South China Morning Post

Noodles with wontons, beef balls and shrimp roe as well as boat noodles are classic Hong Kong dishes, but where did they originate? In this episode of Eat Drink Asia, hosts Charmaine Mok and Sam Evans are joined by Post reporter Lisa Cam to discuss how these noodle varieties made their way to Hong Kong. They also make an argument for why noodles are more emblematic of Chinese cultural heritage than rice. This episode is made with the support of Cathay Pacific.

More Asian internet users are influenced by far-right causes including white supremacism in the digital age. Listen to Post reporter Kimberly Lim explain more about the ‘anti-woke’ movement’s slow creep in the region, while experts Munira Mustaffa, Jo Krishnakumar and Rizky Rahadianto provide context on how the internet has become so divisive. Read more: https://sc.mp/h43aw

With slower growth in China’s economy, young professionals and middle-class people across the country are tightening their belts and cutting down on spending. But what can the rest of the world expect from diminished demand in the second-biggest economy?

How does a country deepen its relationship and do business with China without risking retaliation by the US and its allies? How can a nation protect its territorial claims in the South China Sea yet maintain a delicate balancing act with its neighbours with their own views and claims? Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim discusses these issues and more, including his deep anguish over the Israel-Gaza war, in this extended version of Talking Post with Yonden Lhatoo.

Once described as “the best pig” by the late food legend Anthony Bourdain, babi guling is no longer just a ceremonial dish in Bali. Post reporter Lisa Cam examines how overtourism helped turn the beloved spit-roasted pig into the Indonesian island’s most ubiquitous street food. Read more: https://sc.mp/3lkcz

The US has been grappling with an opioid crisis for decades, but the problem has been exacerbated by the arrival of fentanyl – a synthetic drug 50 times more potent than heroin. What roles do China and India play in the global illicit fentanyl trade? Post correspondent Khushboo Razdan and independent investigative journalist Ben Westhoff walk us through their reporting. For more on this: https://sc.mp/8c9626

Hong Kong’s urban jungle was once regularly visited by wild tigers, with sightings of the big cats until the 1960s. While local history books only mention tiger killings in 1915 and 1942, the animals appear in oral accounts, newspapers and John Saeki's 2022 book The Last Tigers of Hong Kong – which tells tales of deadly attacks and terrified villagers hearing roars and frantic pig squealing. In this podcast, the Post tracks down Hong Kong’s links to the critically endangered South China tiger. 🐅

Oppenheimer will finally make its Japan premier on March 29, 2024, eight months after the film’s world debut. How will the only country to suffer wartime atomic bombings react to a biopic about the American physicist who led efforts to build the first such weapons of mass destruction? Yuki Miyamoto, a nuclear ethics professor at DePaul University who has seen Oppenheimer three times, discusses her reservations about the film. Read more: https://sc.mp/92s0