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Food and firsts: How non-Muslim influencers like Mekyun, CeddyOrNot explore Ramadan with fasting challenges and bazaar reviews (VIDEO)

Food and firsts: How non-Muslim influencers like Mekyun, CeddyOrNot explore Ramadan with fasting challenges and bazaar reviews (VIDEO)

Yahoo19-03-2025

KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — Every year, Ramadan bazaars turn Klang Valley into a food paradise for both Muslims and non-Muslims, often drawing crowds eager to break fast with an array of dishes.
However, in recent years, there is a noticeable trend where an increasing number of non-Muslim influencers document their experiences at Ramadan bazaars or trying their hand at fasting.
From viral TikToks reviewing roti john stalls in Desa Pandan to YouTube vlogs featuring food hunts at Shah Alam's famous bazaar, non-Muslim content creators are putting their own spin on this Ramadan tradition.
But how do their perspectives differ from Muslim influencers?
While Muslim influencers often highlight personal experiences, breaking fast traditions, and stall recommendations, non-Muslim influencers tend to focus on a different approach, with many framing their content around 'food hunting' and ranking stalls, asking questions like 'What's the best ayam percik in KL?' or 'Where's the juiciest murtabak?'
Another popular trend involves influencers experiencing something for the first time, whether it's sampling food from a Ramadan bazaar or attempting to fast for the day.
Content creator Wee Yun Nee, better known as Mek Yun, recently took on the challenge of fasting for the first time alongside her brother, Wee Chuan Chin, also known as Abe Wee, who has been attempting to observe fasting during Ramadan for over two years. He also took part last year.
Documenting her experience, Mek Yun created content showcasing her journey from waking up for sahur (the meal eaten before dawn during Ramadan) to resisting hunger throughout the day until breaking her fast at Maghrib (sunset).
She also visited a Ramadan bazaar, where she explored a variety of food options and picked up some nasi lemak to break her fast with.
Meanwhile, Abe Wee also shared his own Ramadan experience on TikTok, taking viewers along as he visited Wangsa Maju Bazaar, the longest Ramadan bazaar in Kuala Lumpur, alongside Mek Yun and their other brother, Jason Wee.
He also shared that he visited the Taman Lembah Keramat Bazaar, a smaller Ramadan Bazaar, where he tried different foods.
Salomé Das — a half-Indian, half-French model, actress, singer and social media personality who grew up in Malaysia — also documented herself trying out food in Ramadan bazaars this year.
If there's one thing Salomé is known for, it is her ability to nail different accents, whether it is French, Indian, British, American, or South-east Asian English in her TikTok videos.
But when it comes to food, her signature catchphrase is 'baap re baap yaar!' which is basically the desi version of 'Oh my God!'
In a recent video, she took on the Kampung Baru Ramadan Bazaar, where she tried out ayam penyet, putu mayam, grilled fish, murtabak and an assortment of kuih.
Ceddy Ang, known online as CeddyOrNot, is also actively participating in Ramadan this year by joining his Muslim friends in fasting and sharing his experiences through various social media platforms.
Ceddy has been sharing daily updates on his fasting experience. In one TikTok video, he documented his visit to the Ramadan bazaar in Denai Alam, where he was on the hunt for tomato rice.
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A post shared by Ceddy Ang (@ceddyornot)
Another well-known non-Muslim food content creator, Jason Chen, also known as @jcinthehizzay on Instagram and @scaredtodie on TikTok, has also been immersing himself in the Ramadan festivities this year, creating content focused on food and the atmosphere of Ramadan bazaars in Kuala Lumpur.
His Ramadan-themed content has been a hit among his audience, particularly his explorations of various bazaars and his enthusiastic approach to trying popular local dishes.
In his videos, he sampled nasi kerabu with grilled chicken for RM7 and beef murtabak for RM6 at the Wangsa Maju Ramadan bazaar, as well as biryani rice with ayam masak merah for RM12 and Pak Ya popiah for RM8 at the TTDI bazaar.

