Nigel Ng

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"Uncle Roger" redirects here. For the work of hypertext fiction, see Judy Malloy.

Nigel Ng
黃瑾瑜
Ng as Uncle Roger in 2020
Born (1991-03-15) March 15, 1991 (age 34)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Other namesUncle Roger
Nephew Nigel
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • YouTuber
Spouse
Sabrina Ahmed
​
(m. 2025)​
[a]
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2012–present
Subscribers10.4 million
Views1.82 billion
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese黃瑾瑜
Simplified Chinese黄瑾瑜
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinHuáng Jǐnyú
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingWong4 Gan2-jyu4
Southern Min
Hokkien POJN̂g Kín-jû
Last updated: July 18, 2025
Websiteunclerogermerch.com Edit this at Wikidata

Nigel Ng (/ʌŋ/ ⓘ UNG; Chinese: 黃瑾瑜; born March 15, 1991)[1][2] is a Malaysian comedian and YouTuber based in the United States. He is best known for co-creating (alongside Evelyn Mok) and portraying Uncle Roger, a fictionalized alter ego of himself, representing a stereotypical middle-aged Chinese uncle with an exaggerated Cantonese accent who is often seen critiquing westerners' attempts at cooking Asian food.

Early life

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Nigel Ng was born in Kuala Lumpur on March 15, 1991, the son of Malaysian Chinese parents of Hokkien ancestry.[3][4] His mother is a homemaker, while his father is a car salesman.[5] Ng, his sister, and his brother[5] grew up in the Cheras district with their parents.[6] After graduating from Chong Hwa Independent High School in 2009, he moved to the U.S. to study at Northwestern University. He majored in engineering and minored in philosophy, graduating in 2014.[4]

Career

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Early work

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Ng previously worked as a data scientist at Monzo[7] and maintained a GitHub account.[8][9][10] Inspired to pursue a comedy career in part by the work of Hong Kong comedy actor Stephen Chow,[5] he made his TV debut in 2018 on Comedy Central's Stand Up Central.[11][12] He hosted the comedy podcasts Rice to Meet You with UK-based Swedish comedian Evelyn Mok.[13][14][15] and HAIYAA with Nigel Ng with his producer Matt.[16] On January 2, 2021, he uploaded his first video on the Chinese video sharing website Bilibili.[17] In 2021, he appeared on the first episode of the 19th series of British comedy show Mock the Week.[18]

Uncle Roger

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Ng is best known for his comedic alter ego Uncle Roger, representing a middle-aged Asian uncle who speaks with a pronounced and exaggerated Cantonese accent and prides himself on various East and Southeast Asian stereotypes.[13][19] His podcast partner Evelyn Mok came up with the middle-aged Asian uncle character for a sitcom with Ng in mind, and Ng further developed the character on TikTok and Instagram sketches before moving the character onto YouTube.[20][21][22]

In July 2020, Ng attracted attention for an Uncle Roger video critiquing Hersha Patel's BBC Food video on cooking egg-fried rice.[23] After the video went viral, Ng and Patel appeared on BBC Food together[24] and collaborated on a YouTube video.[25] In August, he spent a day working in Elizabeth Haigh's restaurant, Mei Mei. The following month, he posted a critique video with regards to Gordon Ramsay's fried rice and praised Ramsay for having the correct technique.[26] He has released numerous videos critiquing Jamie Oliver's versions of popular Asian dishes such as egg fried rice,[27] Thai green curry,[20] ramen,[28] and pho.[29]

Ng was a special guest on second season of MasterChef Singapore in 2021,[30] and a guest judge on the third season of Junior MasterChef Indonesia in 2022.[31] That same year, he was a guest diner on the 21st season of Hell's Kitchen.[32] He has also collaborated with numerous entertainers and food personalities including Esther Choi,[33] Joshua Weissman,[34] Chef Rush,[35] Andy Hearnden,[36] Nick DiGiovanni,[37] Steven He,[38] Simu Liu,[39] Jimmy O. Yang,[40] Benny Blanco,[41] Martin Yan,[42] and Gordon Ramsay.[43]

