Malaysian YouTuber Nigel Ng, aka Uncle Roger, under fire for condemning Cambodian food
CAMBODIA – Critiquing food videos are his claim to fame, but Uncle Roger’s latest comments on Cambodian cuisine has got him into trouble.
Cambodian’s Ministry of Tourism has condemned Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng, better known as Uncle Roger, for his offensive remarks about Cambodian cuisine on YouTube.
In a video titled Uncle Roger Make Adobo shared on his YouTube channel to celebrate reaching eight million subscribers, Ng, 32, is seen engaging in a discussion about South-east Asian cuisine with Filipino American chef Leah Cohen.
During the conversation, he comments that “not all South-east Asian countries have good food”, adding that “you don’t want food from Laos and Cambodia”.
Cohen, owner of acclaimed New York City restaurants Pig & Khao and Piggyback NYC, appears shocked and says Ng should not make such comments.
However, Ng gleefully retorts: “Laos food is like s*** version of Thai food.”
His comments not only ignited waves of criticism from netizens, but also from Cambodia itself.
The country’s tourism ministry said it was “extremely disappointed after seeing a video that wrongly evaluates Cambodian food on social media on a YouTube channel named Nigel Ng, published on July 30”, the Khmer Times reported.
According to the Cambodian English daily, the ministry said Ng’s take on Cambodian cuisine had negatively impacted the “prestige and identity of Khmer food, and his assessment seriously affected Cambodian food tourism”.
Cambodian authorities have asked Ng to make a public apology to its people and edit the contentious video.
Although the comedian has yet to retract his criticisms, he said in an Instagram post on Friday that Asians criticising Asians are “just a way of life”.
He also agreed to a challenge issued by Laotian chef Ae Southammavong to taste spicy Laotian food that she will prepare.
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