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Asia News Network
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Asia News Network
Vietnamese cake artist takes traditional culture to international stage
July 22, 2025 HANOI – HÀ NỘI Nguyễn Hữu Thiên n, a 26-year-old pastry chef from HCM City, has transformed Việt Nam's cultural legacy into stunning fondant creations, winning prestigious awards across Asia. He began his culinary journey eight years ago at the Saigontourist Hospitality College, where he initially studied hot kitchen techniques. However, it was in the school's pastry workshop where he discovered his true calling, particularly with fondant – a malleable sugar paste used for decorating and sculpting cake designs. After mastering fondant techniques, he realised that Việt Nam boasts a diverse and rich culture, and wanted to incorporate familiar, beautiful elements into fondant cakes as a modern way to preserve and spread traditional values. This innovative approach stems from n's deep appreciation for the country's cultural values, childhood memories, and family bonds. Growing up surrounded by stories of Vietnamese customs and traditions, he felt a personal obligation to preserve and promote these treasures. This sense of duty urged him to tackle increasingly complex cake themes for both domestic and international competitions. One of his most favourable works, the cake titled Hồi Ức (Memories), earned him a silver medal at the 2024 Battle of the Chefs in Malaysia. The piece featured portraits of a grandmother wearing traditional conical leaf hats, crafted from fondant and surrounded by familiar Vietnamese dishes, such as bitter melon soup and braised pork with eggs. The creation powerfully conveyed messages about family meals and the image of Vietnamese motherhood. Another striking masterpiece featuring banh chung, banh tet, braised pork, mứt Tết (Vietnamese sweet dishes served at Lunar New Year), and Đông Hồ paintings secured him the championship title at the 2025 Việt Nam Talented Pastry Chef competition, along with two additional awards for Best Showpiece and Best Dessert. n's most celebrated achievement is his wedding cake Hỷ Sự Hát Bội which fuses the Vietnamese wedding theme (hỷ sự) with hát bội – the country's traditional opera. The creation helped him bag a gold medal in the Wedding Cake category at the Hong Kong International Culinary Classic in May – one of Asia's most significant culinary competitions. n said the cake is a blessing, a promise, a message about love, and also hopes to convey messages about Vietnamese traditional culture and art. With the medal, he contributed to bringing Vietnamese hat boi art to the international stage, inspiring both domestic and international audiences to explore the beauty of Vietnamese traditional culture through a contemporary lens. His impressive award portfolio also includes the Outstanding Communications Award at the 2023 China Innovation Contest, a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Pastry Young Chefs, and a gold medal for artistic display and a silver medal for the team category at the Asian Pastry Young Chefs contest in China last year. In each of his cakes, n marries traditional culture with modern pastry artistry, ensuring it honours cultural values. He spends extensive time and dedicates passion to crafting stories about Vietnamese cuisine, people, and culture. Looking ahead, he plans to continue bringing his cakes to international competitions, affirming Vietnamese cultural and culinary values on the world stage. He is also opening fondant cake-making classes to share his passion with a broader audience.
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Jeethu Joseph confirms no crossovers in ‘Drishyam 3,' but THIS character may return
(Picture Courtesy: Facebook) As the most loved thriller film 'Drishyam' is all set for its third part, the rumors are rife that the film may include some of the most popular characters, such as Sam Iyer (from 'Memories'), or even Sethurama Iyer may appear in it. While such a thought is interesting, the director Jeethu Joseph may have some other plans. Jeethu Joseph reveals—no such crossovers Talking to SillyMonks Mollywood, the 'Drishyam 3' director confirmed that there will be no crossover of characters from other films in the third part. He said, 'Even my daughter asked me about such possibilities of having the characters Sethurama Iyer, Sam Alex, and others in 'Drishyam.'' I clarified by saying that if there is a third part for 'Drishyam,' there will be no way that a new character from other films may appear in it.' Jeethu Joseph added that if there is the inclusion of any other film characters in the third part, then 'Drishyam' will lose its charm. 'Drishyam is George Kutty's. Maybe the character Sahadevan can return, because he is already in the universe and not an outsider.' He said that he doesn't want to look at the market value possibilities when he is writing a story organically. Mohanlal Confirms Drishyam 3 Release |Georgekutty Is Back 'Drishyam 3' announcement On the last day, Mohanlal officially announced the third part of 'Drishyam.' Sharing a teaser on Twitter, the actor wrote, 'October 2025—the camera turns back to Georgekutty. The past never stays silent. #Drishyam3." The caption hints that there are more challenges ahead for George Kutty, where he has to go to any extent to save his family. On the other hand, Mohanlal's recently released film 'Thudarum' was also told in a 'Drishyam'-style 'narrative, and it received many positive reviews from the audiences and turned out to be a superhit.
