WHEN Uncle Roger sees a street-side professional make Omurice, a Japanese omelette-rice dish, with perfection, he can't hold his excitement and exclaims "Fuyoh", a Malaysian slang that means "wow." In the next moment, he utters "Haiyaa", a sigh of exasperation as he sees a man failing to learn the dish from the same expert. "Cooking eggs looks like defusing a bomb. This is more stressful than my divorce," he utters in a video circulating on Instagram. Uncle Roger is none other than the Malaysian Internet sensation Nigel Ng. The 33-yearold comedian, Nigel, rose to fame in 2020 with his internet alter ego, Uncle Roger - a comical character imagined as a grouchy middle-aged Asian uncle who unapologetically takes pride in Asian culture. Roger has an opinion pretty much on everything, especially food that is close to the hearts of Asians. His snarky yet honest food reviews of restaurants and recipes in a strong Cantonese accent draws laughter, earning Nigel, the creator of his character, a whopping following of more than 29 million, across all social media platforms!
Catapulted to fame from his portrayal of Uncle Roger, Nigel has since then performed soldout shows in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Singapore, Vancouver, Toronto and more. He is coming to India, in Delhi, for the first time as part of his The Haiyaa World Tour. TMS speaks to the global comedy star on the upcoming event, how Asian jokes unite the diverse diaspora, his passion for food and punchlines, and more.
Food meets comedy
This story is from the September 20, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
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This story is from the September 20, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
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