Bob's Your Uncle (Chinese: 煮家男人) (born 18 June 1981), known as Uncle Bob (Chinese: Bob叔), is a Hong Kong YouTuber who makes videos about cooking and travelling. As a teenage student, he travelled to the United Kingdom for schooling. Uncle Bob started to learn to cook after he found the Chinese restaurants he visited to be unappetising.
| Bob's Your Uncle 煮家男人 | |
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 Bob's Your Uncle logo | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 18 June 1981 |
| Nationality | British |
| YouTube information | |
| Channels | |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Genre | Cooking
|
| Subscribers | 687,000[1] |
| Total views | 91.9 million[1] |
Last updated: 18 April 2023 | |
| Bob's Your Uncle | |||||||||||
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| Chinese | 煮家男人 | ||||||||||
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Uncle Bob started a YouTube channel in 2014 at the suggestion of his wife, who worked in advertising. He makes cooking videos about dishes from numerous countries. Uncle Bob uses Cantonese slang and Cantonese profanity in his videos. In addition to sharing about his personal life experiences, he discusses current events and political issues. Bob's Your Uncle was included in the "yellow YouTube circle" list in which netizens promoted channels that supported the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests. His travel videos include reviews of cruise ships and first-class flights. After moving to the United Kingdom, he made a video sharing his experience of finding a rental in London.
Early and personal life
editUncle Bob was born on 18 June 1981.[2][3] He began cooking when he was 15 or 16 years old after having moved by himself to the United Kingdom as an international student.[4] Uncle Bob had little money at the time. When he ate at Chinese restaurants, he found the food to be unappetising: the fried rice was too dry and the meat was tasteless. He lamented that the food sometimes was not even sufficiently warm.[5] His first dish was luncheon meat and fried egg and was made for his then-girlfriend. He did not know how to cook at the time and added ginger to the dish.[4] As he began teaching himself to cook, he made fried shrimp with scrambled eggs and sweet and sour pork.[5] Uncle Bob only started enjoying cooking after he returned to Hong Kong. As his wife enjoyed eating, he spent time delving into how to make dishes from different countries. His cooking knowledge is sourced from the Internet. He receives his cooking inspiration from eating at restaurants and learning from how the chefs make the dishes.[4] He is married to fellow Hongkonger Ms. Fung (Chinese: 馮小姐).[6][7] Uncle Bob met her for the first time around 2007 at Devon House, and they have been married since 25 May 2014.[8][9][10] Both Uncle Bob and his wife have worked in advertising.[5][11] Uncle Bob is a strong association football fan who has travelled to numerous international stadiums to watch his favourite team.[12]
Uncle Bob, who had studied and lived in the United Kingdom for numerous years,[13] moved to the United Kingdom.[14] He made a video about his experiences renting a place in London.[14] Netizens suggested that he review the Clapham Place, a new development.[14] Uncle Bob published a video criticising the building for being overpriced, having terrible amenities, and being next to a busy street.[14] A lawyer for developer Regal London sent him a letter demanding he remove the video.[14]
YouTube channel
editCooking
editUncle Bob's wife, who worked in advertising, suggested that he post videos of his cooking online since he was frequently cooking.[5] Uncle Bob, who had prior experience with film editing, followed her suggestion.[5] He started his YouTube channel on 26 January 2014.[12][15] Six months after creating the channel, Uncle Bob had uploaded more than 60 videos, each of which was receiving tens of thousands of views.[4] The dishes in his cooking videos are from different countries' cuisines and are primarily higher-end.[6][16] The dishes he made included oxtail soaked in black beer, okonomiyaki, beer-soaked chicken, rabbit stew made from cider, squirrel fish, katsudon, banana cake, and minced beef claypot rice.[4][12][17] Uncle Bob frequently watched cooking videos from Marco Pierre White and Bruno Albouze and admired their cooking skills and how they were able to simplify complicated steps in a recipe.[5] He travelled to various countries to teach viewers how to make local dishes such as schweinshaxe from Germany, tandoori chicken from India, and börek from Turkey.[18]
Uncle Bob converses with Hong Kong slang and Cantonese profanity, which he uses during everyday speech.[5][12] To make a cooking video, it usually takes him one night for filming, one night for editing, and two to three days to add English and Chinese subtitles.[5] He has no trouble with coming up with English subtitles but finds Chinese subtitles to be cumbersome owing to his slow Chinese input method.[5] U Lifestyle said Uncle Bob was "very popular on the Internet" because his "shooting method is unique".[4]
