InfatuAsian Podcast

We have a special Fail-Tober episode! For some reason, I couldn't get a guest booked for this week.  And to top it off... I fumbled the football on my Mah Jong night episode.  Oh well.  So what you get this week is me rambling for 20 minutes!  Yay! Hope this is just enough time for you to walk the dog, do some dishes, or get to work.  If it's not long enough, you can listen to it twice! We'll be b...

Brian reached out a few weeks ago about coming on the podcast, and even offered to send me a box of free noodles. But you know us, we don't accept payment or sponsorships... but I love a great entrepreneurial origin story, so we bought some Kyunu noodles, tried them at home, and sat down with Brian @onwaverly 's  Clubhouse to record. Spoiler alert... I think their noodles are delicious and recomme...

Hope is an action movie from South Korea that was a huge hit with audiences there. It opened in the US in September and has gotten a good amount of buzz. Author/Educator Joan Sung helped me break down the film, and we talked about the things we liked and didn't like about the movie. Hopefully we can give you a fair idea about whether it's worth your time or not. The first half of our review is SPO...

Michael has been cracking me up for years with his Asian Verified content, from Asian Dad Cam commentary to videos highlighting Real Asian Sh*t.  His commentary is witty, timely, and spot on. If his voice sounds familiar, maybe you were fortunate enough to hop on Disneyland's Jungle Cruise when Michael was at the wheel! *Explicit Language Warning* Follow @AsianVerified on social media and YouTube....

It's been a few years since we recorded with Son of Paper, aka Kyle Shin, so we thought it was time for a life update! Kyle has been on a journey to connect with his Chinese roots. Hear about how a desire to learn Cantonese and Mandarin landed him on a stage in his ancestral hometown in front of 10,000 people! If you're in San Francisco, come hear Son of Paper perform live at the Autumn Moon Festi...

I started this podcast in 2021 based on my love for Korean Dramas. InfatuAsian has evolved over the years, but it has always been a dream to speak with someone from the industry. I couldn't believe my good fortune in being able to interview an actress at the top of her craft. Jung YunHa played an obsessive ex-wife opposite Gong Yoo in The Trunk, and a murderous corporate mercenary in Shop for Kill...

This week we had the pleasure of hearing from an Asian American girl group that made their debut in November 2025. FiveALIVE is an independent five-member Asian-American girl group based in Orange County, California. The group consists of Jia, Ellie, Nini, Ciara, and Bay. It was so much fun hearing from them and getting to know them a little better! I’m a fan of them, and I hope you become one too...

Definitely another "pinch me I must be dreaming" episode. Being one of the only Asian American students in my college's theater department in the 90s was isolating. There were very few roles for me, so I leaned toward playwriting. David Henry Hwang was a guiding light for me. He had just won the Best Play Tony Award a few years earlier, proving Asian Americans deserved a seat at the table. He chan...

Dr. Thomas Noguchi was the chief medical examiner for LA County from 1967 to 1982. He oversaw the autopsies of some of Hollywood's most famous celebrity deaths, including Marilyn Monroe, Robert Kennedy, Natalie Wood, and John Belushi. Coroner to the Stars is a documentary showing parts of his amazing, and at times controversial, tenure as LA's coroner. We are speaking with the directors of the fil...

When I heard about Chelsea's story, I really wanted to share it on the podcast. When Chelsea's father was looking to retire after owning and running R&G Lounge since 1985, he called Chelsea. Even though Chelsea had a college degree in a completely different area, she stepped up to keep the family business thriving! Famous for its salt and pepper crab, R&G Lounge is the place to celebrate l...

We're taking a week off since we've been traveling around a bit. So here's a replay of one of my favorite episodes with a whole cast of characters!  My co-host this week is our favorite Isabel... Isabel Wong!  We.recorded this when we happened to meet up in LA in 2023!  Also appearing on this episode are Ami Park, Jeff Yamazaki, Andrea Nguyen, Lan Lam, Steven Allerick, Alyssa Kim, Michelle Hanabus...

Charley's motto is that Chloé Cà Phê is "more than a business, it's a family legacy." Charley Phung and his family are 2nd-generation Sacramento coffee shop owners. With Chloé Cà Phê and Roastery, they are bringing Vietnamese coffee to a new level, not just in their Sacramento shop, but to coffee lovers everywhere.  Learn more at chloe-caphe.com or on their Instagram @chloe.caphe  Listen to Infatu...