Fuiyoh! It's Uncle Roger

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FUIYOH! It's UNCLE ROGER
A picture of fried rice with sambal from the restaurant
Restaurant information
Established2024 (2024)
Food typeSino-Malaysian

On September 11, 2024, Ng launched his first restaurant "Fuiyoh! It's Uncle Roger" at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.[44] On September 14, 2024, as a promotion event for his new restaurant, Ng convened his followers to dress as Uncle Roger outside there. This event broke the Guinness World Record for "Largest gathering of people dressed as Uncle Roger" with 388 participants. On the same day, he broke another Guinness World Record for "Most fried rice tossed and caught with a ladle in 30 seconds".[45][46] The second restaurant, located in IPC Shopping Centre, was opened to the public in November 2024.[47] He mentioned that he had plans to expand in Asia and then further into Western countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.[48]

Reception

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Ng won the Amused Moose Laugh-Off 2016 and was runner-up in the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year 2015. He was also a finalist in the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year (2016) and Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year (2015).[49][50] He was nominated for the "Best Newcomer Award" for his stand-up comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019.[51][52][53]

The accent Ng uses for the Uncle Roger character has received criticism for perpetuating negative stereotypes about Asians.[18][20][54][55] Chef J. Kenji López-Alt (who is of Japanese descent) said, "I don't like that [Ng's] schtick seems to give a free pass to people to imitate stereotypical Asian speech patterns and pronunciation, especially as it's almost always non-Asians doing the imitating. It's ugly, it's yellowface, it's not funny, and it promotes anti-Asian racism at a time when Asians are already being heavily discriminated against."[20][56] In response, Ng has said that it highlights the difference in the perception of Asian stereotypes between Asians living in Asia and Asian Americans.[20] His critique video of Patel's egg-fried rice has been described as making the viewers "fall for every cultural 'trap' his character sets", overlooking the differences of rice cooking methods in Indian cuisine, and turning East and Southeast Asians into "rice-cooking supremacists" with his "faux encouragement".[57]

On January 12, 2021, Ng apologized on the Chinese social media platform Weibo and deleted a video featuring fellow YouTuber Mike Chen,[58] who had been critical of the Chinese Communist Party and had also been associated with the ultra-conservative movement Falun Gong.[59] He stated, "This video has made a bad social impact... I wasn't aware of his political thoughts and his past incorrect remarks about China. I hope you can give Uncle Roger, who has just entered China, a chance to improve!"[60] His response attracted criticism on Twitter.[61] In his first subsequent video as Uncle Roger, he said he would "keep making funny videos [...] no politics, no drama".[13][62]

On July 30, 2023, Ng stated in an Uncle Roger video, "Not all Southeast Asia has good food. You don't want food from Laos and Cambodia." He also jokingly described Laotian food as an inferior version of Thai food, causing criticism and backlash from both Laotian and Cambodian communities. In a response video to Laotian chef Ae Southammavong challenging him to try Laotian food she had cooked, Ng accepted the challenge and explained his comments by saying, "All the Laos food I had so far... not my favourite. Asian people criticizing other Asian people is just a way of life."[63] Cambodia's Ministry of Tourism issued a statement condemning Ng's remarks as damaging to the image of its cuisine and demanding an apology.[64] The Embassy of Malaysia in Phnom Penh distanced Malaysia from Ng's remarks, saying that "[t]hey do not in any way reflect our view".[65]

Ng has stated that he does not want any of his viewers to spread hate towards anyone.[66]

On May 22, 2023, it was reported that Ng's Bilibili and Weibo accounts[67] had been closed down in response to perceived criticism of China's government in his stand-up comedy special for the phrase "this Nephew using Huawei phone, they all listening."[68]

