By Assunta Ng

Le Reve Bakery and Cafe, owned by Nakata and Sharon Woo Fillingim (Photo by Assunta Ng)

What is it like to forget about eating healthy?

Owner Andrea Nakata was giving out business cards for her new bakery at a party. I grabbed one and ventured into Le Reve Bakery & Cafe (1805 Queen Anne Ave. N.) with my family last Friday. We had yummy twice-baked almond croissants, a sandwich, and quiche.

Later that day, I had steak and strawberry pound cake with vanilla ice cream for dinner. Don’t condemn me for eating unhealthy.

After six days of eating multigrain bread, salads, and brown rice and of drinking organic milk, Friday is my day to quit being guilty.

Fat latte only!

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“Do you have nonfat lattes?” asked my white friend at a Chinatown bakery.

I didn’t get it. Is there a fattening latte? I wondered. Should I translate for the bakery owner?

“We only have fat latte,” said the owner in perfect English before I even responded.

I was still confused. I’m not a coffee drinker.

Apparently, coffee culture has its own language.

What my friend wanted was nonfat milk in her latte, and the bakery serves theirs with regular milk only. (end)

By Assunta Ng

Do you know what high-ranking Chinese officials can’t live without when traveling to Seattle?

Of course they don’t carry their luggage or buy their own coffee like U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke did when he was at the SeaTac Airport on his way to China.

Abalone

Instead, Chinese officials bring along a cook or several. Seattle’s reputation may be about scenic mountains and waters, but one thing it does not have is the best Chinese food. Chinese officials are not fond of American food. They want to eat authentic Chinese food while in Washington state. And they are particular about what they eat and how it is prepared. None of them have any intention of eating poorly cooked Chinese food during business travel.

Once, an official’s aide even asked for help in shopping for authentic Chinese ingredients, such as dry abalone.

So, in contrast, what did Locke take along when moving to China? Pets. This would make his homesick kids feel less lonely in a strange land.

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Sometimes in American, pets are more important than anything else, because they are perceived as friends and part of the household. However, some people might call it a waste of money to fly them to China.

Now we see contrasting worlds between Chinese and American officials. While Americans value independence and do everything themselves, the Chinese officials’ lavish manner of employing servants and aides, does have its merits. It provides more job opportunities, said my friend. He might have a point, though. Huh! (end)

By Assunta Ng

Choose a celebration party and not a funeral, my mom always said.

When my high school classmate Diana (Wong) Chan e-mailed me in January that her cancer was incurable, she had only a few months, maybe a little longer. When deciding whether I should visit her, my heart said, “Yes, Diana,” even though she didn’t directly ask me to come.

Calligraphy, a gift from Diana to me, penned by Diana’s husband. It says: “With a good book, you want to read it and read it. You never tire of it, just like good friends — you want them to come visit again and again.” (Photo from Assunta Ng/NWAW)

In June, we had a fun mini reunion of 14 ‘sisters’ in Toronto. I was hoping that it was not a goodbye. Unfortunately, it was. my friend died peacefully on Aug. 10.

“She was one of the most positive people you could ever meet,” said her son, Christopher, in his eulogy. “She’s an inspiration to those who knew her. Her positivity radiated, she always saw the bright side of things, and she tried to help you see them, too. Her smile and laughter were always contagious, and when she laughed, it was with every ounce of her being.”

If you were not close to her, you would not be able to tell Diana had cancer or that she had battled cancer for eight years. She always smiled even though chemo drugs had destroyed her liver. Some days, she felt fine. Other days, she was afflicted with fever and fatigue.

Miraculously, Diana was physically fine during my five-day visit. A remarkably strong person, she volunteered to drive the out-of-town ‘sisters’ to a restaurant to dine with other local ‘sisters.’ None of us had a car, and we didn’t know the way. At first, we said, “No way.” But she insisted.

During my trip, I did not hear a word of fear, worry, blame, bitterness, or sadness from Diana. I don’t recall her ever saying she wished she had more time. She never asked for less pain and suffering. She lived every day to the fullest.

Even in her final days, she counted her blessings. “I don’t want anybody to cry at my funeral,” she told her husband. “I have a good life. I want everybody to smile.”

Diana’s last wish was to donate her body to medical research.

My dear friends, please forgive me for not showing up at your loved ones’ funerals. Perhaps, now you understand my reasoning better. (end)

Charles E Odegaard Award 2011 from Scott Macklin on Vimeo.

From left: NWAW’s Stacy Nguyen, John Liu, George Liu, and Assunta Ng, with UW Interim President Phyllis Wise, FEOP Board President Carol Bailey, and UW Chief Diversity Officer Sheila Edwards Lange

Assunta Ng, founder and publisher of the Seattle Chinese Post and Northwest Asian Weekly, was the 2011 recipient of the University of Washington’s Charles E. Odegaard Award, which is considered the highest achievement in diversity at the UW. Read the full story

Northwest Asian Weekly (NWAW) staff members and one of its reporters garnered five awards from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association (WNPA) Better Newspaper Contest. The awards were presented in Wenatchee at the WNPA’s 123rd annual convention.

Winners from NWAW:

— Reporter Amy Phan won first place in the Best Comprehensive Coverage of a Single Issue category for her “Tony Ng” series.

