The Weekend Wind-Down #53 - March 2, 2025

I can't believe it's March already! I've had a bit of a rough start to the year, being sick several times in a row, but I'm feeling much better and looking forward to having a good month. Here's this week's list.

Podcast I listened to this weekend

I really enjoyed this episode of TED Business with Neeraj Aggarwal from Boston Consulting Group on the rise of Asia's cultural and intellectual influence. From TikTok and DeepSeek to Squid Game and Kpop, ideas and culture is now flowing in both directions in what used to be an almost one-way street. When I was growing up in the US, there was nothing cool about being Asian. At best I got called Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan, and other than that the most common things people related Asia to were cheap electronics and cars, food that made you hungry again in a few hours, and Nintendo. It's great to see how much things have changed since then and the direction the trend is going.

My post on TEDxSingapore published this weekend

My reflection on being part of the TEDxSingapore curation team was published this weekend. I shared some behind-the-scenes details and an overview of the whole experience from planning and finding speakers, to developing their talks, and the production on the day of the event itself. I've written quite a bit about TEDx here before, but it was great to be able to share my experience to a wider audience and encourage others to support the community and experience it for themselves. We are already gearing up to start the planning for this year's main event, so reach out if you'd like to get involved!

Best food I discovered this week

I've been hearing about Konjac (Shirataki) noodles for a while, but only tried them this week, and they're amazing! If you haven't heard of them, they are an extremely low-calorie, low-carb noodle made from a kind of yam plant. A 200g serving only has 20 calories and around 5g of carbs, they are also high in fiber and good for digestion. They remind me a lot of the thick bee hoon used in Laska, as they are more like rice noodles than egg noodles. First I tried stir frying them, they don't have much flavor on their own, but with some chili, garlic, and kecip manis, I didn't notice a lack of flavor at all. I also used them in a noodle soup, which came out even better! In the soup they don't stick together at all, and they stay al dente even in the broth. Definitely a quality low-carb solution, miles better than cauliflower rice.

Have a great rest of your Sunday!