Hai-ya, you haven’t heard?
Nigel Ng (or better known as his character Uncle Roger), the much-loved Malaysian comedian and YouTuber, will be opening his first restaurant. And where else would it be if not for his home country Malaysia?
The news was subtly shared to viewers of his latest YouTube video “Uncle Roger Miss Anthony Bourdain” that was uploaded yesterday. Part of it featured an old clip from when the late celebrity chef visited Penang and tried Assam Laksa.
In the middle of explaining the uniqueness of the dish, Nigel dropped the news by saying “By the way, another reason to go [to] Malaysia: Uncle Roger [is] actually gonna open my very first restaurant over there. Fuyoo!”
“Coming soon later this year, but shh, don’t tell anyone okay? This little secret [is] just for loyal nieces and nephews watching this video.”
Whoops, guess the cat is out of the bag.
No other details have been shared so far. But if the positive reviews of his Chili Creamy Crab Pasta (that’s only available in America) are anything to go by, it seems that Malaysians are in for a treat soon.
Meet Uncle Roger
Most people know Nigel for his reaction videos, particularly the viral one in response to BBC Food’s egg fried rice video. But you might not be aware that his Uncle Roger persona was created way before that.
While speaking to us in September 2020, he shared that the character was born about a year before that.
He was already a comedian by then and was performing on television. He’d even been nominated for the Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, the world’s largest arts festival in Scotland.
“Uncle Roger came about because I had it as a goal this year to come up with a character for my social media content. After some improvising and workshopping on my Rice To Meet You Podcast, Uncle Roger was born,” he told us.
“My humour uses Asian culture as subject material, but my experience on the standup circuit in the US and UK has helped me gain the skills of making my comedy accessible to everyone. I think everyone will get the jokes in the videos, maybe Asians will get 10% more, but it’s very accessible regardless of race.”
Seeing as how this upcoming restaurant will be Nigel’s first physical F&B venture, we’re excited to check out how it’ll embody his Uncle Roger persona.
Will each dish have funny names that roast you? What kind of cuisine will he be serving, and is it a fusion restaurant? So many questions that we don’t have the answers to yet.
For now, we wish him the best of luck in establishing the brick-and-mortar business.
Featured Image Credit: Nigel Ng