Malaysia has better food than Singapore, says Uncle Roger
Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng, famous for his Uncle Roger persona, says that his country has better food than Singapore.
"You guys just do a weird, less good version of what we do, to be honest. Your bak kut teh is pale, it's transparent," he told The Straits Times (ST) in an interview published on Wednesday.
"I think there are more similarities than differences, but Malaysia has better food, especially in Penang. I don't think any region here can touch Penang – it's too good," he added.
Ng, who has 5.99 million YouTube subscribers, is in Singapore for his sold-out comedy tour Haiyaa.
His first YouTube video as Uncle Roger went viral in 2020 and has raked over 30 million views. The clip, "Uncle Roger DISGUSTED by this Egg Fried Rice Video (BBC Food)", criticises a video on the making of egg fried rice.
The Uncle Roger persona is a grumpy middle-aged Chinese-Malaysian man with some Hong Kong-sounding inflections in his accent. Ng, 31, addressed criticisms that Uncle Roger plays into stereotypes and caricature in his interview with ST.
"I think accents have been used to mock and belittle Asians abroad. But Uncle Roger is not mocking his own people. He's championing the food and mocking Western culture for getting it wrong," he said.
On courting controversy and making inappropriate jokes, Ng added, "I like going close to the line and seeing if I can make it funny. I like making riskier jokes – there are a few in my show I'm very proud of – and I'll take whatever comes with it.
"I think the more serious something is, the more you should joke about it. It breaks the tension. If you can make something very contentious funny, that's very rewarding."