Sydney Morning Herald
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
With a plot thinner than a starving moggie, Cats is showing its age
With minimal plot, character development or conflict, the show is a series of party pieces in which various cat characters get a chance to shine. Some shine brightly. Todd McKenney was terrific as fatcat Bustopher Jones in a costume redolent of Aunty Jack. McKenney's dual role as Gus, the ageing performing cat, provided one of the night's rare affecting interludes as he recalled his glory days in a moving duet with Lucy Maunder (Jellylorum). This lifted the second act opening after a first act that became bogged down with the overlong Jellicle Ball dance section. A sexy Rum Tum Tugger (Des Flanagan) rose to his rock star moment. Mark Vincent as Old Deuteronomy brought sonorous gravitas to the role of the tribal elder – no mean feat given he looked like a Womble. Gabriyel Thomas was a strong presence in the key role of Grizabella, the former glamour puss, now more grizzled than bella, who has been rejected by the tribe. With her rich, powerful voice, Thomas invests with pathos the showstopper Memories. Jemima (Ella Fitzpatrick) delivered a couple of teasers of the show's best-known song earlier in the piece, but a lack of vocal strength and brittle tone did not serve well the sweeping melody. The energetic ensemble worked hard as they danced and pranced on and occasionally off the stage and into the auditorium. Yet much of the choreography and movement feels dated. Whether it was sound balance or delivery, the lyrics to the ensemble vocal numbers were difficult to determine. The off-stage orchestra, under musical director Paul White, was well paced and versatile in numbers that ranged across jazz, blues and pop to anthemic and operatic. Cats was ground-breaking when it premiered, an immersive spectacle that helped usher in an era of mega-musicals. Since then, the big-budget musicals it helped spawn have become increasingly sophisticated. There may be nostalgic appeal in revisiting a work that feels rooted in an '80s era and aesthetic. So thanks for the Memories. THEATRE KOREABOO Belvoir Downstairs Theatre, June 19 Until July 20 Reviewed by JOHN SHAND ★★★ Soon Hee never held her baby before she was taken away for adoption; she saw only her tiny pink feet retreating in the nurse's arms. She had become pregnant outside of wedlock, which, if discovered, would bring such shame on her family, and people would shun the little Seoul shop run by her mother. The pink feet belonged to a girl christened Hannah by her adoptive Australian parents. She was a young woman before she sought out her birth mother, and now she's back in Seoul a second time to – what? Heal a wound? Form a bond? Discover her inner Korean self? 'Koreaboo', Michelle Lim Davidson explains in a preface to her play (here having its world premiere), is a pejorative term describing someone (usually non-Korean) obsessed with Korean culture. The set-up to Davidson's play is autobiographical, and potentially implicit in any such forced separation is deep scar tissue. But rather than milking tears, the playwright is more intent upon teasing out the laughs as Hannah tries to find a place in Soon Hee's world. Jessica Arthur's Griffin Theatre Company production has Davidson, herself, playing Hannah, and Heather Jeong (best known as a TV chef) playing her mother. Mel Page's set realises Davidson's vision of a Seoul convenience store, complete with noodles, toilet paper and an imposing pyramid of Spam tins. This is Soon Hee's domain, and an Australian invasion is not especially welcome, not only because any scar in Soon Hee's heart has long been impenetrable, but because Hannah, keen to help, will just drive customers away with her hopeless command of Korean. Jeong excels as the brutally honest Soon Hee, telling Hannah they look more like sisters than mother and daughter. She is exceptional at making the shop her castle and at raising the drawbridge against her daughter – not cruelly, but in a brusque, pragmatic way. Nonetheless, she makes us like Soon Hee because we see through the act from the start and we admire her stoicism and even her goofy obsessions with gnomes, Sex and the City and K-pop – notably in its TV talent quest guise of Star Power. Davidson's performance is more problematic, and perhaps she shouldn't have been cast in her own play. As accomplished as we know she is as an actor, she can't locate the same truth in playing Hannah as she did in writing the role. The performance becomes one-dimensional – Hannah the anguished victim – and so wooden that her hands barely cease to dangle by her thighs. Writing the play should have been enough. It's good, quirky work that doesn't seek to dot the 'i' or cross the 't' in complexity, but lets it simmer in the background. An actor who was not partially playing herself might have stormed into the role, made Hannah her own and trusted the words rather than being shy of finding the character's core both vocally and physically. MUSIC Lang