By Gabrielle Nomura
Northwest Asian Weekly

Maya Soetoro-Ng at the Wing Luke museum with her book, Ladder to the Moon. (Photo by Zachariah Bryan/NWAW)

It was Maya Soetoro-Ng’s mother who made her realize how lucky she was to be of mixed race. Being both Indonesian and white, Soetoro-Ng belonged to more than one world. Read the full story

By Martha Mendoza and Garance Burke
The Associated Press

California firefighters and highway patrol investigate the scene of the limousine fire. (Photo by Jane Tyska/The Associated Press)

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — First came the tapping. Over the blasting music, limo driver Orville Read the full story

By Evangeline Cafe
Northwest Asian Weekly

Alma Corpuz celebrates Easter with daughter Olivia and son Ethan. (Photo provided by Alma Corpuz)

After Alma Corpuz married her husband over a decade ago, she knew that she had more love to give. Read the full story

By Assunta Ng

From left: Stephen Uy, Gov. Jay Inslee, Justice Stephen Gonzalez, Judge Richard Jones, and Nick Brown (Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW)

Gov. Jay Inslee attended a Cinco de Mayo reception last Friday at the Columbia Tower Club, and he opened his speech with a joke. Everyone laughed. Read the full story

By Assunta Ng

Fake Din Tai Fung in Toronto (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

There’s a fake Din Tai Fung?

According to Din Tai Fung owner David Wasielewski, a Taiwanese immigrant, Toronto’s Ding Tai Fung is not a part of the Taiwanese chain, although the restaurant’s name has the same Chinese characters. The only difference is the English translation — the “fake” one is spelled Ding, the chain leaves off the “g.”

When I was in Toronto in 2011, my friend took me to dine at Ding Tai Fung. A month later, I saw Wasielewski at a wedding reception and raved to him about the fact that I had dined at Din in Shanghai and Toronto. I even told him that Toronto’s Ding even served green onion cake, one of the favorite Shanghainese snacks. I wish that Bellevue’s Din Tai Fung would include it on their menu.

Real Din Tai Fung restaurant in Bellevue (Photo from Yelp)

The Toronto Ding was opened long before the real Din Tai Fung launched in the United States, trademarking the name in the process. The Toronto Ding is pretty good, too. When we went, there was a line of people stretching out the door.

A new Din is opening

I first learned of the second Din Tai Fung’s opening at University Village in my own paper. The Seattle Chinese Post’s classified section listed a kitchen opening in the soon-to-be-opened restaurant in its April 27 issue.

I am not surprised. The famous Wild Ginger restaurant hired its first award-winning head chef, James Lock, by placing a classified ad in our paper.

The new Din Tai Fung? Just another step in the chain’s American invasion, as it already has five restaurants in the States, with more scheduled to open in Southern California.

Now, I don’t need to drive across the bridge for the juicy xiao lung bao. (end)

To read the publisher’s blog in Chinese, visit www.seattlechinesepost.com.

By Assunta Ng

Albert Shen at his campaign kick-off event on May 1, where he raised over $75,000. (Photo from Albert Shen)

Albert Shen or May Day?

For decades, every Wednesday night has been thrilling, agonizing, exhausting, and — sometimes — even hysterical and nightmarish. But if you check my calendar, you would be surprised — very few events are ever listed on Wednesdays. On Wednesdays, I have a date with my newspapers, and that’s the truth. Read the full story

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is a good time to reflect on what it means to be Asian Pacific American. Our community is one of the most diverse minority groups in the United States and is made up of families that have been here for generations and those that have just arrived. Despite our differences, however, there are things that unite us and that we should continue to work towards. Read the full story

Deanna Duff with her awards from the 2013 Washington Press Association’s Community Awards (Photo from Deanna Duff)

Deanna Duff received two awards for articles published in the Northwest Asian Weekly at the Washington Press Association’s annual Community Awards, which was held on April 20 Read the full story

Vandana Slatter

North Bellevue resident and Indian American Vandana Slatter will be running for Bellevue City Council, challenging position 6 incumbent Don Davidson. Davidson is conservative member of the council. Currently a clinical pharmacist working for AmGen, Slatter graduated from the University of Washington with a Doctorate in Pharmacy and a Masters of Public Administration. She has served on the Washington State Board of Pharmacy, the Foundation Board of NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, and as a trustee of the Children’s Institute for Learning Differences and Overlake Hospital Foundation. Read the full story

Jenny Yang

The Senate confirmed Jenny R. Yang as a commissioner on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on April 25. The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. Read the full story

Sam Eng

Sam Eng received the North Star Award from the Chief Seattle Council of the Boy Scouts of America on April 24 at their annual volunteer recognition event, which was held at the Seattle Aquarium. The North Star award is presented to volunteers who have made a significant contribution to scouting. Read the full story

Benson Wong

Mercer Island resident Benson Wong is running for Mercer Island City Council, challenging Position 6 incumbent Mike Grady. Read the full story

By Rik Stevens
The Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Almost two years after a retired British police officer and his live-in girlfriend were shot to death in the Philippines, New York State Police said April 26 that they arrested one of the men accused of doing it. Read the full story

Kenneth Bae

By Staff
The Associated Press

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea announced April 27 that an American detained for nearly six months is being tried in the Supreme Court on charges of plotting to overthrow the government, a crime that could draw the death penalty if he is convicted. Read the full story

By Staff
The Associated Press

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — The University of California, Irvine, is investigating a video that shows a member of an Asian American fraternity dancing in blackface after the clip sparked outrage on campus, a university official said April 25. Read the full story

By Zachariah Bryan
Northwest Asian Weekly

Performers representing countries from all over the world were present, including this group from Russia. (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

For the fourth annual International Children’s Friendship Festival in Seattle, children from 31 countries united in one room, representing their cultures and fostering unity. Read the full story