Happy Halloween

Phi Ta Kon - 'Thai Halloween'

Sublime Frequencies have a DVD out of the 'Thai Halloween' festival Phi Ta Kon. The festival is held every year in June/July in Isan, Northern Thailand. People dress up as ghosts and spirits and dance all night to mo lam (Thai country music from Isan). Lots of rice whiskey is glugged down.

You can watch a clip on Yout Tube here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0VyM6B_v4o

Order the DVD here:www.sublimefrequencies.com/item.asp?Item_id=29&cd=Phi-Ta-Khon:-Ghosts-of-Isan
Read more about the Phi Ta Kon festival here:
www.utopia-asia.com/ghost.htm

Chin Tsi-Ang dies

China's first lady of onscreen martial arts and Sammo Hung's grandmother has died age 99.


Read the story on monkeypeaches.com.

Taiwanese Beatbox TV show

Check out the crazy on screen graphics and does that guy on the panel have an afro? The beatboxer is pretty good - Stand by Me with singing and beatbox at the end!

East Asian Food at Borough Market

Chicken cooking outside Fusebox (above) for the satay wraps they sell. I didn't rate the wraps, not enough flavour (more chilli, garlic ad fish sauce please). The shop sells noodles, Japanese chewing gum, soya sauce, kaffir lime leaves etc but prices are inflated. Better to try your local Chinese or Vietnamese supermarket or head to Chinatown.
Next door to Fusebox on Stoney Street is sushi restaurant Feng Sushi which I haven't had the chance to check out. Read a review here.




Tuesday's show was all about East Asian food at Borough Market. I was joined in the studio by Alex Fraser from East Teas (see above) who have a stall in the Green Market. Alex kindly brought in some delicious teas for us to taste. From chilled sparkling Jasmine tea to Gyokuro Jade Dew which was full of umami. As you can see from the pictures above East Teas also sell beautiful cermaics - tea pots and tea cups and bowls with strainers. Just to the left outside the picture there are really cool Vietnamese shopping bags for sale.

I visited the Tofu HQ in East London of Clean Bean Tofu who also have a stall in the Green Market. They sell fresh, organic tofu which is very delicious. Plain or marinated - soya, ginger and sesame or five spice. The beans they import are organic from Northern China and they use nigari (a by product of natural sea salt) for the coagulent. Neil from Clean Bean recommended Fuchsia Dunlop's Ma Pao Tofu recipe.

For more info on Borough Market see: www.boroughmarket.org.uk

Playlist Tuesday 23rd October 2007

• Stone Cold Dead in the Market - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan
  
• Mei Hua, Plum Blossom - Li Xiang-Ian (Shanghai Divas' Lounge)
  
• Tiki Tofu - Calypso King and the Soul Investigators
  
• Fallen Petals - Lu Ming (Shanghai Divas' Lounge)
  
• Monkey Brand Oolong Tea - Shonen Knife
  

Chinatown Strike

Two weeks ago the British Immigration Authority raided restaurants in Chinatown, cracking down on illegal workers. They invited the media along and turned up in bullet proof vests and riot gear. Understandably the residents of Chinatown were not best pleased with this and thought the BIA were using the Chiense community as a scapegoat to meet government targets to deport illegal immigrants. The following week Chinatown went on strike for one hour in protest. Read more here:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/10/384046.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7039952.stm
It is probable that in fact the entire catering trade in London relies on immigrant workers, not just Chinatown. BIA say other raids will be carried out too but so far no news of any in the media....

Pickle Your Own Vegetables

Cheap, easy and delicious, you can keep the vegetables in an air tight jar in your fridge for a few weeks.

Ingredients:
225g Chinese Leaves
2 Fresh Chinese Chillis (don't use Bird's Eye - too spicy)
225g Carrots (peeled)
300g Turnips (peeled)

Pickling brine:
2 tablespoons Ginger
2 tablespoons Garlic
50ml Rice Wine
50ml Rice Wine Vinegar
1.5 litres Water
75g Sugar
50g Salt

Don't feel constrained by the measurments, you can do it by eye and just keep checking the taste is right.

Prepare all the veg - cut the carrots, turnip and washed Chinese leaves into 1inch chunks. Thinly slice fresh chillis, keep the seeds.
Mix all teh pickling ingredients in a large bowl, put the veg in and cover. Let it sit in the fridge for 3-4 days (longer=saltier and spicier so you decide). Drain the veg and rinse well in cold water before putting into an airtight jar. Keep in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

Serve as a side or just snack on them whenever you feel peckish.