Personal life

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Growing up, Mandarin Chinese was Ng's first language.[69] His sister is a professional[clarification needed] musician.[7]

Ng lived in Hammersmith in London.[13][70] In 2020, he discussed being the victim of an anti-Asian assault while living there.[70][71]

Ng is divorced, but in 2025 he has since been remarried to his current wife Sabrina Ahmed, an ethnic Bengali. The identity of his ex-wife is not publicly confirmed, though he remarked in his podcast that he was married to a white woman.[72][73]

In 2023, Ng moved to Los Angeles, California.[74] At the end of 2024, he announced he was engaged to Sabrina Ahmed and proposed to her in Japan during the sakura festival, restating he was living in Los Angeles.[75] They married on July 19, 2025, in Sintra, Portugal. The three-day wedding celebration combined Chinese and Bengali traditions.[76]

References

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  1. ^ Second wife; the identity of his first wife is not publicly known.
  1. ^ Sathiabalan, S. Indra (October 29, 2019). "Ng's a cracking success". The Sun Daily.
  2. ^ Ng, Nigel (March 15, 2011). "@njkian Thank you!!!!!! It's my birthday. I better churn out something impressive". Twitter.
  3. ^ Lo, Ricky (October 14, 2019). "Two Pinoys among 12 Asians in Stand-Up, Asia! Season 4". The Philippine Star.
  4. ^ a b Ngeow, Ivy (June 7, 2018). "Interview with Nigel Ng: Malaysian Comedy Sensation – WRITE NGEOW". writengeow.com. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c 崔斯也. "脱口秀演员黄瑾瑜：人人都爱Uncle Roger". 新周刊. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  6. ^ Tan, Katelyn (September 11, 2024). "The two faces of Nigel Ng: Who is the man behind the character?". Tatler Asia.
  7. ^ a b "The real Uncle Roger: 6 things to know about comedian Nigel Ng". South China Morning Post. January 15, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  8. ^ "Watch: Comedian 'Uncle Roger' approves of chef Gordon Ramsay's recipe for egg fried rice". Scroll.in. October 8, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  9. ^ "Rice To Meet You, Nigel Ng – Creator Of Uncle Roger". AugustMan Malaysia. March 7, 2021. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  10. ^
  11. ^ "BBC Michael McIntyre's The Wheel: Who is celebrity contestant Nigel Ng - Wales Online". South Wales Echo WalesOnline. October 22, 2022. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2023. In 2018 Nigel made his TV debut on Comedy Central's show Stand Up Central.
  12. ^ "Interview with Nigel Ng: Malaysian Comedy Sensation". LinkedIn. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d Carla Thomas (January 15, 2021). "The real Uncle Roger: who is Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng, behind the YouTube sensation forever remembered for mocking the BBC's approach to fried rice?". South China Morning Post. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  14. ^ "Rice To Meet You Podcast". Rice To Meet You Podcast. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021.
  15. ^ "Rice to Meet You Podcast - YouTube". YouTube.
  16. ^ "HAIYAA Podcast with Nigel Ng". YouTube.
  17. ^ Ng, Nigel. "华裔疯狂吐槽BBC蛋炒饭，你们的罗杰叔叔来了！". Bilibili (in Chinese). Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  18. ^ a b "Why Uncle Roger's throwaway racism can do real damage". Hong Kong Free Press. January 24, 2021.
  19. ^ "영국 BBC에서 만든 계란 볶음밥에 전 세계 아시아인이 분노한 이유?". SBS NEWS (in Korean). August 5, 2020.
  20. ^ a b c d e Limbong, Andrew (April 18, 2022). "Keep screwing up egg fried rice. It makes Uncle Roger happy". NPR. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  21. ^ Thomas, Carla (January 15, 2021). "The real Uncle Roger: 6 things to know about comedian Nigel Ng". South China Morning Post. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  22. ^ Yap, Audrey Cleo (August 19, 2020). "How Comedian Nigel Ng Became the Internet's Favorite Asian Uncle". Variety. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  23. ^ Chalil, Melanie (July 24, 2020). "UK-based Malaysian comedian roasts BBC Food host for cooking rice wrongly in fried rice tutorial (VIDEO)". Malay Mail.
