Peranakan refers to descendants of foreign immigrants (primarily Chinese) who assimilated with the Nusantara community during the 15th & 16th century and created a unique culture of their own. Chinese-Peranakan is often referred to as Baba (male) and Nyonya (female).

The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas revolves around a Peranakan grandmother teaching her grandchildren and friends on the art of cooking Nyonya dishes. Below are the first four (of eight) webisodes…

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The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Malaysian Idol (Michael Jackson) [by liquidbuffet]

Malaysian Idol 2004 audition. Epic performance.

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Youtube – best of Malaysia & Singapore from YeinJee's Asian Journal

AFA is one of the the biggest anime-comic-game conventions in South East Asia; first held in 2008, the event is back again in 2009 following last year’s success.

Besides Shokotan, other celebs that will be performing at the I Love Anisong concert are May’N, Aniki and Yoshiki Fukuyama. Other sections of AFA09 include cosplay, toys & games exhibits, and maid cafe etc.

The organisers held a press conference on September 1 to officiate the 2009 event; check out the coverage by blogger Darkmirage, Alafista and Double.

More details and updates on AFA09’s official website or Facebook.

Anime Festival Asia

Previous: Anime Festival Asia 2008

Shokotan coming to Singapore for AFA09 from YeinJee's Asian Journal

With Mediacorp’s dominance, quitting the company is as good as quitting Singaporean showbiz altogether.

Naturally, wild speculations will slip in when an artist decided to quit at her prime without explanations… marriage, pregnancy or breakup are among those, but pretty much baseless at the moment.

A probable reason is that Fiona is seeking opportunities overseas. Hollywood is a possible destination; but is she good enough to go west? That’s another question to ponder.

Regardless, wish her well in her future endeavours, whatever it’s going to be.

Fiona Xie quits Mediacorp from YeinJee's Asian Journal

A great storyteller whom I personally admired, and a wonderful filmmaker adored by people regardless of races or religions. Rest in peace.

Sharing one of her last works, “Funeral”, a heart-warming TV commercial for Singapore’s Ministry of Community Development…

Yasmin Ahmad (1958 – 2009) from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The couple will register their marriage on May 16th and hold their wedding ceremony in September in Singapore, followed by a wedding dinner in Malaysia in October.

Congratulations to Christopher and Fann, best wishes.

Fann Wong and Christopher Lee getting married in May from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The actress was dressed in a low-cut halter-neck print dress on the TV show, which at first glance kinda looked like a bikini (because of the apron)…

While some netizens were criticising her outfit as distracting and too revealing, there are others who cheered it on, saying that Singaporeans are being too conservative.

Personally I think it’s not a matter of sexy or revealing, but appropriateness. I wonder if she would wear similar outfit if she’s cooking at home… and that’s probably the answer to whether the dress was appropriate for a cooking show or not.

I know there are lots of cooking shows where celebrity guests would don in revealing outfits on consistent basis, especially in some cheapskate Japanese and Taiwanese variety shows. But when it comes to a genuine culinary show, I would rather have the guests focusing on their cooking skills (or no-skills) instead.

Am I being too conservative? Hmmm…

Joanne Peh… too sexy to cook? from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Singapore and Korea are second and third respectively on the chart, but significantly behind Japan in numbers [illustration by Mike Vella; more on IEEE]

Japan has highest industrial robot density from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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Nikon S60 can detect your face… and others from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Singapore Tattoo Show 2009 from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Besides some minor hiccups, AFA08 seems to be a successful one. Sharing some pictures by Singaporean blogger Parka [complete Flickr set with 200+ photos]…

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Anime Festival Asia 2008 from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The 43-year-old actress was supposed to collect her identity card on August 23, but failed to show up because she was filming a movie overseas. Her no show irked some Singaporeans who felt that she was disrespecting her new country… but it’s all history now.

Gong Li is married to a Singaporean businessman since 1996, so the switch of citizenship is not entirely surprising. Both China and Singapore do not recognise dual nationality, which literally means that she would have to renounce her Chinese citizenship.

Chinese netizens are generally unhappy about the news… lots of them are criticising Gong Li’s decision, while some are sharing concerns that this would become a trend among popular artists and younger generations.

Some netizens are showing support Gong Li though, stating that it’s her freedom to choose her own path; a few also stated that they would also like to migrate out of China if given the chances.

Gong Li officially a Singapore citizen from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The public responses seem pretty encouraging for the Singapore born sisters, Miko and Yumi Peh… but it’s still too early to tell how popular they could be.

Their vocals still need some brush up, but I think they are already singing better than lots of the pop idols these days; and apparently they can dance a bit as well.

BY2 – Not Mature Enough music video from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The Miele Guide 2008/2009 edition evaluates restaurants in 16 Asian countries… Brunei, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The top 20 restaurants according to the Miele Guide 2008/2009…

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Miele Guide 2008/2009 – Asia’s top 20 restaurants from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The 19-year-old singer is one of Japan’s hottest rising star. She made her professional debut in 2005, and her breakthrough came in 2008 as the singing voice for Sheryl Nome in hit anime “Macross Frontier”. Her two latest singles have both made it to the top 3 spots at Japanese Oricon chart… quite an achievement for a young talent.

While not exactly the same class (yet) with the likes of J-pop divas Ayumi Hamasaki and Namie Amuro etc… May’n’s performance is quite anticipated in this region that is so deprived of J-pop act. Besides, Japanese anime is getting huge in South East Asia these days; and Macross Frontier happens to be one of the most popular animes of the year. Plenty of otakus are awaiting her arrival for sure.

May’n to perform at AFA’08 in Singapore from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The concert will feature some of the hottest K-pop stars, including the Wonder Girls, Shinhwa’s Andy & Junjin, Jewelry, Chae Yeon, and V.O.S etc.

The concert tickets will not be sold through the usual outlets, but will be given away over the next few weeks through the key sponsors [more on Coolsmurf]

Other events during the festival are food fiesta, traditional dance performances, taekwondo demonstrations, film festival and contemporary art exhibition etc. Check out the event website for details and updates.

Sounds like a fun event; too bad that the concert tickets are not for sale.

Extra note – for those who are buying/selling tickets via the comment section; kindly trade at your own risk.

Korean Festival and K-Pop concert in Singapore from YeinJee's Asian Journal