>> i'm nydia han. tonight on visions 2015 >> the pope is coming to philadelphia. how the vietnamese community is getting ready >> how east is meeting west when it comes to medicine in our area. >> plus, we learn the art of the kimono. >> how to prepare authentic indian dishes. >> and meet a ping pong phenom. >> hi everyone and welcome to our special visions 2015, a celebration of asian american and pacific islander heritage month. we are at the shofuso japanese house in fairmount park and the gardens here are in full glorious bloom. we'll show you around in a few minutes. but first the region is getting ready for the pope's visit in september and people from around the world will be coming here to see the pontiff. but perhaps no place will be better represented than vietnam. a country where catholic faith

is fervent. >> we are so excited its happen here in philadelphia to welcome the vietnamese catholics from all over the world to come here in september. >> monsignor joseph trinh has been pastor of st helena's parish in northeast philadelphia for 13 years. it is a church represented by many flags but they are one of only 7 churches in the archdiocese of philadelphia that has a weekly mass in vietnamese. >> we do a lot of singing or chanting the whole family attendance. this is 3 generations you can see sitting together. the children the parents and the grandparents. >> father trinh is excited to be organizing a contingent of more than 100 clergy and 300 vietnamese families expected to visit for the world meeting of families and the pope's visit in september. >> this is a good time for them to come here to visit their friends and relatives and families member and to worship god and see the pope. >> while some may use it as a retreat, many vietnamese know

this may be their only chance to see the pope. >> the pope in the past never traveled to vietnam and i told the people this is the next best thing to the pope to visit to vietnam the pope is coming to philadelphia. >> pope francis has a special place in the heart of vietnamese families. >> we like him a lot because his background 3rd world country and something that he understands us we feel that related to him so closely so that's something different from the previous popes. >> more than 10 percent of those registered for the world meeting of families are vietnamese. and housing those visitors is a challenge for the parish. >> so we are the biggest group so far people have responded well too people are excited to receive the families of friends from vietnam from japan. >> the monsignor's next trick? >> now we have to somehow come up with the food to feed them. >> it's expected to the

biggest meeting of vietnamese catholics ever outside of their home country. >> east and west are also meeting when it comes to our health. as more and more mainstream american doctors and hospitals are starting to blend modern medicine with ancient healing techniques. >> acupuncture along with meditation are two ancient asian health and wellness practices that are gaining popularity in the united states. >> what kinds of ailments can acupuncture treat? >> well, headaches and pain management. and especially internal issues such as indigestion. >> you help stroke patients, cancer patients, i know you help women trying to have babies. >> fertility. right, right. >> dr. bokin kim, head of the. the won institute of graduate studies in glenside, pa is leading the charge in educating the regions newest practitioners. >> the won institute is the only certified school in pennsylvania to teach acupuncture. >> yes. we are the only one.

we have seventy acupuncture students. >> lester rolf, a veterinarian, who used acupuncture for management of his asthma symptoms became a believer and is now an instructor at the won. >> what are the big differences you see in western versus eastern medicine. you see them as complimentary. >> right. >> well, the western tradition is to take a medicine a pharmaceutical in order take care of the disease. the eastern tradition is to re-harmonize rebalance the energy forces. existing in your body. already existing in your body. we're taught that we don't heal the body. the person heals themselves with assistance of the needle reminding them of what they should be doing. >> acupuncturists 'needle' over 350 accupoints to un-block meridians or channels and release the body's own natural energy force or chi. >> after the treatment most people feel really relaxed. the relaxation sounds like you

had a really good massage. the won institute offers a faculty led acupuncture clinic and a student led clinic at a discounted price. >> i was in korea and i sprained my wrist. >> okay. >> i was really impressed by how quickly i did feel good, after having ago cue puncture. >> for those with doubts and fear. >> it still didn't hurt but as pain goes away, oh, my, so it helps them with the pain. that is what we are trying. >> jefferson hospital has a acupuncture and medicine program, at tenth ape chestnut street. while it is believed acupuncture was created thousands of years ago in chine, japanese get credit for the the history of art of the traditional garment is one of the many things you can learn about here at the house and gardens. >> the shofuso house was a gift to the american people from the japanese government in 1955. >> what a wonderful long standing symbol of our friendship. >> it's the embodiment of friendship between philadelphia and japan.