  24. ^ "BBC不懂煮饭？网红吐嘈影片爆红 片中主角一同接受访问". BBC News 中文 (in Simplified Chinese). July 29, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  25. ^ Westfall, Sammy (August 10, 2020). "BBC Host Cooks for Comedian Who Roasted Her Egg Fried Rice Recipe". Vice Media. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  26. ^
  27. ^ Holland, Paige (September 16, 2020). "Jamie Oliver's fried rice roasted by comedian 'on behalf of Asians everywhere'". Irish Mirror. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  28. ^ Uncle Roger RECREATE JAMIE OLIVER RAMEN, March 26, 2023, retrieved January 24, 2024
  29. ^ mrnigelng (February 16, 2025). Uncle Roger FORCED TO REVIEW Jamie Oliver's Pho. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via YouTube.
  30. ^ Kwok, Kar Peng (March 5, 2021). "'Uncle Roger grandma cook faster than you': Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng makes surprise MasterChef Singapore appearance to 'roast' contestants". AsiaOne. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  31. ^ Endra, Yohanes (August 16, 2022). "Profil Uncle Roger, Komika yang Sindir Oliver James di Junior MasterChef Indonesia". MataMata. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  32. ^ Richardson, Jay (February 13, 2022). "Nigel Ng developing Uncle Roger sitcom with Gordon Ramsay". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  33. ^ mrnigelng (May 1, 2022). UNCLE ROGER MEET HIS FAVORITE CHEF (ft. Auntie Esther). Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  34. ^ Uncle Roger (September 26, 2023). Uncle Roger vs Joshua Weissman (Flavor vs Texture). #nigelng #uncleroger #joshuaweissman. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  35. ^ mrnigelng (June 9, 2024). Uncle Roger Train To Get Aunties (ft. Chef Rush). Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  36. ^ Uncle Roger Steals @andy_cooks Girl. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
  37. ^ mrnigelng (January 1, 2023). Uncle Roger Learn To Make Lobster Roll (ft. NICK DIGIOVANNI). Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  38. ^ Steven He (April 20, 2022). If Shark Tank Was Asian. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  39. ^ Uncle Roger & Simu Liu Get Juicy (Part 1). Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
  40. ^ Jimmy O Yang (May 27, 2022). Uncle Roger Roasts Jimmy's Shrimp Fried Rice | Jimmy's Kitchen 4K. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  41. ^ mrnigelng (January 7, 2024). Uncle Roger Hate Jamie Oliver Lamb Curry Song (ft. @bennyblanco). Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  42. ^ mrnigelng (December 1, 2024). Uncle Roger ROASTED BY THE LEGEND Martin Yan. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  43. ^ Gordon Ramsay (August 4, 2024). Can Gordon Ramsay Get His Uncle Crown Back from Uncle Roger??. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  44. ^ Andres, Gabrielle (September 11, 2024). "Comedian 'Uncle Roger' opens first restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, drawing hours-long queue". The Straits Times. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  45. ^ Vijayan, Sheela (September 15, 2024). "Walao! Uncle Roger sets 1 Guinness World Record… 2 more to go". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  46. ^ Teo, Melissa (September 16, 2024). "Sea of orange: Uncle Roger sets Guinness World Record for largest gathering of people dressed as him". AsiaOne. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  47. ^ Mail, Malay (October 4, 2024). "Fuiyoh! Look what's coming to a mall in PJ in November". Malay Mail. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  48. ^ Durai, Abirami (September 15, 2024). "Fuiyoh, Uncle Roger speaks! Nigel Ng on his alter ego, and his new restaurant". The Star. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  49. ^ "Nigel Ng". Backyard Comedy Club. August 2, 2015.