I first saw a reel with Dr.  Mah when I saw Andre Iguodala of the Golden State Warriors talking about how Dr. Mah worked with him on his sleeping which led to 4 NBA championships! That definitely caught my attention. Dr. Mah is a sleep physician who is on the cutting edge of sleep science and how it affects athletes' performance. She’s an adjunct lecturer at Stanford University and has her own con...

It was a dream come true to speak with Kristi on the podcast. The whole point of this show is to celebrate Asians who bring us joy. In the 2020s, there have been many great gold medal performances by Asian Americans at both the summer and winter Olympics. But in 1992, Kristi's gold was only the 2nd gold medal won by an Asian American woman ever (first in the Winter Games)! The joy and pride of see...

It felt fitting to do a podcast reflection episode 5 years after we started this little endeavor. So I brought back Kelsey, who has appeared on the show before, and has the record for the shortest interview we've ever done (during our pop-up podcast in April)! Kelsey brings lots of fun energy and laughs, and since she's barely listened to the show, it was fun to hear what kind of questions she mig...

Growing up Chinese American in the 70s-80s meant you weren't gong to see a lot of people that looked like you on TV. One reliable presence (for the last 48 years on PBS) was Chef Martin Yan! He has brought Chinese and other Asian cuisine into houses around the world for almost half a century. Thank you @chefmartinyan for sharing our culture and food with the world! Thank you for being our teacher...

It's just about summer! And whether you're flying out somewhere amazing or just looking for a new book to get lost in, we have a fantastic list of books by Asian Authors! I called upon my friend Sarah-Soonling to help co-host and we chatted with 5 authors about their books and also got some of their recommendations for books you should read! To see the complete list, go to our blog https://infatua...

The Khmer Rouge almost rid the world of Cambodian rock, but it lives on in the band Dengue Fever. Founded by two American brothers and powered by the voice of Khmer American immigrant Chhom Nimol, Dengue Fever performs songs influenced by the musicians who are mostly gone. Go see Dengue Fever live in San Francisco on June 20, 2026, at the Chapel. Find more tour stops at https://denguefevermusic.co...

Asians are at a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than the general population. Dr. Jonar De Guzman specializes in coaching Asians to reverse insulin resistance with lifestyle changes. I learned a lot and had a great time chatting about working on living a healthier lifestyle!  I know you will learn something if you listen to this episode! Learn more @reversediabetesdoc on soc...

I had a really fun time chatting with Cassandra Lam, the co-founder of Mama Lam's, a maker of authentic Malaysian sauces. Visiting from Queens, New York, Cassandra and her husband, Ken, joined me @onwaverly 's Clubhouse to share their origin story as well as their favorite ways to eat Mama Lam's sauces! You can get Mama Lam's sauces online or perhaps locally at a store near you! Check out https://...

A few weeks back, we set up a few microphones in a little corner of the On Waverly Book and Gift Shop in SF Chinatown, and we interviewed whoever showed up! What a fun day! We did about 10 interviews in 90 minutes, on a whole range of topics. I definitely want to try to do another one of these! Special thanks to my guests: @jennmchoi, @xirimpi, @kayhuixin, @leogong (@sfmolum), Kenric, @_natejlee,...

Olivia has done more before the age of 21 than most of us do in our entire lives. Currently a Junior at Harvard, she started a non-profit called @cancerkidsfirst, she's written a book, given a TED Talk, and she was the youngest person named to the 2026 Forbes' 30 under 30 list. Olivia was a real joy to speak with, and I can't wait to see what she does next! Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviazhango...

The Chase Center in San Francisco is one of the City's newest and greenest buildings. It is the basketball home of the Warriors and Valkyries, and it is also LEED Gold Certified, which means it meets the highest standards of sustainability. Making sure employees and fans are able to enjoy the game with minimal negative environmental impact is Kayla Hidayat, Chase Center's Sustainability Coordinato...

I can sleep a little better at night knowing that SF City Attorney David Chiu and his team are looking out for our rights and seeking justice. We had a fun chat with David about a wide range of topics, from the historical San Francisco roots of birthright citizenship to the ongoing fight to protect immigrants and some of the City's most vulnerable.   You can learn more about David @davidchiu.sf on...

We got asked if we could do a quick episode with director/writer John W. Kim about the film Reunion, which premieres in Beverly Hills next week on April 16th. And if you know me, I hate saying no to artists trying to get the word out about their projects, so we agreed to do a quick episode as a side dish. Once we got on the call, John got on a bit of a roll speaking about all sorts of things. He e...