Cold Tea Collective

05/06/2026

Thank you again to the local startup, food and beverage community who came to celebrate Asian Canadian Food Innovators.

Stay tuned for a full recap at coldteacollective.com.

Until then, let us know what Asian Canadian restaurants, snack foods and drinks you’ve been enjoying in the comments 👇🏽

Thanks to Julian Fok of .pics for the video edit!

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05/04/2026

Comedy by and for community

Celebrating its seventh edition, Asian Comedy Fest returns to New York City from May 5th to 7th featuring

Aaron Chen
Blake Ung
Christian Escoto
DK Phan
Esther Chen
Natalie Lin
Patricia Dinglasan
Terry Huang
Zaib Pirani
Zubi Ahmed

and more!

“We’re united by a shared goal and passion for what we’re building. Within that, everyone brings their own background, perspective, and voice, which makes the work stronger and more collaborative,” shares Ed Yoo Pokropski, co-founder and executive producer of Asian Comedy Fest.

Asian Comedy Fest held its inaugural event in 2020. Pokropski along with Kate Lee Moran and Yao King founded and produced the event. The first festival featured Ronny Chieng and following editions have featured well-known acts like Karen Chee and Bowen Yang.

Tickets are available at https://asiancomedyfest.com/tickets.

Article and interview by Ashley J. Chong (.assorted) edited by Pearl Zhou ().

05/04/2026

Celebrating its seventh edition, Asian Comedy Fest returns to New York City from May 5th to 7th.

“We’re united by a shared goal and passion for what we’re building. Within that, everyone brings their own background, perspective, and voice, which makes the work stronger and more collaborative," shares Ed Yoo Pokropski, co-founder and executive producer of Asian Comedy Fest.

Tickets are available at https://asiancomedyfest.com/tickets.

Article and interview by Ashley J. Chong, edited by Pearl Zhou.

Cold Tea Collective chatted with the Asian Comedy Fest's co-founder to discuss the festival and the team behind it.

04/14/2026

We’re back at VANCOUVER STARTUP WEEK 2026!!

Join us on April 30th as part of a week of events for as we hear from three Asian Canadian food innovators:

🍓 Han Yue
🥢 Chef Akiko Gulkison –
🗺️ Michelle Ng – & Granville Island Delivery Co.

ABOUT THE EVENT:
Vancouver is known for its cultural and culinary diversity. To maintain this reputation and to grow the market, innovation must be a priority. 

From cultivating creative culinary experiences, to product development in CPG, to redefining cultural expectations, this event will spotlight local Asian Canadian startups crafting the flavours of the future in Canada and beyond. 

The topics include how each founder navigates both success and challenges in their startups, how they’re innovating, and how their heritage plays a role in how they bring innovation to their craft. 

Presented by Cold Tea Collective and XLR Growth.

THANK YOU:
Thank you to our venue partner and generous sponsors Richards Buell Sutton Asia Pacific Group, and Davis Yung.

🎟️ GET VSW passes at vanstartupweek.ca for 20% off All-Access Passes using the code COLDTEA20 or DM us for individual tickets to this event.

03/16/2026

La jiao you, or chili oil, isn't just an ordinary condiment. It's a cultural staple, a sense of belonging, a representation of adaptability.

This product of the Ming Dynasty represents how food can nourish and flow across regions, languages, and time.

Writer Victor Wang shares the history of la jiao you, how it interfaces with authenticity and the American Dream, as well as his own personal experience with it growing up. Plus, a special recipe, straight from his mother's kitchen.

📖Read the full story at https://coldteacollective.com/chinese-chili-oil-recipe/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=entertainment

Article by: Victor Wang. Edited by: Pearl Zhou. Graphics by: Olivia Hall

Chinese Canadian writer Victor Wang shares his family's chili oil recipe and reflects on its authenticity and cultural impact.

03/04/2026

The Rose 더로즈 has teamed up with Asian American filmmakers Eugene Yi and Diane Quon to share their story in an upcoming documentary.

In 2015, The Rose was one of the many aspiring musical acts busking in the Hongdae neighborhood in Seoul. Less than a decade later, the band performed at Coachella after recovering from a lawsuit and a hiatus that threatened to end their career.

We sat down with Yi and Quon to talk about the film and its message.