Lang and the Sydney Symphony. Opera House. June 18 Reviewed by PETER McCALLUM ★★★½ Lang Lang began the Bach-like improvisatory solo at the start of Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 5 with ponderous spaciousness before accelerating to three declamatory chords held back as though announcing the day of judgment. To me, the spaciousness was overdone, taking the wind from the sails with a resulting loss of tension, but Lang Lang kept a hold over many in the sold-out hall through a faux-majestic bearing, swashbuckling velocity and thunderous volume. Lang Lang dominated the music throughout, pushing the tempo ahead at whim. Conductor Benjamin Northey faithfully stayed with him, even if, at times, the orchestra was left scurrying attentively to meet the needs of an overbearing general rather than participating as equals. When the second movement reached the second theme, which leaps with playful daring from the cellos, Lang Lang thumped out the vamping accompaniment with grotesquerie like a cartoon-like caricature so that the cello theme could barely be heard. He did, however, lower the volume to a lighter touch when it was the piano's turn to play it. The Presto finale was written with such virtuosic impetuosity in mind, and Lang Lang played the main theme with daredevil brilliance. When Saint-Saens quietens this for a chorale on the woodwind, the composer gives the piano shady trill motives marked 'always pianissimo' but in this performance they were never so and drowned out the chorale. Lang Lang remains a consummate showman but one didn't feel he was listening closely to the orchestra or focused on realising the composer's musical intentions. The first half was also devoted to French music and began with a delightful rarity, D'un Matin de printemps (Of a Spring Morning) by Lili Boulanger. Boulanger's spring morning dances with light energy and freshness, and Northey brought out small details of orchestration with care to produce a texture in a state of constant renewal. Boulanger, who died aged 24, had the rare ability to create a sense of magic, sparkle and frisson. Northey and the SSO followed this with a work of kindred sensibility, La Mer by Claude Debussy, who died in the same year, 1918, aged 55. The SSO's clarity and discipline and Northey's attention to detail were again welcome, although this occasionally inhibited the build-up of momentum and tension in the first two movements. The third was buffeted with surging gestures, closing with an energised blaze of magnificence.
The Age
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
With a plot thinner than a starving moggie, Cats is showing its age
With minimal plot, character development or conflict, the show is a series of party pieces in which various cat characters get a chance to shine. Some shine brightly. Todd McKenney was terrific as fatcat Bustopher Jones in a costume redolent of Aunty Jack. McKenney's dual role as Gus, the ageing performing cat, provided one of the night's rare affecting interludes as he recalled his glory days in a moving duet with Lucy Maunder (Jellylorum). This lifted the second act opening after a first act that became bogged down with the overlong Jellicle Ball dance section. A sexy Rum Tum Tugger (Des Flanagan) rose to his rock star moment. Mark Vincent as Old Deuteronomy brought sonorous gravitas to the role of the tribal elder – no mean feat given he looked like a Womble. Gabriyel Thomas was a strong presence in the key role of Grizabella, the former glamour puss, now more grizzled than bella, who has been rejected by the tribe. With her rich, powerful voice, Thomas invests with pathos the showstopper Memories. Jemima (Ella Fitzpatrick) delivered a couple of teasers of the show's best-known song earlier in the piece, but a lack of vocal strength and brittle tone did not serve well the sweeping melody. The energetic ensemble worked hard as they danced and pranced on and occasionally off the stage and into the auditorium. Yet much of the choreography and movement feels dated. Whether it was sound balance or delivery, the lyrics to the ensemble vocal numbers were difficult to determine. The off-stage orchestra, under musical director Paul White, was well paced and versatile in numbers that ranged across jazz, blues and pop to anthemic and operatic. Cats was ground-breaking when it premiered, an immersive spectacle that helped usher in an era of mega-musicals. Since then, the big-budget musicals it helped spawn have become increasingly sophisticated. There may be nostalgic appeal in revisiting a work that feels rooted in an '80s era and aesthetic. So thanks for the Memories. THEATRE KOREABOO Belvoir Downstairs Theatre, June 19 Until July 20 Reviewed by JOHN SHAND ★★★ Soon Hee never held her baby before she was taken away for adoption; she saw only her tiny pink feet retreating in the nurse's arms. She had become pregnant outside of wedlock, which, if discovered, would bring such shame on her family, and people would shun the little Seoul shop run by her mother. The pink feet belonged to a girl christened Hannah by her adoptive Australian parents. She was a young woman before she sought out her birth mother, and now she's back in Seoul a second time to – what? Heal a wound? Form a bond? Discover her inner Korean self? 