If you’ve been to the San Gabriel valley area there’s this place called Half & Half Tea House that serves amazing honey boba that melts in your mouth!  During one of  our boba runs, the OA team met up with Gerald Ko also know as singindork888 on Youtube.  Gerald is one of those multi-talented guys who writes, sings and plays original songs.  In addition to making time to collaborate with other Asian American talents like Arden Cho, Clara C and Jasmine Rafael.  We broke bread (or rather bricktoast) over how at a young age music was always a constant in his life, whether it be through singing or playing instruments.  Oh  did we mention Gerald is also a full time pharmacist by day?

Mention “Asian American film” and chances are, we’re all thinking of THE film from the early 2000′s; the FIRST American film with an ALL ASIAN cast that successfully made it to the mainstream market. Yes, you guessed it, Better Luck Tomorrow. If you’ve never seen it, buy it immediately (Click Here)! This was the film that put Asian Americans on the map as dynamic, fascinating individuals who could do more than deliver your take out. Moreover, the cast and crew overcame tremendous challenges in a climate plagued by rigid convention and stereotypes, helping pave the road for change. Skeptics of the film’s success–$250,000 in budget–were put to shame when the dough kept on rolling in: $3,809,226 in gross revenue, $15 million in DVD sales. Today, the OA team is proud to feature Parry Shen, the lead actor from Better Luck Tomorrow, and a pioneer who has already secured his well-deserved place in history.

Parry filled us in on his upcoming projects over sandwiches and then gave us some insider tips in getting into the industry. Read on as Parry talks about his growth as an Asian American actor, the struggles he faced during the production of Better Luck Tomorrow, and his awesome, hidden talent of building things out of cardboard!

Whoever says Asians can’t drive will have to put a sock in it thanks to professional NASCAR racer Brian Wong. Get this: Brian is the first Asian American to be in this sport professionally. He has competed in various prestigious races throughout the world, including the most recent 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona. This extremely strenuous race lasts 24 hours and is held at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida. We started off our day with tacos followed by a delightful rendezvous with Brian’s father (hilarious and downright awesome), his close friends, and his marketing team. Read on as OA fills you in on how Brian broke into this unique industry as he shares the struggles and triumphs he has faced during his journey to fulfill his dreams.

The OA team recently had the pleasure of meeting with Lynn Chen for a superb dinner at the Larchmont Bungalow. You may recognize her as one of the lead actors from the award-winning romantic comedy, Saving Face. Lynn is a seasoned (yet so youthful!) player in the film industry, and she is undoubtedly one of the pioneers of Asian Americans in mainstream entertainment. Apart from all her successful ventures in the film industry, she also maintains two active blogs (see below) about very important issues: food and body image. We are honored and more than excited to share her experiences and struggles as an Asian American actress.