📖 Read the full story at https://coldteacollective.com/korean-rock-band-the-rose-shares-their-story-of-resilience-in-new-documentary-the-rose-come-back-to-me/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=entertainment

Article by: Ashley J Chong. Edited by: Malia Ogawa. Graphic by: Olivia Hall

In 2015, The Rose was one of the many musicians busking in the Hongdae neighborhood in Seoul. Less than a decade later, the band performed at Coachella after recovering from a lawsuit and a hiatus that threatened to end their career. The Rose teamed up with Asian American documentary filmmakers Euge...

03/02/2026

Celebrating Seollal: How Korean Americans Carry on Traditions

Seollal (설날) is the Korean Lunar New Year, which took place from February 16th to 18th this year. Often shortened to just Seol or called Gu-jeong, translates to “Old New Year.” The holiday is a time for family, food, and traveling back home.

Cold Tea Collective editor Ashley Chong shares what Seollal means to her and invites fellow Korean American women share how they're honoring traditions in this article.

📖 Read the full story at https://coldteacollective.com/celebrating-seollal-how-korean-americans-carry-on-traditions/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=culture

Article by: Ashley J Chong. Edited by: Pearl Zhou. Graphics by: Olivia Hall

Thank you to our contributors: Genie Joo, Lyla Lee, Ayoung Kim, and Giaae Kwon

Cold Tea Collective contributor Ashley Chong shares what Seollal means to her and how the Korean diaspora celebrates abroad.

02/26/2026

Black History Month 2026: Honoring Black–Asian Solidarity

Black History Month is a time to reflect not only on Black excellence and resistance, but also on the shared histories and solidarities between Black and Asian communities.

In our latest roundup, we revisit stories of Black and Filipinx solidarity during the Philippine-American War, uplift Blasian voices reclaiming identity, and celebrate representation. From Asian–Black love stories on screen to athletes like Super Bowl LX champion Zach Charbonnet and tennis champion Naomi Osaka and more.

Through history, cultural pride, professional excellence, and personal storytelling, we explore what solidarity looks like, past and present.

Our histories are intertwined and so is our future.

🔗 Read more at https://coldteacollective.com/black-history-month-2026-black-asian-solidarity/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=life-our-stories

Exploring the layered relationships between and within Black, Asian, and Blasian communities through stories for Black History Month 2026.

02/17/2026

Spring After Spring interweaves Vancouver’s Chinatown Spring Festival Parade with an intimate story of immigrant struggle and familial love.

Directed by Chinese-Peruvian Canadian filmmaker Jon Chiang, the film follows three sisters, Anabel, Val, and Lisa Ho, after the death of their mother, Ms. Maria Mimie Ho, a founder of the parade. The sisters reunite in Vancouver to continue the annual parade, faced with difficult choices about how to honour their mother and her legacy.

Interweaving archival footage of the sisters as kids, decades-old videos of the Chinatown Parade led by Mimie Ho, and scenes from the present day, the documentary elegantly narrativizes their nuanced multicultural upbringing dancing in the Chinatown parades.

📖 Read the full article at https://coldteacollective.com/spring-after-spring-film-chinese-cultural-dance/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=entertainment
🎬 Watch Spring After Spring at www.knowledge.ca/ starting February 17

Article written by: Isabel Li. Edited by: Pearl Zhou.

"Spring After Spring" follows three sisters as they juggle preparations for the parade dance and honouring their late mother's legacy at the Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Parade.

02/05/2026

NEW INTERVIEW: ‘The Wrecking Crew’ packs a punch with a grounded depiction of Hawaiʻi

The Wrecking Crew, directed by Ángel Manuel Soto (Blue Beetle) and written by Jonathan Tropper (Your Friends & Neighbours), features Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa as two estranged half-brothers who must overcome their shared hostility to discover who killed their father. Set in Waikiki, Honolulu, the film offers an action-packed, comedic adventure for those who enjoy underground crime mysteries and explosive surprises.

WATCH & READ our interviews with Tropper, Soto and cast members Temuera Morrison, Jacob Batalon, Frankie Adams, Miyavi, Morena Baccarin and Roimata Fox on authentically depicting familial bonds and the Hawaiian setting and characters.

📖Read the full story at https://coldteacollective.com/the-wrecking-crew-interviews/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=entertainment

Interview by: Natasha Jung. Written by: Isabel R. Li. Edited by: Ashley J. Chong.

Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista serve action alongside a grounded depiction of Hawaiʻi and family in 'The Wrecking Crew.'