According to a 2020 article, Uncle Bob had not published any cooking videos recently.[19] In 2021, Bob's Your Uncle had over 600,000 subscribers.[14]
Travelling
editUncle Bob has created travel videos about his trips on cruise ships and first-class flights.[20] He made a video reviewing a first-class Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Hong Kong he and his wife took on an Airbus A380 in May 2019.[20] Before embarking on the flight, Uncle Bob visited Changi Airport's SilverKris Lounge, which he did a review of.[20]
Uncle Bob took a Virgin Atlantic flight from Hong Kong to London on 14 December 2020 which he reviewed on his YouTube channel.[21] On 18 January, he published a YouTube video describing how there were two plainclothes people at the boarding gate who were not carrying luggage and were monitoring the passengers. Uncle Bob purposefully boarded the plane just before it was about to take off to see whether the plainclothes people would board the flight. After not seeing them board, he said he felt as if he had been at Pyongyang International Airport in North Korea. Stand News later confirmed that the officials were Immigration Department investigators who were monitoring for "suspicious persons" trying to leave Hong Kong with fake identity documents.[22]
Politics and other topics
editWhile preparing the food for his cooking videos, Uncle Bob shared his views about current events and what is happening in his life.[19] Metropop's Onyx found that Uncle Bob's sharing of his personal life gave viewers a "near and dear feeling".[13] He points out the ills of the present day and pinpoints the core of each issue.[16] Uncle Bob discussed the Hong Kong 1 July marches, dating, and going shopping with a woman.[4][5] While making a video about cooking lasagna, he said that it was unbelievable when the police claimed only 98,000 people had attended the 1 July marches.[12] He answered questions from viewers about job hunting, long-distance relationships, honeymoons, and the Occupy Central protests.[5] Uncle Bob did a collaboration video titled "Strike It Rich" (Chinese: 發財好市) with another Hong Kong YouTuber, Mama Cheung, after he liked the fried oyster omelettes she had made.[23][24]
In 2019, Uncle Bob made a video criticising two key opinion leaders who had said there was no point to going to school. He argued that there were numerous benefits to school.[25] When mainland Chinese viewers suggested that he post his videos on Youku for the convenience of mainland Chinese viewers, Uncle Bob stated that the mainland Chinese government did not tolerate dissenting opinions.[12] He joked that when he talked about Leung Kwok-hung, a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, filibustering, mainland Chinese websites would insert a Wuliangye Yibin commercial.[12] Uncle Bob then immediately inserted a Wuliangye Yibin ad.[12]
Bob's Your Uncle was included in the "yellow YouTube circle" in which netizens backed channels that were in favour of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.[15][26] Uncle Bob said that as a businessman, he supported the yellow economic circle and joined a 12 January 2020 rally in favour of it.[27] He said that owing to the 2019 Yuen Long attack, numerous people in the Hong Kong middle-class "turned yellow", and this is "all because of the government, Black Police, and police violence".[27] He forcefully denounced the Hong Kong Police Force for making numerous arrests he considered indiscriminate including of weak old women.[27]
Reception
editJenny Leung wrote in Timeout that Bob's Your Uncle is "by far the most popular cooking channel in Hong Kong" and said that he is "known for his easy to execute recipes, relatable commentary, and satirical sense of humour".[19] China Press's Ng Sin Lim said that Uncle Bob distinguished himself from other YouTubers that made cooking tutorial videos through his "natural and genuine temperament" as well as his "simple background music and beautiful video clips". Wu said Uncle Bob "captured people's hearts" through a combination of his British humour and Hong Kong-style mockery.[16] Lee Pat Fong of Apple Daily praised Uncle Bob's channel for "teaching cooking in a very special way" and lauded his filming and film editing for being "professional".[12]
Metropop's Onyx reviewed two of Uncle Bob's videos and concluded they simply explained how to cook the food through easy to understand presentation. Onyx said that Uncle Bob shared numerous cooking tips and "even a beginner cook could easily learn from his videos".[13] HK01 journalist Dang Wing Kei wrote that Bob's Your Uncle was his favourite culinary YouTube channel since as Uncle Bob cooks, he talks about numerous varied topics.[6] Apple Daily said that although Uncle Bob looks like an overweight Jimmy Lai, "he has exemplary culinary skills, is proficient in multinational cuisines, and has a generous voice that talks casually about what is on his mind".[28]
References
edit- ^ a b "About 煮家男人 Bob's Your Uncle". YouTube.