'Koreaboo', Michelle Lim Davidson explains in a preface to her play (here having its world premiere), is a pejorative term describing someone (usually non-Korean) obsessed with Korean culture. The set-up to Davidson's play is autobiographical, and potentially implicit in any such forced separation is deep scar tissue. But rather than milking tears, the playwright is more intent upon teasing out the laughs as Hannah tries to find a place in Soon Hee's world. Jessica Arthur's Griffin Theatre Company production has Davidson, herself, playing Hannah, and Heather Jeong (best known as a TV chef) playing her mother. Mel Page's set realises Davidson's vision of a Seoul convenience store, complete with noodles, toilet paper and an imposing pyramid of Spam tins. This is Soon Hee's domain, and an Australian invasion is not especially welcome, not only because any scar in Soon Hee's heart has long been impenetrable, but because Hannah, keen to help, will just drive customers away with her hopeless command of Korean. Jeong excels as the brutally honest Soon Hee, telling Hannah they look more like sisters than mother and daughter. She is exceptional at making the shop her castle and at raising the drawbridge against her daughter – not cruelly, but in a brusque, pragmatic way. Nonetheless, she makes us like Soon Hee because we see through the act from the start and we admire her stoicism and even her goofy obsessions with gnomes, Sex and the City and K-pop – notably in its TV talent quest guise of Star Power. Davidson's performance is more problematic, and perhaps she shouldn't have been cast in her own play. As accomplished as we know she is as an actor, she can't locate the same truth in playing Hannah as she did in writing the role. The performance becomes one-dimensional – Hannah the anguished victim – and so wooden that her hands barely cease to dangle by her thighs. Writing the play should have been enough. It's good, quirky work that doesn't seek to dot the 'i' or cross the 't' in complexity, but lets it simmer in the background. An actor who was not partially playing herself might have stormed into the role, made Hannah her own and trusted the words rather than being shy of finding the character's core both vocally and physically. MUSIC Lang Lang and the Sydney Symphony. Opera House. June 18 Reviewed by PETER McCALLUM ★★★½ Lang Lang began the Bach-like improvisatory solo at the start of Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 5 with ponderous spaciousness before accelerating to three declamatory chords held back as though announcing the day of judgment. To me, the spaciousness was overdone, taking the wind from the sails with a resulting loss of tension, but Lang Lang kept a hold over many in the sold-out hall through a faux-majestic bearing, swashbuckling velocity and thunderous volume. Lang Lang dominated the music throughout, pushing the tempo ahead at whim. Conductor Benjamin Northey faithfully stayed with him, even if, at times, the orchestra was left scurrying attentively to meet the needs of an overbearing general rather than participating as equals. When the second movement reached the second theme, which leaps with playful daring from the cellos, Lang Lang thumped out the vamping accompaniment with grotesquerie like a cartoon-like caricature so that the cello theme could barely be heard. He did, however, lower the volume to a lighter touch when it was the piano's turn to play it. The Presto finale was written with such virtuosic impetuosity in mind, and Lang Lang played the main theme with daredevil brilliance. When Saint-Saens quietens this for a chorale on the woodwind, the composer gives the piano shady trill motives marked 'always pianissimo' but in this performance they were never so and drowned out the chorale. Lang Lang remains a consummate showman but one didn't feel he was listening closely to the orchestra or focused on realising the composer's musical intentions. The first half was also devoted to French music and began with a delightful rarity, D'un Matin de printemps (Of a Spring Morning) by Lili Boulanger. Boulanger's spring morning dances with light energy and freshness, and Northey brought out small details of orchestration with care to produce a texture in a state of constant renewal. Boulanger, who died aged 24, had the rare ability to create a sense of magic, sparkle and frisson. Northey and the SSO followed this with a work of kindred sensibility, La Mer by Claude Debussy, who died in the same year, 1918, aged 55. The SSO's clarity and discipline and Northey's attention to detail were again welcome, although this occasionally inhibited the build-up of momentum and tension in the first two movements. The third was buffeted with surging gestures, closing with an energised blaze of magnificence.
