Tsui Hark directs this wonderful culinary comedy drama with an all star cast. Fierce competition among gourmet chefs for the title "#1 Chef" reveal secret pasts: Chef Sun hopes to win the title and shed his triad life, while Master Kit mysteriously disappears from the contest because of a tragic past. The two unite again in the final round against the egotistical master gourmet chef Wong Wing. Stars Anita Yuen, Kenny Bee, Leslie Cheung.
Director Tsui Hark's THE CHINESE FEAST is a delightful screwball comic riff on the Hong Kong obsession with repentant gangsters. A former loan shark attempts to help a wacky family save their restaurant by competing a fierce cooking contest waged by evil rivals.
Blending martial arts and Chinese haute cuisine, THE CHINESE FEAST puts on a dazzling exhibition of cook-fu--rival chefs compete with acrobatic dexterity to turn ordinary dishes like beef chow fun and sweet and sour pork into culinary masterpieces. Cantopop singer Anita Yuen stars as a rebellious daughter with bad karaoke skills, while Leslie Cheung is a former loan shark who wants to learn to cook to impress his girlfriend. As in the cook-fu epic TAMPOPO, their attempts to be master chefs parody the pro forma training sequences in martial arts film. The film culminates in a three-day cooking contest to re-create the majestic Qing Han Imperial Feast, a banquet held in the 17th century to unite a divided China. Exquisite dishes such as snowy bear palms, succulent monkey brain, and statues made out of bean curd are all captured in cinematography that is as mouthwatering as the food scenes in EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. Though the film may seem like a straightforward comedy, director Tsui Hark injects a serious note into his story: The film is really an allegory about uniting Chinese from all over the world around their shared passion for food.
Man Han Quan Xi (the Qing Han Imperial feast depicted in THE CHINESE FEAST) originated in the Qing (Manchurian) Dynasty. The first Man Han Quan Xi was held in 1661 for the 60th birthday of Emperor Kangxi. Several restaurants continue to serve the sumptuous feast. However, a few dishes can no longer be served because they require the slaughter of endangered species that are protected by the government.
Chinese Feast Quotes/Excerpts:
"The food industry is the kingdom of the Chinese. I'll conquer it step by step."--Wong Wing (Xiong Xinxin) to henchmen
"Master. Fish stuffed with soup. We have been waiting it for a long time."--Lung Kwun-bo (Zhao Wenzhou) to Liu Kit (Kenny Bee)
"It's not the best if you can eat the best food. Because when you eat it up, you feel nothing for other food."--Liu Kit to Cheuk Bing
"I want you cook good things for me to restore my feeling for food. You have to make Qing Han Imperial Feast for me."--Cheuk Bing to Liu Kit
"I'm afraid red makes me look like sweet and sour pork."--Au Ka-wai (Anita Yuen) to Chiu Kong-son (Leslie Cheung) after changing the color of her hair
64809 
Email a Friend
