To CHOW, or Not to CHOW? That is the question...

Introducing our approval matrix: editor picks from all recommendations over the last two months.

In the first two months of this newsletter’s existence, THE CHOW interviewed artists, athletes, rappers, entrepreneurs, and everyone in between! Today, we’re sorting through all recommended items since our launch last October, selecting a few for review in our all new “To CHOW, or Not to CHOW?” matrix — a new guide on what’s hot in the city!

THE CHOW rated selected recommendations on two different criteria:

1. “To CHOW” (is it good) or “Not to CHOW” (is it bad)?

2. Local or Gweilo?

Based on how well they performed on each criteria, they were plotted on an x-y chart! We borrowed this concept from the style of New York Magazine’s Approval Matrix to create our own fun, curated recommendation of what people in the city are loving.

Without further ado, read on for the full “To CHOW, or Not to CHOW?” matrix:

“To CHOW” & Local:

• Food therapy (Renee Lui)

• Midwest Vintage (Eugene)

• Lemongrass (Andrea Tan)

• Hunanese food (Athena Au)

“To CHOW” & Gweilo:

• Pain au chocolats (KALOU)

• Tova events (Elif Burkay)

• SoundCloud! (Eugene)

• “So U Kno” by Overmono (Eugene)

“Not to CHOW” & Local:

• ChatGPT (Elif Burkay)

• Teamfight Tactics (Jesse Yu)

• Hiking sandals (Flare)

“Not to CHOW” & Gweilo:

• Nadja by André Breton (Renee Lui)

• Hong Kong Airlines (Athena Au)

• Brat (Elif Burkay)