Playlist Tuesday 16th October 2007

• Reggae Popcorn - Laurel Aitken
  
• Movie Stars - The Tiger
  
• Rainbow - Jia Peng Fang
  
• Father and Son Vocal with Erhu - Streets of Lhasa CD on the Sublime Frequencies label
  
• Erhu Solo - Streets of Lhasa CD
  
• Butterfly and Sword Intro - soundclip from the movie
  
• Cats Claw - soundclip from Snake in Eagle's Shadow
  
• Baar Baar Dekho - Mohd Rafi
  
• Heart is Cold - Miriam Yeung and Raymond Lam
  

Yellow Earth Theatre

Phillipe Cherbonnier of Yellow Earth Theatre joined me on my show to talk about Typhoon Live - 2 plays curently being performed in a double bill at The Oval House. Marriage by Yi Kang-baek (South Korea) and Dogs by Elangovan (Singapore).

Two plays are about relationships, Marriage is about the beginning of love, a surreal fable. Whereas Dogs is a cruelly funny story about the end of love.

If you missed the interview it is repeated on Friday at 2pm on 104.4Fm or listen at:
www.resonancefm.com
Find out more at:
www.yellowearth.org

Made in Hong Kong Film Season at ICA

A season of films from Hong Kong is showing at the ICA 12th - 16th October. Ringo Lam's 1997 thriller Full Alert, Ann Hui's Ordinary Lives and the more recent 2006 musical Perhaps Love plus others.....

Ringo Lam is pictured right.

Playlist 9th October 2007

• Mai Ow Mai Ow (Marriage No Way!)- Gawow Suenghtong
  
• Classic Moment Live - Anita Mui
  
• Stop the Wedding - Etta James
  
• Shotgun Wedding - Roy C
  
• Some Like It Hot - Marilyn Monroe
  
• Fire Corner - King Stitt (prod. Clancy Eccles)
  
• Sop Na Kap Mon - Sabaithong Powpuri
  
• Hot Pepper - The Griffin Brothers
  
• Title sequence sound clip - Snake in Eagle's Shadow
  
• Meeting Sifu sound clip - Snake in Eagle's Shadow
  
  

'Lust, Caution' Trailer

The new Ang Lee film is showing at the BFI London Film Festival. Watch the trailer here:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/lff/node/2315/trailer

Nam Prik Pao Terror Alert

Last week there was a very funny news story about a Thai restaurant sparking a terror alert here in London. Thai Cottage in Soho were making some nam prik pao chilli sauce and the stench of chillies burning caused concern and was thought to be some kind of chemical attack (well, everyone has heard of mustard gas? chilli gas?). Police cordonned off the area but then found that it was not a terror alert at all just a very hot chilli sauce.

I have been looking for a good nam prik pao recipe and food blogger Pim has a great one:
http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/2007/10/nam-prik-pao.html

Read the story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7025782.stm

Playlist Tuesday 2nd October 2007

• Qian Li Zhi Wai - Jay Chou & Fei Yu Qing
  
• Fearless - Jay Chou (theme to the Jet Li movie)
  
• Grandma - Jay Chou
  
• Transport Connection - Sister Nancy
  
• My Guy - Joy White
  
• Only Sixteen - The Heptones
  
• Agility - sound clip from Snake in Eagle's Shadow
  
• Baby - The Heptones
  
• Siboney - Connie Francis
  
• Breaking in a Brand New Heart - Connie Francis
  
• Shaolin Temple - Prince Jammys
  
• Seemingly is that Old Friend Comes - Anita Mui
  
• Love Potion No 9 - Nancy Sit
  

Lucky cat is broadcast every Tuesday at 10pm from Resonance FM in London on 104.4FM or online at: www.resonancefm.com

If you have any requests or suggestions or would like to be added to my mailing list please email me:
luckycatzoe@gmail.com

Hiang Kee Exhibition London

Chinese Malaysian UK based artist Hiang Kee has her first exhibition at the Indar Pasricha Art Gallery in London. Beautiful paintings on silk. See their web site for details:

www.ipcontemporary.com/currentexhibition.html

Jay Chou

周杰倫/周杰伦

Clean cut filial piety fan and all round nice guy Jay Chou.

Links:
www.jay-chou.net
According to the forum here (who quote the source Shanghai Morning Post) Jay Chou will duet with David Beckham at a publicity event for the Beijing Olympics this week! History tells us: footballers + singing = turgid. Evidence: John Barnes rapping, Waddle and Hoddle. I rest my case.

www.jaychoustudio.com

www.jay2u.com

Click here to watch Jay Chou as Super Mario in this Flash animation.

Wong Kar Wai's short for Philips Ambilight TV

Here is the short film There's Only One Sun WKW has written and directed for Philips to show off the Ambilight TV. A symphony of colour, a femme fatale and Connie Francis singing Siboney. Classic WKW stuff.