  50. ^ "Nigel Ng". Off the Kerb. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  51. ^ "Here are your nominees for best show and best newcomer at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival". The Comic's Comic. August 21, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  52. ^ "Edinburgh Comedy awards 2019: surrealists, standups and sausage act vie for prize". The Guardian. August 21, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  53. ^ Logan, Brian (February 5, 2020). "Nigel Ng review – primetime culture-clash comedy". the Guardian. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  54. ^ Chong, Elaine (May 21, 2021). "Nothing Is Off Limits for Nigel Ng—or Uncle Roger". Esquire. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  55. ^ "Nigel Ng review – comedy's viral sensation undercooks his live show". the Guardian. February 25, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  56. ^ "Chicken and Egg Fried Rice | Kenji's Cooking Show". YouTube. August 29, 2021.
  57. ^ Ozaeta, Nana (July 22, 2020). "Nothing wrong with how that lady cooked rice—but all sorts of wrong with how the Internet reacted". news.ABS-CBN.com. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  58. ^ 王强. "马来西亚华裔网红对误同"法轮功"邪教背景人员合作向网友致歉". 中国反邪教网 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  59. ^ "Uncle Roger comedian deletes video with China critic". BBC News. January 13, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  60. ^ Ng, Nigel (January 12, 2021). "Apology Statement". Sina Weibo. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  61. ^ Grundy, Tom (January 12, 2021). "'Uncle Roger' apologises and deletes video featuring fellow YouTube star who criticised China". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  62. ^ Chau, Candice (January 18, 2021). "I'm 'not bowing down to anyone': Uncle Roger comic urges 'no politics' after deleting YouTube vid starring Beijing critic". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  63. ^ Chia, Jolynn (August 11, 2023). "'You need to stop saying racist things like this': Nigel Ng aka Uncle Roger gets flak for criticising Laotian and Cambodian food". AsiaOne. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  64. ^ Minea, Son (August 9, 2023). "Ministry seeks 'Uncle Roger' apology over offensive remarks on Khmer food". Khmer Times. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  65. ^ Malai, Yatt (August 18, 2023). "Malaysia Condemns Comedian's Criticism of Cambodian Food". Kiripost. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  66. ^ Yeung, Jessie (July 30, 2020). "The Uncle Roger controversy: Why people are outraged by a video about cooking rice". CNN.
  67. ^ Purves, Robbie (May 23, 2023). "TikTok star breaks silence after getting social media accounts suspended". HullLive. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  68. ^ Davidson, Helen; Lin, Chi Hui (May 22, 2023). "Comedian Uncle Roger has social media accounts suspended in China". The Guardian.
  69. ^ "Interview with Nigel Ng: Malaysian Comedy Sensation – WRITE NGEOW". writengeow.com.
  70. ^ a b "The Londoner: I was victim of 'racist attack' in London, says Uncle Roger comedian". Evening Standard. December 2, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  71. ^ Kho, Gordon (November 1, 2020). "Malaysian comedian Uncle Roger says he was a victim of racial attack in London". The Star. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  72. ^ Rice To Meet You Highlights (April 22, 2021). Evelyn Roasts Nigel's FAILED MARRIAGE. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  73. ^ "Discovering Who Is The Popular Comedian Nigel Ng's Girlfriend | WOWally". February 1, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  74. ^ Ng, Nigel. "Nigel's Life Update (Moving To LA)". Youtube. HAIYAA with Nigel Ng. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
  75. ^ N/A, Moe. "Uncle Roger Makes Onigiri with Kimono Mom, Nigel & His Fiancée". Youtube. KimonoMom. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
  76. ^ "Nigel Ng, aka Uncle Roger, is Now Married". GMA Integrated News. September 14, 2025. Archived from the original on September 14, 2025. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
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