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'I wanted it to look like a sign of hope' – Jason Wu

21 Jan
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The New First Lady and President

Yesterday, millions of people around the world were glued to their television sets as they witnessed the long-anticipated inauguration of Barack Obama. Although the 44th President was sworn in at noon, the festivities were just beginning as President Obama and his First Lady attended 10 Inaugural Balls later that night. The attention may have been on the President for most of the day, but it was First Lady, Michelle Obama, who stole the spotlight at night.

Already hailed a fashionista, style bloggers everywhere were eager to see what gown the new First Lady would wear for the Inaugural Balls and specifically, who would she be wearing. Michelle ended up choosing a one-strapped ivory gown that highlighted her toned arms, and its designer is 26-year-old Jason Wu.

Wu was born in Taiwan but studied at Parsons in New York City. Although a relatively unknown designer, he has already designed for Michelle Obama during the campaign. Despite working with Michelle Obama’s style team, Wu only discovered his creation had been chosen when he watched her on television.

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Jason Wu

His reaction?

Wu was “awe-struck” as he thought it was a “long-shot” for the First Lady to pick his dress. Yet, he became deliriously delighted as the Obamas not only signify a new direction for America but they also made “Jason Wu” a household name in the Fashion World.

It’s great to see Michelle Obama choosing a dress by a young designer when she could have had her pick of dresses from the likes of Chanel, Michael Kors, and Diane von Furstenburg. It truly shows the genuineness behind their message of the importance of young people in changing America, and she certainly has given an amazing opportunity to Asian American designer, Jason Wu.

For the rest of the article on Michelle Obama’s dress, you can find it at: Michelle Obama’s Inaugural Ball Gown Designed to Convey “Hope”.

Best Chinese Dishes in Vancouver!

19 Jan

chinese_food_In Vancouver, there is definitely no shortage of Chinese restaurants. Choosing a Chinese restaurant then is often not easy for not only do you have to take into consideration of the type of restaurant (congee-noodle houses,  extravagant seafood banquet halls, etc) but more than likely, you’ll also be stumped with deciding on which regional flavour-inspired cuisine you want to indulge in. For example, there is the classic Cantonese cuisine where dishes are slightly sweeter and sauces are often thicker. Then there are the fusion flavoured dishes from Singaporean restaurants which often mixes Chinese, Malaysian and Indian styled cooking together. And we can’t forget the popularity of Taiwanese restaurants especially the bubble tea joints that are frequented by the young and old.

The Vancouver Sun recently published an article highlighting 25 of the best Chinese dishes and restaurants in the city. The recipients of the honours were decided upon by a panel of 23 judges. Whether you’re craving dim sum, king crab or a bowl of wonton soup, you can find the best places for these dishes and more at  Found: Vancouver’s Best Chinese Dishes”!

Bon Appetit!

Canada's Largest Source of Immigrant Workers are Filipino

16 Jan

A recent article published in the Asian Pacific Post reported that the Philippines have overtaken China as the leading source of immigrant workers to Canada. Whereas the number of Chinese who moved to Canada decreased by one third between 2005-07, the number of Filipino migrants have doubled within the past decade. The article cites that the reason for this is a direct result of the economic boom in China which have seen more people staying within the country for work, and thus, the service-sector jobs in Canada are being filled with Filipino workers. The executive director Flordeliz Dandal of the Kababayan Community Centre stated, ““Most Filipinos who come to Canada are really motivated to work and then send their salaries back home… They don’t care about politics, and they don’t yet have time to engage in Canadian political life unless they have been here a long time.”

I found this article interesting as it resonates with many stories of other Asian immigrant groups who came to Canada solely for the purpose of sending remittances home. It’ll be interesting to watch the Filipino community grow and establish stronger roots in Canada within the next decade and see what role they would play in the political arena.

For the rest of the article, you can find it here: “Filipinos are No. 1!”


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