- ^ Uncle Bob (18 June 2016). "嗱，阿叔今日三張半牛一" [Hey, Uncle is turning 35 years old today] (in Chinese). Facebook. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Uncle Bob (18 June 2018). "小弟今日生日，首先要多謝各位網友同埋連登仔嘅祝福。萬分感激" [For my birthday today, I would like to thank all netizens and LIHKG members for their blessings. Thank you very much.] (in Chinese). Facebook. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g "煮家男人推介食譜：燒豬肋骨" [Uncle Bob recommends recipe: roast pork ribs]. U Lifestyle (in Chinese). Hong Kong Economic Times Holdings. 27 October 2014. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "「煮家男人」是如何煉成的？" [How to refine into a "cooking man"?]. Yahoo! Food (in Chinese). Yahoo!. 17 November 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b c 鄧穎琪 (26 July 2019). "【梅菜蒸鯇魚食譜】梅菜香甜為滑溜魚腩錦上添花 佐飯一流家常菜" [[Steamed Carp with Plum Vegetables Recipe] The fragrant and sweet plum vegetable adds to the icing on the creamy fish belly. Top-class home cooking with rice] (in Chinese). HK01. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "【FACE】Webber煮家男人 識揀一定揀港女" [[FACE] Webber cooking man. You must choose a Hong Kong girl]. Apple Daily (in Chinese). 25 October 2014. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Uncle Bob [@UBob2020] (31 July 2020). "Where we first met 13 years ago. Time flies!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Uncle Bob [@UBob2020] (14 August 2020). "12 years met. 6 years married" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Uncle Bob (25 May 2020). "今日係結婚六週年，買少少嘢俾老婆是正常的。" [Today is the sixth wedding anniversary, so it is normal to buy a few small things for the wife.] (in Chinese). Facebook. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Uncle Bob (27 June 2020). "我第一份廣告工嘅大老細，今日竟然撞到佢！呢一行佢德高望重。Great man!" [I ran into the big boss of my first advertising job today surprisingly! He is highly respected in this industry. Great man!] (in Chinese). Facebook. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i 李八方 (14 July 2014). "隔牆有耳：YouTube煮家男 寸嘴論政" [The wall has ears: YouTube cooking man talks about politics.]. Apple Daily (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b c Onyx (21 December 2020). "零失敗！跟 YouTuber 入廚 學煮聖誕大餐" [Zero failure! Follow a YouTuber into the kitchen. Learn to cook Christmas feast] (in Chinese). Metropop. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "蘋果資訊錦囊｜編輯每周食買玩推介 戲院重開入場睇賀歲片《拆彈2》營養師拆解邪惡點心陷阱" [Apple Information Tips｜Editor's weekly food, shopping, and entertainment recommendations. The theater reopens and enter to watch the New Year's Eve movie "Shock Wave 2". Nutritionists dismantle the evil snack trap.]. Apple Daily (in Chinese). 19 February 2021. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b 郭曉晴 (20 September 2020). "黃營YouTuber普遍無心插柳 內容不止論政 「黃標」大大影響收入" [Yellow camp YouTubers are generally unintentional. The content is more than political. The "demonetization" greatly affects income] (in Chinese). HK01. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b c 吳鑫霖 (30 October 2017). "每期一介紹‧煮家男人（香港）" [One introduction per issue ‧ Bob's Your Uncle (Hong Kong)]. China Press (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ 丁羽白 (17 November 2017). "好吃到像置身英國古堡！經典菜蘋果酒燉雞腿肉讓人吮指再三" [It's so delicious it's like you are in a British castle! Classic dish cider stewed chicken thighs make people suck their fingers again and again]. China Times (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Soman (2 August 2015). "看Channel 揸「煮」意" [See channel. Grasp "cooking" meaning]. Oriental Daily News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b c Leung, Jenny (7 April 2020). "Best YouTube cooking channels for budding chefs in Hong Kong". Timeout. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b c 王芷瑩 (3 October 2019). "【奢華頭等艙】YouTuber Bob叔直擊新加坡航空頭等艙 3萬呎高空瞓6呎巨型雙人床【有片】" [[Luxury First Class] YouTuber Uncle Bob directly hits Singapore Airlines first class. 30,000 feet high in the sky with a 6-foot giant double bed [with videos]]. Hong Kong Economic Times (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Chan, Yun Nam; Lu, Xi; Lau, Siu Fung (20 January 2021). "Planned Changes to Hong Kong Immigration Law Spark Fears of Exit Curbs". Translated by Mudie, Luisetta. Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "便衣人員機場登機閘口監視乘客 消息指屬入境處調查科 閘口抽查「流證」" [Plainclothes personnel monitor passengers at the airport boarding gate. The news refers to the Investigation Division of the Immigration Department. Random checks at the gate.]. Stand News (in Chinese). 23 January 2021. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ 何小雲; 鄭婷殷 (28 March 2019). "61歲YouTuber張媽媽 擁30萬粉絲吸百萬瀏覽" [61-year-old YouTuber Mama Cheung. Has 300,000 subscribers and millions of views]. Hong Kong Economic Times (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ 張佩君 (9 December 2018). "【網紅世界】拍片吸26萬訂閱 60歲煮婦KOL全家撐" [[Internet celebrity world] Filming videos attracted 260,000 subscribers. 60-year-old cooking woman KOL, entire family supports]. Apple Daily (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "KOL論讀書有無用" [KOL debate the usefulness of schooling]. am730 (in Chinese). 29 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Ma, Joanne (20 February 2020). "Hong Kong protests: YouTube channels targeted for political stance". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b c 鄒樂瑤; 何紹軒 (12 January 2020). "Bob叔現身集氣集會 全力支持「黃色經濟圈」：黃絲嘅動員能力好勁，一定會成功" [Uncle Bob appeared at the gathering rally to fully support the "yellow economic circle": yellow ribbon's mobilization ability is very strong and will surely succeed]. InMedia (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "【FACE】Webber煮家男人開火 燒豬扒 撐蘋果" [[FACE] Webber's Bob's Your Uncle opens fire. Roasted pork chops and apples]. Apple Daily (in Chinese). 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2021.