Go Away With … Ronny Chieng

By Jae-Ha Kim
Los Angeles Times
August 14, 2018

Comedian Ronny Chieng makes his movie debut in “Crazy Rich Asians,” where he portrays wealthy investment banker Edison Cheng. “This is my first film project, so I don’t have anything to compare it with,” says Chieng, 32, who’s based out of New York. “But the cast got along really well. One of the greatest things about Singapore and Malaysia is the food culture. The cast would meet up on our nights off and go out for the local food and then go for karaoke. It was the best! I also got to see my parents, grandmother and old high school friends, who all live in Singapore. It was also super hot. In fact, I think the crazy in ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ refers to us wearing three-piece suits in the tropics.”

A correspondent for “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” Chieng may also be seen in his own series, “Ronny Chieng: International Student,” on Comedy Central’s app. Chieng stays active with fans on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Q. You’ve lived in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and the United States. Which do you consider to be your home?

A. Home is everything and nowhere. I feel equally at home in all (of these) countries, but also sometimes like a visitor just passing through.

Q. How have your travels affected how you view cultural differences in the world?

A. I really think it has given me the perspective to appreciate what’s great about every city, town or culture that I get to visit. I’ve been able to experience all the hugely different flavors and environments and ideas and ways of living, so I feel like I have more options to pick and choose from when looking for things I enjoy eating and doing in this huge world of ours.

Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?

A. This would be a tie between Hawaii and Japan. Japan is the only country I have visited that I want to go to again. I just feel the Japanese have such good taste and dedication to craftsmanship in everything they do. They also merge the traditional and modern aspects of their culture so well. If you go to Japan, you have to take the train and go visit different capital cities. Just sticking to one city would be a shame, considering how easy it is to get around. Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto all have different vibes and sights. Go visit the cities and countryside and marvel at how they exist so close to each other. And go watch Sumo wrestling. It’s very cool.

Q. What untapped destination should people know about?

A. I’m having trouble choosing between Hoi An in Vietnam or Kauai, Hawaii. I’m going to go with Kauai, because in my time there, I found it a little more untapped than Hoi An, which is well-known among tourists to Vietnam. Kauai is a beautiful island to get away and disconnect from it all. It somehow has adventurous natural beauty, while still being family friendly with most of the conveniences of modern technology. Everything closes at 10 p.m., and I mean everything. So you have no choice but to go to sleep and wake up early. And if that doesn’t sound appealing to you, consider that you can visit pretty much any other city in the world for night life. This is the place to unwind. Everything tastes home-cooked on the island, because it is. And it has the most beautiful coasts, valleys, rivers and hills I have ever seen with my own eyes.

Q. What was the first trip you took as a child?

A. We didn’t really have vacations when I was a child. We were constantly traveling between Malaysia and Singapore, which is connected by a bridge at the southernmost end of Malaysia. In fact, when I was a child, I had to go between countries twice a day to go to school, because I was living in Malaysia at the time, but attending primary school in Singapore. So I was pretty sick of traveling.

Q. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?

A. Every country has a brunch culture and a late-night eating culture. You just have to find your spots, and always bring a Ziploc bag.

Q. If you’ve ever gone away for the holidays, which was the best trip?

A. I usually don’t travel during Christmas and other peak period holidays, but I did go for Christmas in Vietnam with my wife and her parents, who left Vietnam as adults during the Vietnam War. It was great, because not only did we get to spend time together as a family, but Vietnam is a very great place to visit, with great fresh foods and flavors. We had people who knew the place showing us around.

Q. What are your five favorite cities?

A. New York, Melbourne, Singapore, Kyoto, Vancouver.

Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?

A. Greek Islands, Alaska and the Caribbean.

Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?

A. Laptop, noise-canceling headphones, Kindle, notebook and pen and a Ziploc bag.

Q. If you could pick just one country for the cuisine you like the best, which would you choose and why?
A. That’s a tough choice between Malaysia and Singapore. They both have the best food in the world, in my opinion. They make the same dishes with slight variances. Malaysia’s food is tastier, because they are less health conscious with their ingredients. But Singapore has very good options, and because Singapore is a lot smaller, it’s easy to get around to sample the best in the country. In Malaysia, you would have to travel between states to taste the best version of each dish.

Q. How long did you live in New Hampshire?
A. I lived there from three to seven years old. My parents went to college very late in life in their late thirties and brought their two kids with them when they got accepted into Southern New Hampshire University. But we were good immigrants in that we went back to where we came from after my parents graduated with their Bachelors and Masters degrees.

Q. Where are your favorite weekend getaways?
A. I usually work weekends doing stand up shows at night, but in the day I like going with my wife for brunch in whatever city we are in.

Q. What is your best vacation memory?
A. My best vacation memory was probably the Vietnam trip I mentioned above.

© 2018 JAE-HA KIM
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