Park Chan-Wook Week

Lucky Cat radio programme
Thursday 25th Feb 2010
7-8pm 104.4FM (London) www.resonancefm.com (anywhere)

Tomorrow's programme is a Park Chan-Wook special to coincide with the UK DVD release of the Korean auteur's vampire film Thirst. I will be joined in the studio by Mira Stout (author of bestselling novel One Thousand Chestnut Trees, playwright, and film critic) and Alex Fitch (broadcaster and assistant editor of Electric Sheep film magazine) to discuss Thirst and Chan-Wook's oeuvre.
Korean tea and snacks will be sampled for the Dim Sum Lunchbox.

There will also be a competition to win some film posters of I'm A Cyborg But That's OK, details to follow. . . .

New Year New Logo

Thanks to Milo.

Me Name Tiger

Now that's a grrrrrrrrrreat suit! I knew this LP would come in handy one day. Happy Year of the Tiger!

Playlist & Podcast S4 Ep5 - 18th Feb 2010

Lucky Cat - Series 4 Episode 5 18th February 2010

Lucky Cat

Good Luck to You - Tsui Ping (Chinese New Year songs 7" EP, EMI)

Take A Tiger by The Tail - Eddie Arnold (RCA Camden vinyl LP)

Me Name Tiger - Tiger (Me Name Tiger vinyl LP)

The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers - Paul Winchell (Disney compilation LP)

Tiger Man (King of the Jungle) - Rufus Thomas (The Legendary Sun Classics Vol 1 CD)

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - Tan Dan & Yo-Yo Ma (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon soundtrack CD)

Wild Like A Tiger - Eek-A-Mouse (Most Wanted CD)

New Year Song - Rita & Sakura (7" vinyl, EMI)

Movie Stars - The Tiger(Roosevelt In Trinidad: Calypsos Of Events, Places & Personalities 1933-1939 CD)

Happy New Year - Tsui Ping (Chinese New Year songs 7" vinyl EP, EMI)

Tiger Phone Card - Dengue Fever (album of same name)

Tiger by the Tail - Buck Ownens (Buck Owens & The Buckaroos Live @Carnegie Hall vinyl LP)

Hong Kong Tiger Lantern

A tiger lantern in Shatin Central Park, Hong Kong.
(Copyright Mark Wu, taken from his excellent East Asian travel blog MangoVine.)

Lucky Cat Series 4 Episode 4 - 11th Feb 2010

Lucky Cat Series 4 Episode 4 - 11th Feb 2010

Lucky Cat

Here's the podcast of last week's show, playlist is below. On the programme I say that the track Valorian is by Hong Kong in the 60s when in fact it is a remix by them and the track is by Arthur & Martha. I got a lot of good feedback about this track, love that bossa nova beat! The original tune is on Athur & Martha's debut album Navigation (pictured).
The Chinese Reggae on the podcast is by Cha Cha, I have the lyrics translated for both tracks if you would like them please let me know: luckycatzoe@gmail.com

Chinese New Year events in London 2010

Films, Lion Dance, and Family Activities at Museum of London in Docklands.
A chance to see the brilliant Arthur Dong documentary Hollywood Chinese


Sunday 14th Feb at V&A Museum
10.30-17.00
Drop-in Design: Chinese New Year
Join us in celebrating Chinese new Year by designing a fabulous headdress, mask or badge inspired by tigers, dragons and zodiacs you find in the China Gallery.

Make puppets and Lanterns at the Horniman Museum

Free Tigers Photographic Exhibition @ National Geographic London

Family Events at the National Maritime Museum
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/visit/events/calendar/?by=4&keyword=chinese-new-year

Hong Kong Women's Film Making at Riverside Studios 25th Feb

Saturday 13 February 2010 @ National Portrait Gallery, Ondaatje Theatre & St Martin's Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields Church
The Confucius Institute for TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) would like to invite you to join in a great, big family celebration of the Chinese New Year. We will be bringing in the year of the tiger with a sensational Chinese dance and martial arts performances, storytelling of ancient Chinese legends, as well as a few crafts and games for those who like to get a bit messy. Times: 11:30 – 5:00, shows start at 12pm, 2pm,4pm.

http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/events#event154

Playlist 11th Feburary 2010

• Media Control – Cha Cha (Jahtari production)
  
• Put it In Your Pocket – Soom T (another Jahtari production)
  
• Money Slaves – Cha Cha (pics of Cha Cha with Clive Chin in Shanghai above, courtesy of Steve Barker)
  
• Where is the Lady - Lim Ling & The Silvertones (Singapore A-Go-Go CD, Sublime Frequencies)
  
• I Love Boh Boh Cha Cha - The Stylers feat. Johnny Teo (7” 45 EP)
  
• Four Seasons of Heartahce Part 1 - Zhou Hsuan (Pathe 100 CD)
  
• Good Luck in the New Year - Linda Yong & The Silvertones (Singapore A-Go-Go CD, Sublime Frequencies)
  
• Valorian - Hong Kong in the 60s remix (the original is on Arthur & Martha's album Navigation (on Happy Robots). This remix should hopefully be released as part of a download EP on Shelflife records).
  
