BBQ, pho, Lao food, monster burgers, dumplings: It’s safe to say there are very few things Andrew and David Fung won’t eat—and they’ve traveled across the country doing so.
Seattle natives born to Asian immigrant parents, the two grew up loving food, hip-hop, and comedy. After college they took a leap of faith, moving to Los Angeles hoping to make it big as standup comedians or YouTubers.
In 2011, they quickly gained notice for their rap music video “626,” which celebrated the Asian cuisine and community in the San Gabriel Valley. They’ve since built their channel around the food and cultures of the many and diverse Asian-American communities—with favorites including “What Asian Guys Like” and “Lao Food”—and racked up more than 103 million views. And now they’re making the leap to television: Broke Bites: What the Fung?! sees them traveling the country and finding the best regional cuisine for less than $50.
Taking a quick minute away from a month of filming in NYC, Andrew and David emailed with the Daily Dot to discuss YouTube fame, the power of breaking Asian stereotypes, and their best dating advice.
What is your food soul mate?
Andrew: Corned beef reuben sandwich.
David: Chinese beef noodle soup.
What has been the best part of branching into television and something you did not expect going in?
The best part has been just being able to represent for millennial Asian guys on TV. We’re so happy to be part of a new wave of Asian-Americans on TV, but as of right now the only other Asian guy reppin’ for 20-somethings is Tim DeLaGhetto on MTV.
One thing we didn’t expect was how tough it was to stay fit while filming the show. We like to hoop as our exercise, but it’s hard to find a court and basketball while in some of these cities.
What was the No. 1 thing you argued about as kids? What about now?
We probably argue more now than we did as children because we’re working and living together. There’s a lot more at stake nowadays than when you’re in fourth grade. But even when we argue now, we resolve it pretty quick. Gotta keep business moving (lol).
Best advice for online dating?
Message everyone.
Even if someone paid you a million dollars, you’d never, ever…
Clean my own house again.
What has YouTube given you?
It’s given us a platform to make the material that we think is helpful and it’s connected us with our audience.
Do you consider yourself YouTube famous? If not, what would be a moment that would make you think “Wow, I really made it”?
If someone asks us if we’re YouTube famous, I usually say, “Yeah kind of,” because by most people’s standards, that would be true. But that doesn’t mean we made it at all.
To us, “making it” just means you’ve solidified a career in this game. I think every time you jump to another level, you realize that there’s more work to do.
Did you set out to break Asian stereotypes in media with your YouTube channel, or was that an identity assigned to you that really shaped how you developed your channel?
I think by explaining Asians to people, it already broke a lot of stereotypes! People don’t know much about Asian-Americans. The general population doesn’t find us interesting, so I think we’re just here to tell our story in a cool way and let people decide what we actually have to offer America.
We’re observers, analyzers, and explainers. We just want to give people a holistic perspective of Asian and Asian-American culture through the eyes of ourselves.
What’s next for the Fung Brothers?
Finishing season 1 of Broke Bites: What the Fung?! and continuing to build our YouTube channel. I’m not afraid to say that we’re always looking for new team members that can help take us to the next level. Email us!
Screengrab via FungBrosComedy/YouTube
