Avoiding Faux Pas in Asia By David DeVoss Rules regarding cultural interaction are simple. So why do we stumble so often when meeting clients in Asia? Often it’s because we assume all Sinitic cultures are the same. Or fail to remember that, despite its large Chinese population, a country like Malaysia is historically Islamic. Inadvertent…
The Japanese, stuck in a deadly epidemic of Covid-19, confronted by an unpopular Olympics end experiencing waning geopolitical influence, are pushing past these frustrations with a new government-led campaign to sell the world—and their own children—on their country’s distinctive traditional cuisine. They’re not talking about shrimp tempura, California rolls, or spicy tuna sashimi. No, the traditional washoku cooking that is becoming Japan’s new new thing consists of umami-flavored fish, soya, mushrooms, and seaweed steeped in dashi, a liquid made by boiling desiccated kelp with dried tuna shavings. It is, for some, an acquired taste.