• Soon You’ll Be Gone – The Blues Busters (And This is a Ska Explosion CD, Debutante)
  
• Rukumbine - Shenley Duffus (And This is a Ska Explosion CD, Debutante)
  
• Dragon (Wood) – Shanghai Traditional Chinese Orchestra (Chinese Feng Shui Music CD)
  

Gong Xi Fa Cai Cupcakes

www.cookieheaven.com.my

The Princetones After the Rain soundtrack

I've just stumbled across this great Rocksteady soundtrack, really enjoying it. The CD was released by John John Records a couple of years ago. The lead singer is Zoe Devlin (Devlin Love)of Alabama 3.
It accompanies the film After the Rain by Gaelle Denis which you can see here:

The New Yuen Wo Ping Movie

Now I'm excited, this looks pretty fantastic. Forget all the disappointments, all the times you've seen Yuen Wo Ping's name attached to a film and it has turned out to be yet another epic martial arts bag of blah. Beautiful but boring and worthy (The Banquet), given the Hollywood schmaltz treatment (The Forbidden Kingdom) or maybe you're just tired of slo-mo action shots, billowing costumes, wire fighting, lame story lines and CGI phonieness. Perhaps you have epic martial arts film fatigue? It is a common condition these days.

Those were projects that Yuen Wo Ping merely action-directed, he is directing this film. Let us not forget the legacy:
Drunken Master, The Buddhist Fist, Iron Monkey, The Tai-Chi Master and Wing Chun.

Yuen Wo Ping has also been action director on some great films Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (I know some will argue with this one but it's my list and I love Michelle Yeoh!), Fearless, Kung Fu Hustle and Kill Bill 1&2.

Not sure when True Legend (aka Beggar Su - I prefer that title, too many films with 'Legend' in the title already) will get a UK release but I'll keep you posted. Talking of UK releases, Ponyo is coming.......

Lucky Cat Series 4 Episode 3 - 4th Feb 2010

Lucky Cat

Lucky Cat Series 4 Episode 3 - 4th Feb 2010

In this episode I am joined in the studio by special guests Hong Kong in the 60s.
Playlist:

• Stop the Wedding - Etta James (Argo 7" 45)
  
• Shuang Shuang Yan - Deng Bai Ying (In the Mood For Love soundtrack)
  
• Footsteps - Hong Kong in the 60s (Willow Pattern Songs EP)
  
• Love Me Well - Feng Fei Fei
  
• Will the Orange Blossom Smile - Rebecca Pan
  
• When You Were Dreaming - Hong Kong in the 60s (new track from forthcoming album)
  

Spring onion and sesame seed buns are in the lunch box, I got the recipe here.

Lucky Cat Series 4 Episode 2 - 28th Jan 2010

Lucky Cat Series 4 Episode 2 -

Lucky Cat

Listen to my interview with Jo Ho, creator of the new CBBC drama series Spirit Warriors. Chinese chicken livers and mooli & pork dumplings are frying in the pan for the Dim Sum Lunch Box. Rocksteady legend Lynn Taitt recently passed away so hear some of his Reggae guitar tunes too.

Lucky Cat Series 4 Episode 1 - 21st Jan 2010

Lucky Cat Series 4 Episode 1 - 21st Jan 2010

Lucky Cat

Here's Episode 1 of the new series, dried shrimp pancakes are in the lunch box and lots of music from Chang Loo.

Hong Kong in the 60s

Tomorrow night my special guests will be London band Hong Kong in the 60s. I'll be chatting with the band about their influences and their style (love this photo of them, very Wong Kar Wai!). I have asked them to bring in some vintage Chinese sounds from their record and tape collections.
Food will also be tasted and discussed. Probably some kind of bun.
Listen live on Resonance 104.4FM in London or via www.resonancefm.com anywhere, 7-8pm.

If you're on Facebook you can listen via the player there, and why not join the Lucky Cat Radio Group?

Mooli and Pork Dumplings

Blimey dumpling crimping is hard, as I found out when I attempted for the first time ever to make my own dumplings. Well, I did cheat a little by using ready bought frozen dumpling skins but they were almost from scratch.

First I peeled and grated half a mooli (smallish one, about 20cm in length)
Then I salted the mooli and left it aside in a bowl for 10mins or so

Next I chopped some ginger and garlic (2 teaspoons each, roughly)
I then took 230g of pork sausage meat (or you can use minced pork) out the fridge.

Wok time. I heated the veg oil up and threw in the garlic and ginger, followed swiftly by the sausage meat. Seasoning: a pinch of five spice powder, dash of soya sauce, dash of mirin, dash of white wine vinegar (I was out of rice wine) and a sprinkle of sugar.

Remember the mooli? I got it and squeezed it in my hands to get the water out before adding it to the wok.

When everything looked ready I transferred the dumpling filling to a bowl and let it cool. When it was cool enough to handle I got my little dumpling flour rounds and put a teaspoon or so of the filling in and folded them in half. Then came the tricky bit, crimping the edges to seal the deal. Must practice!

You can steam, boil or fry. Best served with chilli dip and/or Chinese sweet black vinegar.

Learn to Drive with Grace Chang