WESA-FM profiles cultures around Asian restaurants in Squirrel Hill.

Dr. Freddie Fu demonstrates his method of eating dumplings at Café 33 (via Margaret Sun of WESA).

WESA-FM has a lengthy profile on some of the Chinese restaurants in Squirrel Hill and the roles they provide as not only eateries but transmitters of culture.

Food is communication, [Café 33 owner Meiching] Tao explained, and a way to create understanding between different cultures. Challenging her customers to use chopsticks is just one way Tao tries to get westerners to experience her native cuisine.

“I want to share and teach about culture, because it’s an important part of who I am,” said Tao.

Still no news on Shadyside's Szechuan Spice.

It's been over a year since any progress has been made on Shadyside's Szechuan Spice, on the ground floor of Kennilworth Apartments. And it's been nearly two since a red canopy went up at 5700 Centre Ave. (map) to replace the long blue awning that once belonged to Jimmy Tsang's Chinese Restaurant, which occupied the space from 1982 to 2011.

Squirrel Hill's Bubble Pi to reopen under new management.

Bubble π [Pi] Baking Arts, the original Asian bakery in Squirrel Hill that closed earlier this month, is reopening under new management. It is currently selling coffee and buns---and is running a buy-one-get-one-free special---but plans a fuller menu of beverages and pastries at a yet-undecided future date.

Panda Supermarket (熊猫超市) coming to Forbes Ave. in Squirrel Hill.

A reader sends this photo of signage at 5846 Forbes Ave. for Panda Supermarket (熊猫超市), an Asian grocery coming to Squirrel Hill. It's located below Bangkok Balcony in what used to be a Levin Mattress store.

The only other Asian grocery store in the neighborhood is Young's Oriental Grocery Store, a Korean grocery on Forward Ave (map).

The Yellow Sea (황해) at Maridon Museum, May 25.

The 2010 thriller The Yellow Sea (황해) will play at the Maridon Museum on May 25, the fourth and final installment in this spring's Korean Film Series. A 2011 New York Times review provides a summary:

Written and directed by Na Hong-jin, “The Yellow Sea” follows Gu-nam as he descends into a nightmare that he helps create. The story takes off in Yanji, the capital of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, a wedge of China that borders North Korea and Russia. Initially, Gu-nam, an ethnic Korean (or chosun-juk), spends his time losing money at mahjongg, driving a cab or passed out in his squalid apartment, where a web of broken glass covering a framed wedding photo of him and his wife hints at the tragic misunderstanding that sets the story in fast, fast motion. His wife has left to find work in South Korea, and Gu-nam, bereft, angry, self-pitying, has built up a debt that he seems unlikely to work or gamble his way out of.

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When he can’t pay what he owes, he lands before a gangster, Myun-ga (Kim Yun-seok, in a tour de force performance), who will wipe out Gu-nam’s debt if he kills a man. Stoop-shouldered and somewhat sleepy, Myun-ga doesn’t look like much of a danger, but menace radiates off him, especially because he makes his offer in a dog market.

The movie starts at 6:00 pm and reservations are required to be made by phone: 724-282-0123. The Maridon Museum is an Asian art museum at 322 N. McKean St. in downtown Butler (map) that runs film series periodically throughout the year, in addition to art classes, book club meetings, and its regular exhibits.

Pirates sign 18-year-old Chinese pitcher Haicheng Gong (宫海成)

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed 18-year-old Chinese pitcher Haicheng Gong (宫海成) on Tuesday. MLB.com writes that Gong comes from the Chinese Development Academy and will be assigned to the team's Bradenton affiliate. Rumbunters has more details, including the time Gong has spent getting used to American culture.

The Pirates have had a number of Asian players in their system the past decade, though Gong is the first from the People's Republic of China. The four East Asian players to make the big league roster are Masumi Kuwata in 2007, Akinori Iwamura in 2010, Hisanori Takahashi in 2012, and Jung-ho Kang in 2015-2016.

Oakland-based WholeRen hiring bilingual Chinese / English Marketing Coordinator.

WholeRen Education LLC, a Pittsburgh-based Chinese education consulting and placement company, is hiring a full-time Bilingual Marketing Coordinator.