— Layout Editor and Graphic Designer Han Bui and Editor Stacy Nguyen won first place in the Best Newspaper Website category. Read the full story

Ping pong aficionado Victor Wu (left) and Alan Lee (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

“Love what you do. Do what you love.” This is easy to say, but nearly impossible to do, especially if your love is playing ping pong.

Alan Lee and his die-hard ping pong friends are proving that it can happen. They started the Seattle Pacific Ping Pong Club in Bellevue last week. If Alan Lee cannot make money out of this, at least he is having fun playing while running the club. However, he does plan on developing future ping pong champions (currently, most national champs are from California).

I went to the grand opening of the club. Several young promising players smashed their balls with the speed of a rocket. I wouldn’t want to play with any of these kids.

And for those of you who live on the Eastside, this club is a gift for you.  It rains a lot in Seattle; ping pong is the best indoor exercise and recreational activity for the young and old, male and female.

For their courage, zeal, and entrepreneurship, I hereby declare Alan and his partners as winners of the 2010 Smart Passion award! ♦

Award-winner Sutapa Basu (left) with Women in Small Biz founder Bettina Carey

Women came together at the Renaissance Seattle Hotel to network and participate in informative sessions at the 3rd Annual Women’s Empowerment Summit. The event was produced by Women in Small Biz, headed by Bettina Carey.

Sutapa Basu, Assunta Ng, and Christine Umayam received Women’s Choice in Leadership awards.

Women in Small Biz started when a small group of women business owners started meeting regularly to share ideas in 1997. It has grown to more than 1,000 people and now hosts business conferences. ♦

Habib M. Habib (far left), Lt. Gov. Brad Owen (third from left), Assunta Ng (in white), U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (in back), Debadutta Dash (at podium, yellow tie), and Prashanta Nanda (far right) with dignitaries at WASITRAC’s awards luncheon (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Northwest Asian Weekly and Seattle Chinese Post Publisher Assunta Ng and Oriya filmmaker Prashanta Nanda were awarded the first Washington State India Trade Relations Action Committee (WASITRAC) Building Bridges Across the Nations Award. The ceremony was held at the Space Needle and about 200 people attended. Read the full story

Dancers from the Beijing Dance Academy bow during the curtain call for their performance of “The Butterfly Lovers.”

It was a rare treat to see China’s Romeo and Juliet dance concert performed by the Beijing Dance Academy Youth Dance Company at the Paramount Theater last weekend. I stayed for the 25-minute dance drama even though it was placed last on the program. Read the full story

Mavis Chan from Panda Express cuts the ribbon before the parade begins on Feb. 13. (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Organizers of the Chinatown/ID Lunar New Year Celebration, the CIDBIA, prayed that there would be no rain on Lunar New Year’s eve. Read the full story

The former facade of Todai Sushi Buffet and Restaurant inside the Pacific Place Mall (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Last Sunday, I was surprised to find Todai Sushi Buffet Restaurant inside the Pacific Place Mall closed. It was officially closed on Jan. 2. Read the full story

AAJA’s anniversary cake photo by Lori Matsukawa

The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) held its lunar new year party and also celebrated its 25th anniversary at the Tea Palace Restaurant last Saturday. Read the full story

Conrad Lee (Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW)

For years, Bellevue City Councilmember Conrad Lee wanted to be the mayor of Bellevue. Well, believe and your dream will come true. Last Sunday, his head was held higher than usual. Lee was voted 7–0 as deputy mayor at the last Bellevue City Council meeting in January.

Lee proudly showed his new business cards at an event. Guests proudly shared the news with others. They were buzzing that Lee is only a heartbeat away from being mayor. Lee is now serving his 5th term on the city council.

Bellevue’s population comprises 23 percent Asian Americans. ♦

The other day, I had lunch in the ID with a couple of political gurus. “We have only 0.5 Asians on the Seattle City Council,” complained one of them.
She was referring to Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell, who is half Japanese and half African American. This can also be applied to the Black community — now there are only 0.5 Blacks on the council (Seattle City Councilmember Richard McIver retired last December). Read the full story

Seattle School Board member Betty Patu may be the only newly elected Asian American in the Greater Seattle area. But the opportunity for Asian Americans to rise in the political scene may be promising this year. Although Wilson Chin has lost his seat to Patu, don’t rule him out yet. Chin still has a great future in politics and is making a difference. Read the full story

By Assunta Ng
Northwest Asian Weekly 

The annual Top Contributors to the Asian Community awards dinner took place on Dec. 4 at the House of Hong restaurant in Seattle. Shown above, from left: Top Contributor planning committee members Kiku Hiyashi and Ruoxi Zhang, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, Northwest Asian Weekly Publisher Assunta Ng, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and Northwest Asian Weekly staff member John Liu. (Photos by George Liu/NWAW)

In a year of recession gloom, business closures, and newspapers dying in droves — why are we, a small paper, still here? Why didn’t we fear that Northwest Asian Weekly would be next? Why didn’t we blame the competition that caused us so much grief, such as Craigslist and other Internet advertising? Why do we feel lucky, energized, and strengthened by the economic turmoil? Read the full story