Alhambra Source Podcast Dominic Tovar

Borneo is a large island in southeast Asia's Malaysian archipelago. It's divided between the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. In 2001, Peter Then left the Indonesian side of Borneo, also known as Kalimantan, for a safer life in the United States. When he arrived in Alhambra, the only Indonesian food he could find was from the main island of Java. So he took over a small fish and chips restaurant on Garfield Avenue and transformed it into Borneo Kalimantan. It's now known throughout the Los Angeles area for its rice and noodle dishes like nasi campur and laksa mee Singapore.

Then sits down with the Alhambra Source during the lunch rush at Borneo Kalimantan to talk about his long, serendipitous journey from Borneo to Alhambra. He also introduces his new venture, Uncle Fung Borneo Eatery in Long Beach and Buena Park, and talks about mentoring his Uncle Fung business partner, who used to work at Borneo Kalimantan.

0:54 Peter Then explains why he started a Borneo food restaurant

1:19 Then explains the history, geography and culture of Borneo

2:10 Then's immigrant journey from Borneo to the United States

3:10 How Then seized the opportunity to open a restaurant and to feature Borneo Kalimantan cuisine there

4:50 How spiciness distinguishes Borneo food

5:54 The genesis of Uncle Fung Borneo Eatery

This episode was produced and edited by Phoenix Tso and Bastian Mendez. Music by @_M_U_D_A_. Support comes from the Tow Center for Journalism at Columbia University.

Listen on Soundcloud or Apple Podcasts. If you like what you hear, please rate and subscribe to the Alhambra Source Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the only law signed by the United States that prohibited a group of people of a specific nationality from immigrating to the U.S. It wasn’t repealed until Dec. 17, 1943.

On Dec. 17, 2018, San Gabriel Valley community leaders and local elected officials commemorated the 75th anniversary of the repeal. Rep. Judy Chu joined leaders from Alhambra, Monterey Park and San Gabriel in remembering the repeal of this ostracizing Chinese Exclusion Act.

To celebrate and highlight the importance of this anniversary, the next episode of the Alhambra Source Podcast showcases the documentary film project of Baldwin Chiu and Larissa Lam. The film, Finding Cleveland, uncovers the history of Chiu’s family as early Chinese American settlers in the Mississippi Delta and how the Chinese Exclusion Act shaped their tragic history.

For more information about the film Finding Cleveland or Chiu and Lam’s podcast Love, Discovery & Dim Sum visit their website:

https://www.findingcleveland.com/

http://loveanddiscovery.com/dimsum/

This episode was produced and edited by Phoenix Tso and Dominic Tovar. Music by Ralph Chavez: @suprsn. Support comes from the Tow Center for Journalism at Columbia University.

On Oct. 11, 2018 Alhambra Source partnered with a coalition of community organizations to co-sponsor Kids and Candidates – A Community Engagement forum at Alhambra High School. Katherine Lee, Andrea Lofthouse-Quesada and Adele Andrade-Stadler engaged in a lively discussion with a USC moderator about some of Alhambra’s most pressing issues.

The mission of the Kids and Candidates Forum was to give Alhambra City Council candidates the opportunity to discuss the various issues affecting Alhambra and provide residents and students with an opportunity to hear the candidates’ positions on these issues.

Kids and Candidates was co-sponsored by a community partnership made up of the Alhambra Preservation Group, Grassroots Alhambra, the Alhambra Teachers Association, Alhambra Latino Association and Alhambra Source.

Read our interviews with Alhambra City Council Candidates here: https://www.alhambrasource.org/story/read-our-interviews-with-alhambras-city-council-candidates

This episode was produced by Stephanie Monte and edited by Dominic Tovar and Phoenix Tso.

Music by the Alhambra High School Jazz Band.

Beloved food critic and Los Angeles legend Jonathan Gold passed away on July 21st. As a longtime culinary explorer and L.A. icon, his words have uncovered a captivating number of diverse restaurants all over the Los Angeles area – including local favorites in the San Gabriel Valley. Alhambra Source honors Gold in our next podcast episode by visiting a couple of businesses reviewed or recommended by the critic and talk to the owners about how Gold’s compelling words influenced their visibility.

Michael Milazo is the owner of Alexander’s Prime Meats in San Gabriel. Milazo has owned the business with his wife for 54 years. Gold frequented the butcher shop and applauded the quality cuts in multiple LA Weekly columns.
We also interview Alex Feng of MIAN in San Gabriel, a minimalist Chinese restaurant that specialize in Chongqing dishes, and Sean Xie owner of Chengdu Taste, a Sichuan-style restaurant that specializes in traditional mouth-numbing cuisine – both participants of Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants in L.A. list.

Listen here or on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-gold-put-the-san-gabriel-valley-on-l-a-s-culinary-map/id1390081799?i=1000416973298&mt=2

Don’t forget to like, rate, and subscribe the Alhambra Source Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.

In the early 2000s, Yunuen Bonaparte and her family had no choice but to leave Mexico for the United States. “There were times when we had to eat — how do you say it — old tortillas, like they get hard,” she said. “You just had to like warm them up, like eating tostadas and my mom would have a garden in the backyard, because there was times that there wasn’t enough for us to have meals,” she said of trying to survive in her home country.

Bonaparte arrived in Los Angeles when she was 12 and grappled with the trauma and hardship of living in the United States as an undocumented immigrant. Becoming a DACA recipient enabled her to get an education and now she’s a photojournalist who recently exhibited a series of photos about other Dreamers and their stories.

Bonaparte talks with Erica Mu for the Alhambra Source’s inaugural podcast about her immigration journey, paying her way through school, the untold stories of undocumented immigration and what others can do to help. Listen along, and let us know what you would like to see in future installments of the Alhambra Source podcast!

Highlights:
Crossing the border 2:00
Mental health effects 13:33
Getting DACA 20:04
The photo exhibit 24:16
Q&A 30:57

Resources for DACA recipients and those who want to help:
ICE out of LA
UndocuMedia
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of LA
National Day Laborer Organizing Network

This episode was produced by Dominic Tovar and Phoenix Tso. Music by Ralph Chavez.
Facilitated by Erica Mu. Special thanks to the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University and the American Hungarian Baptist Church for your support.