All of a sudden we’re in the final stretch of 2025, and amid the myriad of orange-colored bullshit. I’m glad we survived, and am excited to thrive with you in 2026. But as we look forward to a new year, let’s remember what to leave behind: What’s corny, what’s tired, what’s holding us back, and what can we do better? Written by an Asian guy, for Asian people, but to be enjoyed and considered by all. This is the Asian Verified Ins and Outs list for 2026. Ready? Let’s do it.

Out: Asian Baseball Players

Fucking YAWN, am I right?

Okay, it’s not really like that, but sports fans must know, Asians in sports is a boon. (You saw what Koreans did for pop music.)

And I’ll be honest, as an Asian Mariners fan, I’m still quite peeved that Ichiro himself wasn’t enough to lure greatest-baseball-player-of-all-time Shohei Ohtani to Seattle.

And what’s worse for me is that the World Series champion Dodgers have a bunch of Asians on the squad (even their coach is Asian), and with that the World Series MVP is a Japanese man (not even named Shohei).

This reminds me of when KPop Demon Hunters came out. I had the same feeling: Are we winning too much? Are we flying too close to the sun here? Are we poised for a crashout the likes of which has not been seen since cauliflower had its time in the limelight in the 2000-teens?

I don’t want that for us, and if rolling out the Ichiro song and dance doesn’t work to woo incoming Japanese star Munetaka Murakami, I think it’s time Seattle switches our attention to another sport where Asians are excelling, in our area this time.

In: Asian Basketball Players

While I don’t have news related to a CBA and NBA merger happening in Seattle, what I can offer is that Seattle University has quietly put together a roster full of Asian collegiate superstars from China, Japan, and Korea: the trifecta of cultural imports from the Orient. These stars are Chinese center Houran Dan, Japanese power forward Yuto Kawashima, and Korean forward Junseok Yeo, who also plays for the South Korean national team.

So what is it about little ol’ Seattle University that can attract top Asian talent where major league teams just cannot? I may have an answer. The head coach of Seattle University’s men’s basketball program is none other than Chris Victor, a Caucasian man, yes, but one with deep ball knowledge, and specifically Asian ball knowledge. As a player, this man helped his team in Irvine, CA (the Bellevue of SoCal), win a NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) championship title. This dude was probably chugging bobas and eating KBBQ within mere hours of raising that trophy for Irvine.

This is ball knowledge only a man who came up on the court with Asians can have. And it’s part of why the man is 80-56 over the past four seasons. Something to monitor in Capitol Hill.

Out: Restaurants Using AI for Food Pics

We’re in dark times, folks. If it wasn’t bad enough that everyone is using ChatGPT to write unnecessarily reflective Instagram captions about matcha, we are now witnessing the shameless use of AI to generate pictures of food by the restaurants themselves. Make it make sense.

The day I started realizing this was happening, at beloved spots across town, I felt at the center of an Idiocracy reboot. Excuse me, but why in the fuck would you, a Chinese BBQ restaurant, for example, choose to have AI create unsettling pictures of Chinese BBQ, when you could just go into the kitchen and snap a pic of the delicious Chinese BBQ that you actually make and that exists in real life?

This is only one example, but maybe the most egregious. And it comes with a warning: If you, as an operator, feel the need to generate images of food—food that you already make and serve—it’s time to go on a vision trip or something. Find God. Volunteer. I don’t think selling food is for you.

In: Restaurants Posting Pics of Their Food in General

Here’s a big idea: If you sell food, and you have a social media account for that, put photos of food on your social media account.

I’m not even talking about AI (again, don’t use it), I’m talking about posting photos of the food you make in general. You think I’m being facetious, but oftentimes I’ll visit a mom-and-pop page and see maybe 60 to 70 percent of their profile just being flyers of events they got suckered into sponsoring or otherwise promoting. And I’m looking at the family members responsible for running IG while their family operates the business—you know better! Stop fumbling the bag for your fam. If you can’t be bothered to grab some shots of food heading out the pass, repost some of the patrons who tag you throughout the week. Hell, use an OLD picture you may have in your phone, I guarantee it’s better than those 14 terrible Canva flyers parked on the grid for events that already came and went.

Take a seat with me when I say this: Give the people what they want! (Pics of the food you make.)

Out: Clubbing

I’m no nightlife historian, but as I see it, the death of the nightclub happened around the time that kids started feeling good about wearing pajama pants in public. What seemed like an innocuous fashion trend really just put up a mirror to society: Something went terribly wrong, and now our sweatpants- and Crocs-clad society would rather Super Like on an app than shoot our shot on the dance floor. Rejection on our own terms. Social interaction and decorum: truly casualties of the pandemic, and infinite scroll.

Makes sense, but let’s take this for what it is: a shakeup in the social structure, an ebb that needs a flow. Without an ample nightlife, what are we to do about this Asian birth rate crisis? What will Vietnamese dudes do with all their Ross button-down shirts? Church only comes once a week, after all. And what will come of the Hennessy and XO stocks if Asian folks start coming out less? We’re not thinking enough of the Cybertrucks.

All this energy needs to go somewhere, though…

In: Mahjong Social Nights

In the search for a solid third place in Seattle, and namely one for Asians or Asian stans, a new meta of mahjong social nights has emerged to the delight of many former ABGs and clubbing elite.

Across the CID, these mahjong social clubs have started popping up via Emerald City Tile Club (ECTC), Mahjong Mondays at Kilig, and more. What I can tell you is that night and social life IS alive and well in Seattle, just hidden in after-hours cafe situations across a game legendary among Asian grandmothers.

And regardless of your nationality or familial status, if you’re a cool person and have the mobility to move some tiles around, these mahjong nights are for you. A perfect foil to the sweaty, EDM-heavy clubbing nights of late, these fun gatherings are right-sized and right-volumed for folks of any age and background to tap in for a good time.

I had the opportunity to pull on a pair of jeans (!!!) and pull up on an ECTC mahjong night at Little Saigon Creative, on a night that happened to host Mahjong author Nicole Wong herself. Following a great keynote interview, the room teemed with gamers who sorted themselves across a dozen tables and started playing motherfucking mahjong, many learning the game for the first time that night. And with a live DJ, food, art, and coffee provided by vendors on site, there was little excuse to not stay a while.

Mahjong social nights are a reminder that the kids are all right, no matter what kinda pants they’re wearing.