Chua Lam (also known as

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

: Tsai Lan,

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

: Choi Lan, Teochew: Chùa Lāng) (

simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one that is simpler (usually shorter), according to a well-founded ordering. Examples include: ...

: ,

traditional Chinese A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

: , born 1941 in Singapore) is a Singaporean

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

food critic A food critic, food writer, or restaurant critic is a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings to the public. Terminology "Food writer" is often used as a broad term that encompasses someone who w ...

, and occasional

television host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people who garnered fam ...

based in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. He was also a

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

producer for the

movie studio Golden Harvest.

Career

Media career

Chua was a producer of several movies for Golden Harvest, including several films for

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

. Notable films include '' Mr. Nice Guy'' (credited as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

), ''

Thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...

'' (credited as producer), ''

Sex and Zen ''Sex and Zen'' (, ''The Carnal Prayer Mat's Stash of Illicit Love'') is a Hong Kong films of 1991, 1991 Cinema of Hong Kong, Hong Kong erotic film, erotic sex comedy film directed by Michael Mak (director), Michael Mak, and starring Amy Yip and ...

'' and '' City Hunter'' (credited as producer). Chua is primarily known in Japan as a judge on the

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

series ''

Iron Chef is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1993, is a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle buil ...

''.

Writing career

Chua was a columnist on ''

Oriental Daily ''Oriental Daily News'' is a Chinese-language newspaper in Hong Kong. It was established in 1969 by Ma Sik-yu and Ma Sik-chun, and was one of the two newspapers published by the Oriental Press Group Limited (). Relative to other Hong Kong n ...

'' in

. Chua later switched to writing columns for the Next Media's publications, namely '' Next Magazine'' (on movies and a restaurant guide), ''

Apple Daily ''Apple Daily'' ( zh, t=蘋果日報, j=ping4 gwo2 jat6 bou3) was a Chinese-language newspaper published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. Founded by Jimmy Lai and part of Next Media, ''Apple Daily'' was known for its sensational headlines, ...

'' and '' Eat and Travel Weekly''. All columns have continued as of 2007. Chua has written a number of books and restaurant guides on

in Japanese. In recent years (2005 - current), Chua has organized special tours in Asia and around the world to sample the best local speciality food. Chua often writes, in his newspaper columns, about the tours' organizing trips where he and others sample food from four or five restaurants per day in order to select the best restaurants.

Filmography

Films

Television

* 2007: ''Market Trotter'' ( 蔡瀾逛菜欄) * 2007: ''

Ten Years After Ten Years After are a British blues rock group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, the band had eight consecutive Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition, they had twelve albums enter the US ''Bi ...

'' ( 拾年) * 2008: '' Chu As Choice'' ( 蔡瀾歎名菜) * 2009: '' Be My Guest'' ( 志雲飯局)

Gastronomic philosophy

One of Chua's most beloved dishes is stir-fried bean sprout with fried tofu and fish sauce. Chua is famous for advocating the use of pork

dripping Dripping, also known usually as pork dripping or beef dripping, is an animal fat produced from the fatty or otherwise unusable parts of cow or pig carcasses. It is similar to lard, tallow and schmaltz. History It is used for cooking, especia ...

s in food preparation and as a condiment. He has cited and promoted the usage of pork fat in most of his TV shows.

Personal life

Chua's father, Chua Boon Hean (蔡文玄), was a native of the Jio Mung Chua (蔡門石) village in

Chaozhou Chaozhou ( zh, t=潮州), alternatively Chiuchow, Chaochow or Teochew, is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, ...

who immigrated to Singapore. His father worked in a high-ranking post at the

Shaw Brothers Studio Shaw Brothers (HK) Limited () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, operating from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shang ...

and died in 1997. Chua was a student in Japan and lived there for several years. Chua holds Singaporean citizenship, although he has been based in Hong Kong since 1963.

References

External links

* *
Goo Movies (Japan)

Chua Lam's ebook website

Food Critic Chua Lam Slammed Over Hotpot Critic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chua, Lam 1941 births Living people Hong Kong columnists Hong Kong film producers Hong Kong food writers Hong Kong television presenters Nihon University alumni Singaporean emigrants to Hong Kong Singaporean people of Teochew descent