Our client, established by Chinese and American professional educators, is a multinational and professional education company. It integrates the services of academic application, college transfer services, academic emergency services, academic counseling, immersion classroom, landing services, Chinese-American cultural exchange and other services.

Now they are seeking for a bilingual marketing coordinator, who is driven, focused, talented and looking to gain hands-on experience. The ideal candidate would be someone majoring in marketing, communications, public relations, journalism or advertising.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and execute offline marketing strategies and campaigns
• Create and distribute marketing collateral: brochures, catalogues, posters, samples, displays, promotional materials, presentations, advertisements etc.
• Collaborate with the marketing team to drive key projects and goals
• Assist the Marketing Manager in a variety of administrative and project management tasks to drive the marketing efforts of our business

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• 1-2 years of marketing experience
• Excellent writing and verbal skills in both English and Chinese
• Proficient with Microsoft office suits includes Words, Excel

The application can be completed online.

Designing Space: The Exercise of the Spatial Imagination in Pre-Modern China, May 26-27 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of History will host "Designing Space: The Exercise of the Spatial Imagination in Pre-Modern China" on May 26 and 27. A program of events and a list of presentation abstracts is available at the department's website. The conference runs from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm both days and is held in the Gold Room of the University Club in Oakland (map).

Pitt's Confucius Institute hiring Program Coordinator.

The Confucius Institute located at the University of Pittsburgh is hiring a full-time Program Coordinator. From yesterday's PittSource posting:

The University of Pittsburgh is seeking a qualified Program Coordinator. The Program Coordinator for the Confucius Institute will oversee activities related to the daily functioning of the Confucius Institute, including translating and submitting the CI budget in Chinese and English to the Hanban web accounting system; monitoring budget levels each month and overseeing the processing of accounting expenses. The incumbent will develop and administer the summer and academic semester training programs for incoming volunteer teachers and coordinate processing of federal and state regulatory forms for incoming volunteers including visas, clearances and certifications in English and Chinese (when required). The incumbent will manage documentation related to OIS visa regulation and passport adherences, coordinate with University Testing Center to oversee HSK Testing Center, and expand the Chinese Bridge programs for superintendents and students state-wide. The Confucius Institute Program Coordinator may also occasionally assist in administration activities that support the overall mission for Chinese language and cultural education developed in consortium with the Asian Studies Center.

. . .

MA degree required in Chinese/Asian Studies or Accounting; Ph.D. preferred; Knowledge and experience related to China including research, teaching and study abroad programs; Fluency in Mandarin and English; Experience working with multiple stakeholder budgets and accounting systems; experience working with teacher education programs; Excellent organizational and administrative skills.

The Confucius Institute, says its website,

is a language and culture center dedicated to supporting the learning of Chinese language and culture for the greater public. CI-Pitt was founded in 2007 and was one of the first 25 Confucius Institute’s to be established worldwide. The Confucius Institute is a culture center developed and partially supported by the Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing China, also known as Hanban.

2017 Japanese animated film Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic (劇場版「黒執事 Book of the Atlantic」) in Pittsburgh, June 12 and 14.

The 2017 Japanese animated movie Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic (劇場版「黒執事 Book of the Atlantic」) will play at the Southside Works Cinema on June 12 and 14. The distributor provides a summary for the film, which opened in Japan in January and is making its debut throughout the US in June:

All aboard to the next great adventure for Ciel and his demonic butler, Sebastian! After hearing rumors of a peculiar society bringing people back from the dead, the two board the luxury liner Campania on her maiden voyage to investigate. Incognito amongst the mysterious Aurora Society, they find familiar faces and a sight they can’t believe—a woman raised from the dead! But surprise quickly turns to dread when the shambling corpse attacks.

With more questions than answers, Ciel and Sebastian are up against not just one flesh-hungry corpse, but hundreds. Worse yet, the flamboyant reaper Grell and his new partner, Ronald Knox, stand in their way. Time is running out to solve this mystery, and if the demonic duo doesn’t act fast, they’ll be treading some seriously rough waters. Who could be behind this daring necromancy—and are they ready to find out?

Tickets and showtime information is available from the Southside Works Cinema website. The June 12 show is in Japanese with English subtitles, while the June 14 show is dubbed in English. The theater is located at 425 Cinema Drive in the SouthSide Works shopping center (map).