Trailer

Chef Ming Tsai Makes $10 Dish on NPR

For NPR’s “How Low Can You Go” family supper challenge, some of the nation’s best cooks have each agreed to come up with a budget-conscious meal for a family of four that’s healthy, easy and delicious. The hitch? The meal must cost less than $10 — and the cheaper the better.

Chef Ming Tsai recently took the NPR challenge. He cooked a meal of chicken-and-corn fried rice on top of a spinach salad, because he says the variety of ingredients gives the dish a mix of temperatures and textures. The total for his dish $9.68. That’s less than $2.50 a person. You can listen to Ming Tsai here. See the recipe below the video.

Bonus footage Ming Tsai show you how to make perfect rice

Recipe for Chicken-And-Corn Fried Rice With Lemon Spinach

Serves 4

1 pound ground chicken

2 eggs

1 large yellow onion, minced

1 teaspoon ginger powder

2 ears of corn when in season, or 1 bag frozen (12 ounces)

1/2 (10 ounces) bag spinach (washed, spun dry, de-stemmed, leaves torn)

2 tablespoons naturally brewed soy sauce

Juice of 1 lemon

4 cups cold, cooked long-grain rice, brown and white combination, preferably day-old so it’s nice and dry*

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Canola oil

Heat a wok or large saute pan over medium-high heat. Lightly coat with oil. When oil shimmers add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and brown, breaking up any large chunks with wooden spoon or spatula. Remove chicken to a plate. Add about 1/2-inch oil to wok and allow to heat; add eggs, which will puff up. Cook scrambled eggs and remove to a paper towel-lined plate. If necessary, add more oil to wok to lightly coat, then add onions and powdered ginger, and cook until nicely caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add corn, rice, chicken and egg, and toss to combine. Add naturally brewed soy sauce, toss to combine, and check for seasoning. Place mound of raw spinach in center of four dinner plates. Drizzle with lemon juice and season. Top with fried rice to cover. Enjoy!

*Alternatively, if you’re not cooking rice the day before, place the cooked rice in a single layer on a sheet tray, and place in freezer to cool and dry.

Quest Crew on TMZ

As Quest Crew (winners America’s Best Dance Crew Season 3)was heading over to the meet & greet after the F.A.M.E Talent Show at SDSU last week, they got stuck the elevator at SDSU for around an hour. Getting trapped in an elevator got Quest Crew on TMZ. check it here.

Quest Crew trapped in an elevator

What’s more interesting than Quest stuck in an elevator is this Far East Movement and Quest Crew Collabo. BTW – Quest Crew and Beat Freaks are in New Jersey/NYC this weekend. (Don’t get stuck in another elevator. Far East Movement also have their own tour with Epik High called Map the Soul Tour. They will be hitting SF, LA, NY, and Seattle.