Malaysian YouTuber Nigel Ng sets world record for the largest assembly of people dressed as 'Uncle Roger'
Malaysian YouTube star Nigel Ng, who is known as food critic Uncle Roger, broke the Guinness World Record for the largest assembly of people dressed as his character on Saturday, Sept. 14.
According to Reuters, the record-breaking event was attended by 388 people wearing his iconic orange polo shirt while shouting his signature catchphrase, "Fuiyoh!"
In an interview with the media outlet, Ng said that he felt "great" about achieving this world record as he didn't expect that many people would come and participate.
"It felt great to get the record. It's so hard to get so many people to dress up and get into one room, so we were a bit nervous in the beginning. 'Are people going to show up? Do we have enough people? Will they show up with the right outfit? The belt phone case, very important.' But everybody came, they showed up," he said.
FUIYOH! It’s Uncle Roger
The event coincides with the grand opening of the Malaysian personality's restaurant called FUIYOH! at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, a shopping mall near Bukit Bintang in Malaysia.
The restaurant offered various "best versions" of fried rice in Kuala Lumpur. As per Today Online, a plate of fried rice costs 16 to 18 ringgit (P208.12 - P234.14). There are also side dishes presented on the menu, including gyoza, fries and pickle cucumber.
Meanwhile, reports say that long queues happened during its grand opening last Wednesday, Sept. 11, where customers allegedly waited up to three hours for a meal.
On Instagram, the 33-year-old comedian excitedly expressed how his milestone became a reality after four years of being a comedian.
"Taking a short break from youtube weejios this month because we’re busy opening a restaurant in my hometown of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! FUIYOH!" he wrote in the caption.
"Never in my life would I expect this to be a reality. 4 years ago I was just a comedian making silly videos in my apartment. And now I have a fried rice restaurant that’s going to get roasted by everyone HAIYAAA," Ng added.
It was in July when Ng teased the opening of his restaurant through a video tribute to Anthony Bourdain uploaded last July 1. He mentioned his restaurant plans as he watched the late chef eat assam laksa.
“Another reason to go to Malaysia, Uncle Roger actually gonna open my very first restaurant over there, fuiyoh!” Uncle Roger told his viewers. “Coming soon later this year, but sssh don’t tell anyone okay? This little secret, just for loyal niece and nephew watching this weejio.”
Moreover, he sells his own Singaporean-inspired frozen Creamy Chili Crab Pasta, made in collaboration with Chinese-American Brand MiLa.
A month later, Ng made the official announcement through the restaurant’s new Instagram account, @fuiyohitsuncleroger.
In 2020, Ng became famous worldwide after posting a humorous comment to a BBC Food lesson on how to make fried rice.
He is also known as Uncle Roger, a stereotyped middle-aged Asian uncle who is famous for criticizing people's cooking practices. Some of his videos featured comparisons between traditional Asian cooking methods with their Westernized counterparts.
As of writing, he has amassed more than 9.64 million followers on YouTube, 4 million on Facebook, 4.5 million on IG and 195,000 on X.