Korean fried chicken place Chick'n Bubbly reopens for takeout and delivery.

Chick'n Bubbly, a Korean fried chicken and bubble tea place in Oakland, has reopened for takeout and delivery as of May 1. Next to Oishii Bento, and owned by the same team, it temporarily closed on April 1. It is located at 117 Oakland Ave. (map).

"COVID-19: On the Ground from Taiwan and Singapore" with Pitt's Global Studies Center, May 7.

via UDN.

The Global Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh shares news of an upcoming online discussion, "COVID-19: On the Ground from Taiwan and Singapore," on May 7.

Join David Bell and Yurika Kurakata for COVID-19 on-the-ground reports from Taiwan and Singapore. David Bell is a history teacher at Kang Chiao International School in Taipei, Taiwan, and he is a graduate of Amherst College. Before moving to Singapore, Yurika Kurakata was the director of the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington. Learn about how the governments, schools, and people of Taiwan and Singapore prepared for and are responding to this pandemic.

It runs from 7:00 to 8:00 pm on the 7th; those interested can register online.

Oakland's Oishii Bento to reopen for takeout and delivery, May 1.

Oakland's Oishii Bento, which temporarily closed on April 1, announced today it will reopen for takeout and delivery from tomorrow. Oishii Bento is located at 119 Oakland Ave. (map).

"Bystander Intervention Training to Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment" online sessions, from May 2.

Hollaback will host online "Bystander Intervention Training to Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment" sessions from May 2.

In response to the rise in Anti-Asian/American and xenophobic harassment, we at Hollaback! partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC to adapt our free bystander intervention training to meet this moment.

Unfortunately, anti-Asian and Asian American racism and xenophobia is not a new phenomenon. It has been part of American history for a long time, and we have seen it manifested against different Asian/American and Pacific Islander communities in many ways over the years. As the coronavirus pandemic escalates, we have seen more harassment, discrimination, and even violence directed at these communities. The Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation has been documenting hate crimes and hate incidents since 2017 at www.StandAgainstHatred.org, which is available in English, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Online "How To Tai Chi" with Asian Studies Center at Pitt, Fridays in May.

The Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh will host free online "How To Tai Chi" lessons Fridays in May, starting May 1. Those interested in the Zoom sessions can register here.

Cancelled: Nicole Chung at City of Asylum, scheduled for May 11.

via nicolechung.net

City of Asylum has cancelled its event with author Nicole Chung, originally scheduled for May 11, along with all of its other programming in May.

PublicSource.org: "I’m an international student at Pitt. Wearing a face mask is a fraught choice for people who ‘look Chinese.’"

Pitt graduate student Alexis Lai shares her story with PublicSource.org.

Shortly after the University of Pittsburgh announced it would shift all classes online, I received a WhatsApp message from a fellow Chinese student: “It might be better to leave ASAP. It’s going to get worse – the racism, if not the virus."

Her comments echoed my fears. Just a few hours after Pittsburgh had reported the city’s first two COVID-19 cases on March 14, a Black teenager yelled “Corona” at me as I walked into a Rite-Aid in search of face masks.

While Americans and their president were just waking up to the seriousness of the pandemic, Chinese students have been acutely aware of it since January when the virus was first reported in mainland China. In fact, international students from various parts of Asia have been steadily monitoring the news, concerned about the broadening outbreak in their home countries and its implications for their lives in America.

Performances by Korea's Brush Theater and Kuniko Yamamoto halted as 2020 EQT Children's Festival cancelled.

via @brushtheatre.

The performances by Doodle POP! by Korea's Brush Theater and "Origami Tales" by Kuniko Yamamoto scheduled for next month's EQT Children's Festival have been cancelled, along with all Pittsburgh Cultural Trust programming through June 14.

Modified hours for Young's Oriental Grocery in Squirrel Hill.

Young's Oriental Grocery, a Korean grocery store in Squirrel Hill, also has modified its hours amid COVID-19. The new hours, as posted on its door, are 9:30 am to 6:30 am Monday through Saturday and 1:00 - 5:00 pm on Sunday. Young's is located at 5813 Forward Ave. (map).

City-Paper looks at Panda, other ethnic groceries during pandemic.

The Pittsburgh City-Paper looks at Panda Supermarket and other smaller ethnic groceries staying open during this pandemic and the ways they are adapting.

Panda Supermarket in Squirrel Hill has altered its entire business to operate by delivery and pickup orders only. Customers order through Facebook messenger or WeChat app, then employees do the shopping, masked and gloved.


