''Magic Kitchen'' is a 2004 Hong Kong

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film directed by Lee Chi-ngai and starring

Sammi Cheng Sammi Cheng Sau-man (; born 19 August 1972) is a Hong Kong singer and actress. She is considered one of the most prominent female singers in Hong Kong, with album sales of over million copies throughout Asia. Most notably in the 1990s, she was dub ...

and

Jerry Yan Jerry Yan (), born Liao Yangzhen (), is a Taiwanese actor, model and singer. He is well known for his lead role as Daoming Si in the Taiwanese dramas ''Meteor Garden'' and ''Meteor Garden II'', an adaptation of a Japanese shōjō manga. He is ...

. The film was adapted from the novel of the same title by Hong Kong novelist Lam Wing-sum.

Plot

Yau became the proprietor and head chef of a successful restaurant since her mother died six months ago. Yau cooks according to the large collection of recipes her mother, who had tremendous talent as a culinary artist but never found success in the restaurant scene due to sexism, created over the years, but has no confidence in herself as a chef. When she visits Japan with her assistant Ho at the invitation of an Iron Chef style cooking show, she has a chance run-in with an old boyfriend, Chuen. Over the next weeks back in Hong Kong, Yau struggles with resurgent feelings for Chuen even as she discovers that one of her best friends has started seeing him. In the meantime, her steadfast supporter and assistant for the last three years, Ho, pushes her to be more bold in her art and experiment. Love and food intersects with surprising twists as she finally decides to leave the past behind and compete in the cooking challenge. In the end, love is the secret ingredient.

Cast

as Mo-yung Yau *

as Ho *

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

as Chuen Yao (guest star) *

Maggie Q Margaret Denise Quigley ( Vietnamese: Lý Mỹ Kỳ; born May 22, 1979), professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American actress, activist, and model. She began her professional career in Hong Kong, with starring roles in the action films ''Gen ...

as May *

Nicola Cheung Nicola Cheung Sun Yuet was born on 31 May 1976 in Hong Kong and graduated from Hong Kong University (Bachelor of Laws) in 1997. She is a Hong Kong television and film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a per ...

as Kwai * Anthony Wong as Tony Ho (cameo) *

Daniel Wu Daniel Ng Neh-Tsu (, born September 30, 1974) is an American actor, director and producer based in Hong Kong. He is known as a "flexible and distinctive" leading actor in the Chinese language film industry. Since his film debut in 1998, he has ...

as Kevin (cameo) *

Stephen Fung Fung Tak-lun (born 9 August 1974), known professionally as Stephen Fung, is a Hong Kong actor, singer, writer, and film director. Biography Fung Tak-lun was born in Hong Kong and studied at German Swiss International School. He is a graduate of t ...

as Joseph (cameo) * Michael Wong as Mook (cameo) *

Sheila Chan Sheila Chin (陳淑蘭, Pinyin: Chen Shulan) is a Hong Kong actress. She was elected First Runner-Up and Miss Photogenic at the 1988 Miss Hong Kong Pageant. Filmography * '' All's Well, Ends Well 2009'' (2009) * '' Love is not All Around'' ( ...

as Yau's mother (cameo) *

William So William So Wing Hong (; born 24 September 1967) is a Hong Kong actor and a Cantopop singer. He began his musical career by participating the New Talent Singing Awards in 1985 and won the competition as the first runner up to Alex To. His perfor ...

as Wine guy in May's party (cameo) * Jacqueline Law as Kwai's crab dinner guest (cameo) *

Lee Lik-chi Lee Lik-chi (李力持) (born 10 May 1961) is a Hong Kong-based actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Stephen Chow before disassociating each other due to frequent clashes. He is also an active contribu ...

as Kwai's crab dinner guest (cameo) *

Vincent Kok Vincent Kok Tak-chiu (; born 15 August 1965) is a Hong Kong actor, scriptwriter and film director. Vincent's ancestral hometown is Shandong province. Kok is best known for his frequent collaborations with Stephen Chow, acting and co-writing w ...

as Kwai's crab dinner guest (cameo) *Clarence Hui as Kwai's crab dinner guest (cameo) *

Michael Tong Michael Tong Man-lung ( Chinese: 唐文龍; Cantonese Romanization: Tong Man Lung (Tang Wen Long); born 17 November 1969) is a Hong Kong actor. Filmography TV series *''Return of the Cuckoo'' (2000) *''The Kung Fu Master'' (2000) *''Healing H ...

as Don (cameo) *Teddy Lin as May's boyfriend (cameo) *

Law Kar-ying Dr Law Kar-ying BBS MH (born September 22, 1946) is a Hong Kong Cantonese opera singer and actor. Background Born Law Hang-tong on September 22 (August 27 Lunar), 1946 in Shunde, Guangdong as the eldest son of actor Law Kar-kuen (羅家權) an ...

as Yau's father (cameo) *Asuka Higuchi as Presenter of the "King Chef Show" (cameo)

Release

''Magic Kitchen'' was released in Hong Kong on 5 January 2004. In the Philippines, the film was released on 11 February 2004.

References

External links

* 2004 films 2000s Cantonese-language films 2004 romantic comedy films Cooking films Films directed by Lee Chi-ngai Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong Hong Kong romantic comedy films Media Asia films 2000s Hong Kong films {{2000s-HongKong-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Release

See also

References

External links