Comedian Ali Wong shares why she doesn't eat Asian food with non-Asian people
It’s easy to make a faux pas whilst enjoying another culture’s cuisine.
Famous for a confrontational stand-up style and her recent turn as road rage-fuelled Amy in the Netflix/A24 series ‘Beef’, Ali Wong herself has a reputation for being considerably nicer than those personas would suggest.
However, she did have some real-world ‘beef’ that she felt she had to get off her chest: eating Asian food with non-Asian people.
Appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the comedian, actor and writer told Clarkson that, unfortunately, they wouldn’t be getting dim sum together after Clarkson herself admitted she could be part of the problem.
Wong made the appearance to promote ‘Beef’ by sharing some of her own frustrations with modern living, so that’s how the conversation came up.
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"You are 100% talking about me," Kelly laughed.
"Oh man, we're never gonna go to dim sum, then," said Wong.
"No, it's just... when I was living in New York and a bunch of stand-up comics would be like, 'take me to dim sum, I want to go to dim sum,' and then we'd go to dim sum and they'd be like, 'What is that? Ew! What is that? What is that?’
"And they're basically asking, 'why is that not a sandwich?' You asked me to take you here!
"Also, with dim sum, it's all pork and shrimp. Just eat it!"
Upon hearing those details, Clarkson was relieved to learn she’s nowhere near as clueless about Asian food as that.
"I'm not that person, I will generally try anything," she said.
"As long as you'll try,” said Wong. “But it's mostly just all the questions, you know? It's more when people are squeamish."
Clarkson noted that this is one of her own pet peeves whilst dining out: ‘food shame’ or having someone ‘yuck your yum’.
"Why did you just 'yuck' my food?” she said, imagining the scenario. “Now I've gotta eat it and you just verbally barfed on it!"
A clip of Wong’s comments began circulating on social media, drawing plenty of commenters who could relate to her experience.
"Ali Wong is sooo real for this," said one comment.
"It's okay to ask or wonder, but it's the tone,” said another. “Like 'omg what is that???' Like, babe it's literally just dumplings.”
"It's so true it's exhausting,” said another disappointed commenter. “If it's not boba or aesthetic enough for y'all's socials, it's tiring dealing with unmindful behaviour."
So there you have it: if you’re out trying unfamiliar cuisine, be open-minded about it.
Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity
Rachael Davis