“Before [the outbreak], it was really busy,” says Shelley Fan, one of the owners of the Asian supermarket. “But because of the difficult time, with the pickup, we cannot handle a lot of people.” Fan says they’re taking in about a third of their usual traffic.

The article notes the store is paying its employees extra during this time.

Cancelled: Japanese film Hula Girls (フラガール) at Maridon Museum, April 24.

The 2006 Japanese movie Hula Girls (フラガール), scheduled to play at the Maridon Museum on April 24 as the third and final installment in this spring's Japanese Film Series, has been cancelled.

Tiny ceramic smiles.

The Pittsburgh City-Paper profiles ceramicist Reiko Yamamoto and her Tiny Smiles fundraising project.

Squirrel Hill's Chengdu Gourmet temporarily closes.

Chengdu Gourmet in Squirrel Hill has temporarily closed. "Take care and stay safe" says a sign on the window. For part of this public health crisis the restaurant was open for take-out orders. Located at 5840 Forward Ave. (map), Chengdu Gourmet is routinely named among the best Chinese restaurants in the city, and in February its chef, Wei Zhu, was again a semi-finalist for a James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic.

Shadyside's Tokyo Japanese Store changes hours, limits number of shoppers.

In response to the current public health crisis, Tokyo Japanese Store in Shadyside has limited its hours of operation and the number of shoppers permitted in the store at one time. In an email sent to a local Japanese mailing list, the owner says store hours are now, through April 30 at least, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm every day but Monday, with the number of shoppers permitted in the store now reduced to five. The owner also encourages people to visit the store's homepage for the latest information, as information on Google and Yelp has not been updated.

The Japanese grocery store is located at the corner of Ellsworth and College Avenues in Shadyside (map).

Remote Chinese Language & Culture Club Meeting at Pitt, April 6 and 15.

Chinese Dim Sum, by Lezlie (Creative Commons)

The weekly meetings of the Chinese Language & Culture Club Meeting at Pitt are now online and will meet remotely on April 6 and 15. They are open to the Pitt community and those interested should contact Jennifer Wallace (jlw200@pitt.edu) and Bei Cheng (beicheng@pitt.edu) with specific questions.

Many More Asian Market remains open for pick-up orders.

Many More Asian Market, at the northern end of the Strip District (map), remains open for pick-up orders. They do not have a website or an online ordering mechanism, and their latest Facebook post both welcomes customers and asks their patience:

So we have been locking our door and only doing store pick up for awhile now... it’s the only way we can make sure our staff are well protected and let them feel comfortable to continue to work with us during tough time like this....it was a tough decision since we do not have a website, nor a catalog, nor some sort of picture to show our customer..... it breaks my heart to see our customers walk away because they think that we would not understand what they’re looking for.... don’t feel shy, don’t be afraid to ask questions! Don’t be afraid to write down “ white round sticky things that gummy and tasted very good” or say something like “ that noodle that is yellow and round and thin and curly” ... we WILL found it, we DO understand! We CAN try at least! It might took 30-40 minutes for us to pack it up for you since we have a HIGH volume for pick up order almost everyday, and we are WAY under staff.... but we really hope that we can continue to serve our customers that have been with us all these years!

Oakland's Oishii Bento, Chick n' Bubbly temporarily close.

Oakland's Oishii Bento and Chick n' Bubbly switched to take-out and delivery orders on March 16 in response to COVID-19, and announced today that they will temporarily close until further notice for the safety of staff and the community.

Postponed: My Neighbor Totoro with Beer Tasting at The Oaks Theater, originally scheduled for April 9.

The Oaks Theater in Oakmont has postponed its My Neighbor Totoro with Beer Tasting originally scheduled for April 9.

Cancelled: Vietnamese movie Song Lang in Pittsburgh, originally scheduled for April 30.

The 2018 Vietnamese movie Song Lang, scheduled to play in Pittsburgh on April 30, has been cancelled along with all other City of Asylum programming in March and April.

Asian Student Alliance Advocacy Summit at Pitt rescheduled for tonight, March 25, online via Zoom.

The Advocacy Summit organized by the Asian Student Alliance at the University of Pittsburgh, scheduled for March 21 and later cancelled, was rescheduled today for tonight at 9:00 pm.

Pitt Asian Student Alliance's mission statement is as follows: "(ASA) exists to further the development of Asian and Asian American identity and interest...We discuss identity and current social issues pertaining to Asians in the United States..." ASA is well known for being a large social organization where people who identify as Asian and Asian American can come to make friends, learn about their culture, and become civically engaged with issues pertaining to the AAPI community.