>> the house was built using traditional japanese materials and techniques, but its architecture isn't the only thing you'll notice >> what you're struck by is the garden outside the walls. >> with beautiful azaleas and peonies in full bloom, visitors are invited to explore the grounds >> this season we have our koi feeding platform open so kids can walk right down to the water's edge and feed our koi. >> they also host exhibitions about ikebana. the japanese art of flower arranging, and traditional tea ceremonies. >> the tea ceremony, the flower arrangement, it comes together with kimono. its inseparable in that sense. >> and kimono classes allow women and young girls to discover the centuries old tradition. >> sabine this is called a kimono! kimono. it's a special japanese dress. >> i think, this another way to survive, to pass down the kimono culture outside of japan. >> kimono, translated literally means a "thing to wear" and a traditional silk kimono is hand-made and ornately designed. >> the paintings, is called

yuzen, japanese painting. >> it is an expression of art. >> an authentic kimono can cost well over $30,000 and the timeless garments are passed down through the generations. >> so we can wear your mothers, our grandmothers kimonos now and it just looks perfect fine! >> yeah like this one, is probably 100 years wow! because my mother was wearing. >> and learning how to wear the kimono is an art in itself. >> theres things you don't even notice, everything has a rule and theres certain way to do this. >> students take 4 90-minute classes to learn how to navigate the intricacies of the process. >> it's a bit of a dance isn't it? >> its beautiful. >> each piece is both functional and symbolic. the belt known as an obi signifies a woman's marital status. >> unmarried is flower. decoration. once married, this way. >> it's a process that even when mastered can't be rushed. >> so you have to put aside an hour to dress yourself in a kimono properly.

>> yeah. >> that's a long time! >> right! >> but for many, it's an important way to connect with their culture "i am here in america but still i am japanese." there are camps here throughout the summer where kids can learn about everything from sushi to the samurai. >> there are camps here throughout the summer where kids can learn about everything from sushi to the samurai. when our special visions 2015 comes right back. we meet a woman who wants to help other indian americans keep the culinary traditions of their homeland. >> and a man who wants to put a little spice in your life.

>> welcome back to visions 2015 and our salute to asian american and pacific islander heritage month. we are at the beautiful shofuso house & garden in fairmount park. >> and now it's time to get cooking. today we're doing it with a woman on a mission to make indian food easy. >> does anyone cook indian at home? >> anupy singla is cooking for

people all over the country. >> indian food is high heat, fast cooking. >> in an effort to make indian food as american as apple pie. >> it's really about blowing people's misconceptions of what indian food is. >> she just released a cookbook called indian for everyone. >> mmm, oh my gosh that's awesome. >> it's filled with decadent indian restaurant-style recipes. >> a lot of the recipes are from the area i was born, punjab, because i grew up going back and forth all of the time >> anupy grew up in king of prussia and says being an indian american child of the 80s wasn't easy. >> there was a little girl down the street who would say ew i can't come to your house because it smells like curry. so, curry was like a four letter word growing up on my street. >> as a child, she wanted nothing more than to assimilate. >> it smells amazing! >> but as an adult with her own children, her attitude changed. >> i just thought my god, i grew up with all of this amazing foods. it's really unfair to raise kids and not feed them the way they really should be eating, i mean it's kind of our responsibility to pass that on. >> how's the chutney everybody? >> dal, a spicy lentil and bean dish, is a staple. >> when you spice them just

right the indian way, they're off the charts. you'll crave it every day. you'll eat it every day. you won't even miss anything else. >> she pairs them with a spicy yogurt with grated cucumbers. >> that is your full indian meal. >> could you do this? audience: yes. yes. ok. so, now we're going to eat. >> with indian food, it's all in the spices and if you prefer to lean on someone else to create those flavor combinations, a wharton mba has developed a line of indian hot sauces and the snacks to dip into them. >> lalit kalani is on a mission to deliver the flavors of india to the masses in american condiment style. >> i think it's brilliant and a lot of people are going to start having these bottles in their kitchens just like regular condiments like ketchup mayonnaise, mustard, whatever else right? >> our goal is to be in every pantry. >> he named his company bandar foods, hindi for monkey or mischievous man. and he started with his mom's chutney recipes. >> how would an american know how to use these chutneys? so what we did was puree them down put them in a squeeze bottle.

