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3.5/5 starsLead cast: Park Ji-hoon, Ryeoun, Bae Na-ra, Lee Jun-youngThe exploits of reluctant school brawler Yeon Si-eun continue in Weak Hero Class 2, in which the troubled student transfers to a new school, where he tries and once again fails to stay out of trouble as new friends and foes gather around him.The formula remains the same as in Weak Hero Class 1, as do the eight-episode structure and the lead actor, Park Ji-hoon. Other than that, the show returns with an exciting roster of all-new faces and a significantly bigger production budget following a move to Netflix.

By Jun Ji-hyeAn increasing number of Japanese tourists are visiting South Korea to buy rice, as prices continue to soar in Japan, retail industry officials say.Japanese visitors have increasingly been spotted filling their carts with rice at supermarkets in Seoul in recent weeks.This growing trend was highlighted in a viral post on X, formerly Twitter, where a Japanese tourist shared her experience of buying rice during a trip to Korea and bringing it back home.The Japanese tourist, who identified herself as a middle-aged housewife, shared earlier this month that she bought 4 kilograms (8.8lbs) of white rice and 5 kilograms of brown rice in Korea during a layover in Seoul, after travelling from Cebu, the Philippines.“My mission in Seoul was to buy rice, as prices in Japan have become too h...

What is the first thing you buy to eat after arriving in Thailand? A bowl of tom yum soup or some street-side noodles, perhaps?For most visitors, Latin American cuisine will not be top of mind, but it is certainly having its moment in Bangkok.“There’s been a global wave of appreciation for Mexican food, and Thailand is no exception,” says Alonso Luna Zarate, executive sous chef at The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon hotel.“People are beginning to recognise that Mexican cuisine is just as diverse and complex as French, Italian or Chinese. What I’ve seen here in Bangkok is a growing curiosity – not just for tacos or guacamole, but for the depth and regional variety that Mexico has to offer.”Alonso Luna Zarate is the executive sous chef at Ojo Bangkok at The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon hotel. P...

Originally from Montpellier, France, Romain Loriot is the founder of Hong Kong bar and online wine retailer ThinkWine. He spoke to Andrew Sun.I grew up in Montpellier, in the south of France, next to the sea. I am from a family of classical musicians. My mother taught me to cook not for the love of food, but to get me to be independent. In the beginning, I wanted to be a pastry chef, but I decided to go into wine.My culinary adventure started with French chef-restaurateur Alain Ducasse. I worked for him for eight years, and had the amazing opportunity to come to Hong Kong to open Rech by Alain Ducasse. After two years, I decided to open my own business.My wife is Shanghainese, so we regularly go to Dynasty, Hong Kong (3/F, Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai....

I’ve been enjoying a travel show called Adam & Poh’s Great Australian Bites, which follows celebrity chefs Adam Liaw and Poh Ling Yeow as they eat their way around Australia.A recurring question they pose to themselves and guests on the show is whether the humble meat pie could be considered Australia’s national dish.With this topic in mind, my partner recently told me she had just found one of the best chicken pies in Hong Kong, and that I needed to try it for myself. I immediately imagined a hearty Aussie or English-style savoury pot pie with flaky pastry, large enough to be a meal.I was taken to a new cha chaan teng, or traditional Hong Kong-style cafe, where the chicken “pie” was in the display counter next to pineapple buns, Swiss rolls and other pastries.A Hong Kong chicken pie a...

Popular Filipino influencer Pinky Tobiano recognised that, after years of struggling with Sjogren’s syndrome, she needed help to reset her mind and body.At the age of 40, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She beat the disease, but the prolonged radiation therapy to treat the cancer led to her developing Sjogren’s, a little-known chronic autoimmune condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the moisture-producing glands, primarily in the eyes and mouth.“Living with Sjogren’s syndrome is difficult,” shares Tobiano, now 55 and in Manila in the Philippines. She is a chemist by training and an entrepreneur with more than 4.3 million followers on her Instagram account, @pinkytobiano.“I have no saliva or tears, so I have trouble swallowing food,” she says. “Just eating is painful an...

A panther gazes straight at the camera in a striking black-and-white photo taken by German photographer Lars Beusker, showing just how breathtaking images of animals can be.Beusker, who was named “Nature Photographer of the Year 2022” at the US-based International Photography Awards, takes his wildlife photos exclusively in black and white.“In black-and-white photography, no colours distract from the subject,” he says.“The eye focuses exclusively on the animals. This increases the intensity of the photo.”A photo of a panther by Beusker. Photo: Instagram/larsbeuskerA photo of a baby snow monkey being massaged by its mother by Beusker. Photo: Instagram/larsbeuskerAs with portraits of humans, an animal photo’s composition, exposure and mood are important, Beusker says.

Dealing with the loss of a loved one is not easy. Rama, a young musician from the Indonesian capital Jakarta and the protagonist in the visual novel game Afterlove EP, experiences this after the death of his girlfriend Cinta. He is at a low point and he cannot get her voice out of his head.While he continues to struggle after a year of mourning, an important performance is coming up. His band finally wants to release their first major EP.Time is running out and Rama wants to overcome his personal crisis and become the band’s frontman again.Afterlove EP is the final work of video game designer Mohammad Fahmi, who died in 2022. Fahmi also made the indie games Coffee Talk and What Comes After, both released in 2020.It tells a quiet and sensitive story of grief, new beginnings and the power of...

Opportunity can come knocking at any time. For chef John Troupis, it came almost two decades ago while he was clearing tables at a restaurant in St Louis, in the US state of Missouri.The then 14-year-old was working as a busboy when, on a particularly busy night, the dishwasher failed to show up.Troupis offered to fill in and found that the kitchen, unlike the front of house, was hectic and stressful. He was hooked.Around the same time, he had his mind blown by The French Laundry Cookbook, a beautifully photographed tome comprising 150 recipes that was co-written by the restaurant’s chef and owner, Thomas Keller.At Jean-Pierre, Troupis serves French bistro classics such as steak tartare, duck confit, onion soup, escargots and boeuf bourguignon. Photo: Jelly Tse“I picked it up in a bookstor...

The high-speed bullet train says Japan as much as Godzilla, sushi and Mount Fuji. And it takes centre stage in Shinji Higuchi’s new film Bullet Train Explosion, which premiered on Netflix this week.Higuchi, the director of the 2016 film Shin Godzilla, has reimagined the 1975 Japanese film The Bullet Train, which has the same premise: a bomb will go off if the train slows to below 100km/h (62mph).That movie also inspired Hollywood’s Speed, starring Keanu Reeves, which takes place mostly on a bus.Higuchi recalls being fascinated by the aerodynamically shaped bullet trains growing up as they roared by, almost like a violent animal. To him, as to many Japanese, the Shinkansen – as the trains are called in Japan – symbolise the nation’s efforts to become “top-rate”, superfast, precise, orderly ...