Geek Girl Authority
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
Mobile Game Monday: Father's Day Special
This article was originally published in June 2024. Greetings, friends, and welcome to Mobile Game Monday, where we chat about games you can play on the go. If you like to game on a phone or tablet , this is the place for you. Join us every week as we go on all sorts of adventures. Holidays like Mother's and Father's Day are not always easy for those who have lost their parents. My father passed away 14 years ago, and it can still be tough at times. I want to say to anyone who has lost a parent, I see you, and I feel you. To make it a little easier, I like to focus on the great memories I am lucky enough to have of my dad. I have also learned to appreciate those still here with me so much more. To all the great dads out there, Happy Father's Day, and thank you for being there. Your actions may mean more than you will ever know. RELATED: F2P Friday: Normal Fishing In remembrance of my dad, I thought it would be fun to share stories about things my dad and I used to do for fun. Don't worry; I included fun games as well because, on any given day, we would be at the arcade. Bowling Crew When I was young, I found my dad's bowling ball and shoes in our garage. He told me he used to be in a league, and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. In my child-sized brain, I imagined something like the Justice League but for awesome bowlers. Growing up, I spent many nights at the bowling alley playing in the arcade and knocking down pins. Our local alley had The Simpsons Bowling arcade game that consumed so much of my childhood and countless quarters. It was such an important part of my childhood that I currently have the Arcade 1Up remake in my game room. RELATED: Star Wars : Most Powerful Sith Lords Later, my family discovered bowling (and Pool) on Wii Sports, which fueled some seriously intense competition in our house. One way or another, bowling has always been a part of my life because of my dad, and the bowling alley always reminds me of him. Photos courtesy of Amazon. Bowling Crew brings the lanes to you in this slick bowling mobile game. Bowl your way through 19 different themed lanes, from the Jack Rabbit Pins to the Luxe Lounge. Every lane has a new shirt and set of balls to collect, each with stats and bonuses to help you in the game. The controls are easy to pick up and pretty intuitive. Face off in short matches against players online or with your real-life bowling buddy. This is a solid alternative to actual bowling, though nothing beats the real thing. Bowling Crew is free in the Google Play and App Store. Williams Pinball In my small hometown, there was a locally owned place called Fun City. They had a handful of classic pinball machines, arcade games and some sketchy go-carts that were broken down half the time. Oh, and the mini golf course closed 90 percent of the time for 'maintenance.' It may not sound like much now, but it was the absolute pinnacle of fun when I was a kid. RELATED: Mobile Game Monday: Call of Duty: Mobile When you first walked in, you were greeted with a row of old pinball machines, lights flashing, music blasting and ready to play. We could spend hours here, playing on every machine and trying to beat each other's scores. I wanted to find a game that captures the nostalgia of the old-school pinball machines. If you are looking for a pinball game that feels like you are playing on a real machine, Williams Pinball scratches that itch. Featuring a huge variety of official Williams Pinball machines, including Attack On Mars and Universal Monsters, this game has all the satisfying lights and sounds of the real thing. Screenshots courtesy of the App Store. Unfortunately, you only start with one table, and it is a lengthy grind to collect more (or spend money, of course). For a while, you will play the same machine over and over, but I usually favor a machine and stick with it anyway. There are even fun customization options and recently added multiplayer options. RELATED: June's Most Anticipated Video Games Williams Pinball is free in the Google Play and App Store. Galaxiga The next stop at Fun City was the random arcade machines planted around. First, we would play some rounds of Frogger with Mom because that is her favorite. Then, we would play a few of Dad's favorites, especially Galaga or Space Invaders . These arcade adventures are easily some of my most cherished childhood memories and certainly influenced the person I am today. The music from some of those old arcade games gives me goosebumps now. Anytime I am lucky enough to come across these games in the wild, I have to play. RELATED: Love free games? Check out the F2P Friday archives! I could not find an official Galaga mobile game, but trust me, Galaxiga is the next best thing. Though this arcade-style shooter was inspired by Galaga , it has so much more to offer. The graphics are a little more modern than the original and surprisingly impressive. You now have countless ship options and can build squads with different types of ships to get stellar bonuses. Photos courtesy of the App Store. The levels are broken up into short groups of waves, so you can play a few quick levels when you have a chance. Simple and addictive, Galaxiga is great for fans of classic arcade shooters. Galaxiga is free in the Google Play and App Store. Our Adventure Ends Here I know that if my dad were still here, we would have had a great time playing these games. This was a nice trip down memory lane for me, and hopefully, you found a game you like and can play with your loved ones. Games have always been an important part of my family, and they are a great way to spend time together. RELATED: Read all of the Mobile Game Monday adventures here! To my Dad, I hope there are bowling lanes, pinball and arcade machines wherever you are. I love and miss you! Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there making memories with their kiddos. More often than not, those moments mean the world to them. Take it easy and play it safe, gamers. Did you play in arcades as a kid? What was your favorite game? Let us know in the comments below!