>> in keeping with indian tradition, the sauces can be spicy. >> we have our spicy mango and mint cilantro that are our token hot sauces. >> so, on a scale of one to ten how spicy are the spicy sauces? >> the mango and mint would be a 7 to an 8. >> but, for those who like it sweet, there's the tangy tamarind. >> mmmm, it's delicious! >> and our marsala spice tomato ketchup which has indian spices. >> lalit, born and raised in india, has the sauces made back home. >> its something we want to do with all our products is keep the authenticity and boldness of all the flavors. >> so what can you use these sauces on? >> we would use these on our pizzas hotdogs everything that you can imagine using every day so it goes great on sandwiches it can be mixed into a salad dressing. >> it's like the indian ranch dressing. >> and if you like to dip, they also make veggie, lentil and naan chips. >> which are the indian version of pita chips uh which we just launched this month in april we have our garlic naan and our pica marsala sauce. >> my mouth is watering right now i just have to tell you. >> and of course most asian foods are eaten with

chopsticks rather than a knife and fork. so what's the story behind that? a rowan history professor has just written a book on it. >> edward wang has been using chopsticks all of his life but forgot how hard they were to master until his son tried. >> he, of course, had some troubles with it. i thought maybe i could look for manual or instructions or something. >> he could find nothing. >> so, the rowan history professor did his research and wrote chopsticks: a culinary and cultural history. >> i think the appeal of chopsticks is that, even if you don't know how to use them, after just a few minutes of practice you can pick up food. >> professor wang says chopsticks originated about 7000 years ago in an area 3 hours north of shanghai. >> ancient chinese would like to eat food hot. they don't want to burn their hands so they have to use utensils. >> he says chopsticks were originally used for cooking, then tasting, and eventually eating, and when noodles were invented in the 5th century, other asian countries started using chopsticks too.

>> for chinese and for many asians, i think noodles are better eaten with chopsticks then with a fork. >> but, in korea, he says, the spoon rules. in korea you cannot find only chopsticks. they always sell them together w a spoon. >> and high ranking koreans ate with silver spoons because they turned black if tainted with arsenic. >> so silver has this kind of appeal to many rich asians. >> in japan, chopsticks are wooden. >> they believe wood has its own spirit and your spirit will be attached to the utensil. >> and artistic chopsticks have become a popular gift for newlyweds and lovers. >> they are the same length and they are saying that the two persons are going to work together. >> as for the name chopsticks, that's pidgin english. >> in china they're called kuaizi in japan, hashi. in korea, jeotgarak. and in vietnam, doi. as for wang's 7 year old son,

he's learning, with the help of some training chopsticks the professor found on amazon. >> he can pick up very easily because you have these two holes to stick your fingers in. >> well, after dinner, it's time for dessert. for that, we head to a little shop just off east passyunk avenue where the husband and wife bakers have just been nominated for a prestigious james beard award. >> andre chin and amanda eap are hard at work when most of us are still sleeping. 6 days a week, they're at their artisan boulanger pattisier by 3am. baking baguettes, pastries and five to 600 croissants a day. >> holidays, it's almost 1000. >> both are cambodian immigrants who fled their homeland after civil war broke out in 1970. >> every day we tried to run away from bomb and from shooting. >> amanda immigrated to philadelphia while andre fled to paris. and at 13, he started a nearly 4 year apprenticeship with a

parisian baker. when he came to america for a french cooking expo, 15 years later, he met amanda. >> and then we keep contacting each other and then one day he asked me i wanna marry you and i go ok. >> they first opened a coffee shop. but andre wanted to bake. >> that's why i build a bakery for him and then he teach me and he taught her well. in 2013, the couple earned their first james beard nomination for outstanding bakers, and they were nominated again this year. >> we excited. we feel like oh, wow, we make it to the top. >> they make everything from breakfast sandwiches to vietnamese style hoagies known as banh mis and sweet treats like apple turnovers, sticky buns and almond sticks stuffed with almond cream. >> can i help you, sir? >> but it's their traditional french breads. >> the baguette is very, very crunchy. >> and the croissants the couple is best known for. >> see this one, the butter inside.

>> regulars line up every morning. >> hazelnut today? >> ok >> and even the dogs beg for more. >> the croissants that are that good, laughs. >> those croissants are really something special. >> when visions 2015 comes right back. >> a group racing dragon boats to connect with their culture >> and we meet an 11 year old ping pong phenom.