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Santos understands that struggle. 'I have sort of a love-hate relationship with the position that I'm in because at the very core of it, this is just what I want to do for a living. …. But when you start working at a certain level, there is that layer of, you are the face of the community . I feel that not only with being Filipino, but being queer as well,' he says. He later jokes, 'If I fuck up, please don't hold it against me. I am just a person, and I will make mistakes. And someday I hope that it gets to a point where we can play all types of characters, and those characters not be seen like, 'Oh my God, all Filipinos are like that.'' NBC Santos says, 'When you start working at a certain level, there is that layer of, you are the face of the community .' Briones was glad to be on the set of The Pitt with two other Filipina actors who came from different backgrounds as a way of showing this long-overlooked community is not monolithic. 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Briones also had an emotional realization while filming a scene in episode 11 of The Pitt when Princess and Perlah are in the midst of gossiping about Trinity in Tagalog, and Trinity chimes in, stunning the pair with her understanding of the language. In her disbelief, Princess says Trinity is ' so mestiza! '—meaning she's so white-passing she couldn't believe she was Filipina. Villanueva asked Briones for permission to use that line when the director of the episode, Quyen Tran, encouraged her to improvise. 'Kristen was kind of like, 'Is it okay if I say that?' to me,' Briones says, noting that the term could be read as an insult to people who are mixed. 'Even though those types of words have hurt me [in the past], it felt so powerful to represent it and show it. It didn't feel painful to do that scene. I would've watched this and would've teared up and been like, 'Oh my God, I've had that exact interaction before.'' Sadorra sums it up well: 'The things that make me different used to be things that I was afraid of writing about, but now I fully embrace it and it's only yielded great results.' Warrick Page Abellera studied pre-med before pivoting to acting. But even as more Filipinos appear on screen, I can't help but wonder if casting them as doctors and nurses will become just another pigeonhole—like the delivery man, the IT guy, and the exotic sex symbol tropes that Asians have long been typecast as. Knowing this, Villanueva made sure to be selective about which roles she takes on. 'If it's a Filipino nurse and there's more to 'yes, doctor,' you get to see more of the personality, or have more of a backstory, then of course, I absolutely would audition for that,' she says. When she was auditioning for The Pitt and saw the character's name was Princess—an 'if you know you know' nod to the over-the-top names Filipinos give their kids—she knew the writers were 'going deep in their research.' 'The hope for the future is just more . Not only in front of the screen but also behind it.' '[Working in] medicine is also a little bit of a [stereotypical career] in the community,' Muirhead says. 'It's like a dream, kind of our golden mountain to chase, especially for older generations. But what a beautiful beacon [it is].' Santos agrees: 'It's the easiest entry into our culture, and then you let them know: We're not all nurses.' Abellera says we're in the midst of a cultural shift 'where Filipino and Filipino American stories are really making their way into not only art, but different spaces like cuisine, sports, music, design, and literature in a way that I never experienced growing up.' And as a parent of a 4-year-old, she's excited to be able to show her child Filipinos on TV, from Josh, the new host of Blue's Clues , to herself. ANNA KOORIS // Netflix Filipino actors hope for more opportunities onscreen, behind the camera, and beyond.. Indeed it is an exciting time, as Hollywood has embraced more stories from people of color in recent years. But it's also a fraught one, as DEI initiatives are increasingly under threat. The hope for the future is just more . Not only in front of the screen but also behind it. While The Pitt , St. Denis Medical , and Pulse spotlight Filipino actors and storylines, all three shows are led by white male showrunners or co-showrunners. ( Pulse has a female co-showrunner.) There's always more room for improvement, whether it's in the writers' room, the director's chair, or the C-suite. 'To the executives: People want these real stories. The Pitt is an example of that,' Briones says. 'So seek out new writers, new directors, seek out the people who are going to tell their unique stories about their cultural background, and also stories that don't have to be about their Asian-ness, their Filipino-ness, or whatever—it's just ingrained.' The success of The Pitt and St. Denis demonstrate that there's an appetite for more Filipinos onscreen. 'I think what networks were afraid of was, if you get too specific, the show is not going to translate to a wider audience,' Sadorra says. 'But it's almost like the opposite of that has been true—the more specific you get, the more universal it becomes.' He adds later, 'The response of that [nurse mafia] clip that went viral, and people really loving that episode in particular, has shown us that this is really resonating with people, and it would be smart of us to keep exploring stories in that area. So I hope we get to do that for a second season.' My fingers, for one, are crossed to see more Rene and the Filipino mafia on screen in the future. I can't wait to gossip about it. Related Story

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