By Jae-Ha Kim
Tribune Content Agency
June 2, 2015
Known together as The Fung Brothers, David, 28, and Andrew, 26, have parlayed their successful YouTube presence to television. The siblings explore their love of delicious, affordable food as they travel across the United States on their new FYI Network series, “What the Fung?!”
“We were lucky enough to grow up in a house where both parents were into cooking,” says David, who was raised in Washington. “I’d definitely hop on a flight back to Seattle for some steamed salmon fish and Dungeness crab real quick.” Andrew adds that he would love to revisit the Gum Moon Ting restaurant in Hong Kong to devour the xiao long bao dumplings.
Stay in touch with the Fung Brothers via their website, Twitter and Facebook.
Q. What was the first trip you took as a child?
A. David: As a family, we used to take long, five-hour car trips that drove me crazy. I’m almost positive I will not be doing anything similar with my future family, because I hate driving.
Q. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
A. Andrew: That Americans can be really ignorant to the rest of the world. We’ve got the top culture of the world that most everyone else tries to copy and I think that makes us arrogant in our perspective. But the globe is so huge and diverse. There’s so much to learn.
David: There’re so many talented entertainers in nameless countries that are totally being underrated. I think being American is such a huge advantage, because not only do we have a huge domestic market that is high-income, but also American culture is considered an international export to almost every market. You can’t say the same for these smaller places. They’ve got a tiny domestic market and not much reach elsewhere due to language and culture barriers. But those are the cards in life. We’re all dealt different hands.
Q. Have you traveled to a place that stood out so much that it gave you a new perspective?
A. David: Mainland China is such a crazy place. It’s the country with the most people in the world and it was pretty much shut off from the world. Just seeing that tremendous change firsthand was fascinating.
Andrew: Singapore really changed my perspective, because it’s not just a place for local Singaporeans, but it’s a global hub. I could talk for days about that. Most Americans don’t even know a single thing about Southeast Asia, so to be engaging with this region deeply is mind-blowing.
Q. If you’ve ever gone away for the holidays, which was the best trip?
A. Andrew: There was that one time we went to Hong Kong for Christmas. Obviously they interpret the holiday completely different than we do here and it’s more like Black Friday with lights but, yo; I never really got to see any family growing up so it was good.
Q. What are your five favorite cities?
A. Andrew and David: Los Angeles, New York City, Singapore, Shanghai, Tapei. We are Chinese, so (this list is) totally biased in that we could actually communicate in (Chinese) with (people) in those cities. (This) is totally important in how much you enjoy a city. If I could speak every language in the world, maybe (our) answers would be different.
Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A. Andrew: Kuala Lumpur is definitely near the top of the list for me. I think we’ll make it out there within the next year. But, really, everywhere.
Q. What is your guilty pleasure when you’re on the road?
A. David: Perrier water. I wouldn’t buy that back in Los Angeles, because then I’d have to buy it for the whole office and that would get expensive. But, on the road, it really just eases the pains of traveling.
Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A. Andrew: On the plane: Eye drops, face wipes, gum, mouthwash, floss picks, spray-can water, moisturizer, Wisps (disposable toothbrushes). Trust me. If you put that all in a little plastic bag and put it in the pouch in front of you, it’s going to make your flight way more enjoyable.
Q. What is your best worst vacation memory?
A. David: The car rides, yo; the car rides. America needs to step up its public transportation infrastructure game. (Laughs)
Q. Where do you live now?
Andrew: Alhambra, Calif. For those of you unfamiliar with the 626, the San Gabriel Valley is the ultimate suburban Chinatown/Pan-Asia-Town and the undisputed epicenter of boba culture.
David: It’s totally a bubble-ethnic-community, but I think that’s cool as long as you acknowledge it. Santa Monica is pretty much all white people, but you never hear them refer to it as an ethnic enclave. Maybe they should. (Laughs.)
Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?
A. Andrew: What’s a vacation? Seattle is the hometown, of course, so I gotta roll with that. I’ve never been on a cruise or to Bali, so maybe I’d enjoy those places.
David: New York City is always good, but who doesn’t work in NYC? Singapore has a dope skyline and infinity pools, so that’s nice. But really when you’re young – what are you vacationing for? You should work!
Q. What are your favorite hotels?
A. Andrew: Any hotel that is free. (Laughs)
David: Honestly you gotta get the hotels in the popping area with youth culture. Maybe it’s because we only ever listened to rap growing up but I just wanna be in the trendy cool spots for twentysomethings wherever I’m at. If I’m in NYC I gotta be in SoHo, if I’m Singapore I’m on Orchard Road. Because it’s all about that metropolitan walkability. Life is short and you’ve got a lot of places to see and people to meet. And geography and proximity are huge factors in how much of life you’re going to be able to live.
Q. Where have you traveled to that most reminded you of home?
A. David: I realized that any American middle to lower-middle class city that was built roughly a hundred years ago, meaning they have a zip code around 91000 to 98000, is going to remind me a lot of Kent, Washinton. Big box stores, chain restaurants — middle class with a little trash. That’s the specific sub-genre of suburban environment we were raised in. And I think a lot of people around America can relate to that. Eminem is still super relevant in Kent, I think. Take that for whatever it means to you. (Laughs)
Q. Where is the most romantic destination?
A. David: Wow. I’m kind of embarrassed that I have a TV show and I can’t answer this question off the top of my head. (Laughs). ‘Cause you’d think a guy would have some social leverage to go on a bunch of romantic dates by now. Hmm… So coffeeshop Tinder meet-ups don’t count? Girls usually like nice spots. I wouldn’t take them to the cafeteria unless it was Lemonade or something.
Andrew: Chinatown in any city. Yup, I said it. Possibly considered by most people, including Chinese Americans, to be the least romantic place in any city, but I’m saying it’s the most. Mostly because I’m Chinese and I like the food. Plus boba dates are always a good way to filter chicks that are down for the movement. (Laughs.)
Q. What would be your dream trip?
A. David: I’d want to do an entire TV/web/whatever series about all the coolest places in the world. And really just add value to peoples lives. Everything we do goes back to adding value to peoples lives in the ways that we can. I can’t touch every level of society directly, but I can have a ripple effect.
Q. What are your favorite restaurants?
A. Andrew: Savoy Kitchen in Alhambra, Calif., is delicious and cheap. We eat a lot of Vietnamese food because it’s so fresh and light.
Q. Where are your favorite weekend getaways?
A. David: Any nice basketball court anywhere. It’s so relaxing to me to hit the hardwood or blacktop on a nice day. I’m not a fancy person at all. I’ve just got an affinity for urban environments and culture.
Andrew: Maybe just my bedroom. We work so much, it’s non-stop. So to just find the peace and quiet to be in my own space without a million things going on around me is nice. But only for a few hours, then it’s back to the grind. When you’ve got a big important mission, there’s so much work to be done.
Q. What untapped destination should people know about?
A. David: The San Gabriel Valley.
Andrew: Asia in general, but especially Southeast Asia. I think people have all these stereotypes about the region, but the people are incredible.
Q. What kind of research do you do before you go away on a trip?
A. Andrew: I mean for anything we do, we do research. We shoot a lot of videos about unknown Asian cuisines, such as Indonesian food, and we definitely take that responsibility very seriously. I’m probably going to be the only American talking about that cuisine on YouTube or TV so I gotta do it right. Like we recently covered Burmese food both on our YouTube channel and for our “What the Fung?!” FYI TV show and we had to come correct because that country gets literally zero positive exposure in Western media.
© 2015 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