>> welcome back to visions 2015 and our celebration of asian american and pacific islander heritage. we are at the shofuso japanese house and garden in fairmount park and we're about to meet a pint-sized ping pong powerhouse. >> sometimes i get really competitive. >> days after her first match at the 2015 world table tennis championship in china, twelve year old amy wang is back at practice in her sewell, new jersey basement. >> i think everyone i play was older than me. it's pretty cool. >> amy is the youngest of 4 on

the u-s women's team. the best in the nation in her age group. >> it's really competitive. i'm always at first kinda nervous. but once i play more i get more relaxed. i had like no pressures, i never had pressures and other people were like always nervous and shaking against me. >> amy comes from a family of table tennis titans. she's even had to face off against her brother and training partner, alan, in tournaments. >> i don't take it that seriously. i was just playing! >> they work for 2 hours a day on technique, speed and footwork. >> i use a lot of wrist so i can make it really spinney. you move a lot in table tennis and you need to be really consistent to keep the ball on the table. >> though amy is a rising star here in the u-s, most of her idols are from china. >> i really like liu shiwen. she is world number 2 and she is really good. it's really popular in china and stuff but in america it's not that popular.

>> amy hopes her success helps change the perception of the sport in america. >> i hope everyone plays and takes it like football and basketball. and just like a competitive sport. >> while the chinese have ruled in table tennis since the 1970s, the sport was actually invented by british soldiers in the 1880s. >> dragon boat racing is also a big tradition in china and a local team is using the sport to connect to their culture. >> up to 3 mornings a week, the 29 member crew of the pennsylvania dragon boat club hits the schuylkill river. >> there are no sleeping in on saturday and sundays. >> the group was created in 2011 by a group of penn alumni. >> i like to call it the ultimate team sport, we got 20 paddles in the boat we got the steers person in the back and a drummer in the front and the goal is to basically beat other people in a boat race. >> the only team of our kind here in philadelphia. >> they are young professionals who were looking for an activity to call their own. >> we really just started off

as a bunch of friends that just wanted to paddle and have a good time and we went. a lot of us are asian americans from all across philadelphia and dragon boats more of a chinese culture kind of thing but this is a way to bring our community together to do competitive sports. practice makes perfect! three years ago, the penn dragons nearly finished last in their very first race. this year, they were runners up in a major festival. >> you know are we going to win? are we going to the best, i don't care it's about the journey and were having a damn good time doing it. >> assistant coach and california native hiro fukumoto recently qualified for the 2015 usa national dragon boat team in her age group. >> i didn't even know about dragon boat 3 and 4 years ago. i went out just trying to continue to excel at this sport and you know this is kinda where i ended up. >> when i grew up i didn't have a lot of asian american athletes as role models as professional athletes we would love to sort of fill that void that we didn't have as asian american role models that are in the asian american community. >> and you don't have to be an experienced dragon boat racer to join the team. the club welcomes all newcomers. >> when visions 2015 comes back. >> remembering a major tragedy one year later. >> and honoring a group celebrating a special anniversary.

>> welcome back to visions 2015. >> it was just over a year ago that the sewol ferry sank in south korea's yellow sea, killing 304 people, most of the passengers high school students. and in philadelphia's korean community, efforts continue to help the families of the victims. a group calling itself philadelphia people in solidarity with the families of sewol ferry victims is working to keep the tragedy in the forefront. for the one year anniversary, they played a documentary film detailing the disaster. and invited mothers of the victims to share their stories. >> 9 people remain missing. families of the victims want the sunken ferry recovered from the sea and they're pushing the korean government to fully investigate the accident that claimed so many lives. >> the ferry sinking was one of the deadliest disasters in

south korea's history. >> well, from tragedy to hope, a local group is celebrating 10 years of improving the lives of asian americans in our region. >> passi or penn asian senior services, held a gala dinner to celebrate the agency's milestone. a decade of providing language specific home health care to low-income asian seniors. passi was first founded to serve older koreans. but 10 years later, they have hundreds of home health aides speaking 10 asian languages. senior performers from 70 to 90 helped mark the anniversary celebration. >> that gala celebration was a major fundraiser as well, with all proceeds helping passi to continue growing its operations and services. >> our thanks to the shofuso japanese house and garden for hosting us. it really is one of philadelphia's gems, considered one of the best japanese gardens in all of north america. good night, everyone! ♪ ♪

you are about to witness television history. the smartest people in the country are about to play the toughest game ever devised -- no saves, no helps, no multiple choice. our geniuses are ready. the pressure is on. it's day 1. will anybody be able to answer 500 questions? [ cheers and applause ] i'm richard quest. this is "500 questions." the world's toughest questions, and only one simple rule --