Honey How you Like Your Eggs - Marseille Figs (from the latest CD The Dirty Canon available to buy now see http://www.marseillefigs.org for details)
Spring in Fairyland - Unknown Chinese singer from LP of the same name
Dirty Little Monkey - Marseille Figs
Girly, Girly - Sophia George
Police Officer - Smiley Culture
Push Up U Lighter - Top Cat
This Town Needs a Sheriff - Shut Up & Dance
Honemade Aishite - Rita & Sakura
Harbour Lights - Billy Ward & His Dominoes feat. Clyde McPhatter & Jackie Wilson
Don't Fall Asleep at the Wheel - Marseille Figs
Get Out My Life Woman - Lee Dorsey
Monkey Spanner - Dave & Ansel Collins
Tonight's Dim Sum Lunch Box featured steamed rice buns filled with black sesame syrup coated with crumbled cashew nuts and coconut. Yum. These little dim sum delicacies were from Dragon Castle restaurant in Elephant & Castle, London SE17.
Japanese title - Mizuhara Hiroshi from Seishun uta nenkan '61 BEST (1960's J-Pop)
I Yi Yi Yi - Carmen Miranda
Pirate Jenny - Nina Simone
Fire Bun - Louie Culture
Pickin' Off Peanuts - Seven Foot Dilly and his Dill Pickles
Japanese title - Nagai Frank from Seishun uta nenkan '62 BEST
Three of These Things - Susan from Funk Soul Sisters LP
Japanese title - Ai George Seishun uta nenkan '65 BEST
Shotgun Wedding - Roy C
Passion Flower - The Peanuts (Japanese girl duo, pictured)
Old Black Magic - Louis Prima & Keeley Smith
You Can Have Him - Nina Simone
Kitty, Stop Meowing - Beijing Angelic Choir (played whilst eating dim sum lunch box - Chinese peanut satay and Chinese chicken livers, recipes to follow....)
LONDON CHINATOWN - PUBLIC ART COMMISSION OPPORTUNITIES
As part of the Chinatown Arts Festival 2008: Five Circles, London based arts organisation Chinatown Arts Space (CAS), and Chinatown’s principal landowner, Shaftesbury PLC, are working in creative partnership to commission two major new pieces of exciting public art for London's Chinatown.
HORSE & DOLPHIN YARD : MURAL COMMISSION WHO: East Asian* artists born or resident in the UK are invited to submit proposals VALUE: £6,000 WHAT: Create a vibrant contemporary artwork suitable for external display for 2 years.
WARDOUR STREET : SCULPTURE COMMISSION WHO: All East Asian* artists worldwide are invited to submit proposals VALUE: £20,000 WHAT: Create a permanent eye-catching three-dimensional artwork in any medium that is suitable to withstand the elements.
NOTE THE DEADLINE HAS NOW BEEN EXTENDED: DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: 28th MARCH 2008
Full entry details of the requirements for submission of proposals, and the specifics of each site, can be downloaded from www.chinatownartsspace.com. For more information, please contact Parker Harris on T. +44 (0)1372 462190 or E. cas@parkerharris.co.uk
*East Asia includes: Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, North Korea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and their diasporas
The DTS came on last week's Lucky Cat radio show and 'mashed it up' with their freestyling! I was very impressed with their skills and later I found out that J-Fever is the freestyle champion of China. Thanks to DJ Geko for providing an excellent selection of beats for Dragon Tongue Squad. I went to see the performance at the Royal Opera House which was pretty good but I think having them on the show freestyling was a better experience, I hope you all enjoyed listening. If you missed the show I will be putting it online in an archive soon. To be notified of when this happens or to join the Lucky Cat mailing list please email me luckycatzoe@gmail.com.
I think I was dancing in the pic shown so looks like there is no DJ!
The next party will be for Thai New Year (Songkran) on 12th April. Email me at luckycatzoe AT gmail.com to join the Lucky Cat mailing list for updates.
I am delighted to announce that I will be joined by China's premier Hip Hop crew Dragon Tongue Squad live in the studio tomorrow night! Join me for Lucky Cat Tuesday 19th February at 10pm on Reosnance FM - 104.4FM in London or online anywhere at www.resonancefm.com
The DTS are playing this Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd February at Linbury Studios, The Royal Opera House along with Kevin Quan (DJ Phat) and Suki Mok. Tickets: 020 7304 4000
On tonight's Lucky Cat radio show on Resonance FM I will be joined live in the studio by David Tse of China Town Arts Space, Spanish guitarist Suki Mok and DJ/scratch artist Kevin Quan (aka DJ Phat). Suki Mok and Keving Quan will be performing with the Beijing rappers Dragon Tongue Squad at the Royal Opera House later this month as part of the Five Circles Arts Festival.
Show starts at 10pm tonight (Tuesday) and is repeated at 2pm on Friday on 104.4FM in London or online at www.resonancefm.com
Pack of Wing Wing Brand Chinese Sausages (Lap Cheong) 4 Eggs - scramble and set aside 1 Large onion - chopped 2 cloves garlic - minced 2" knob of ginger - chopped finely Handful of dried shrimp - soak in boiled water 30 mins 3 teaspoons preserved/pickled vegetables 2 dessert spoons pickled turnip Mustard Greens - chopped Fennel chopped 8-10 baby sweetcorn, chopped roughly Pre cooked rice Cider Vingar Soya Sauce Black Pepper
The great thing about fried rice is you can add anything you want and it's a good dish for leftovers. I used fennel as I thought it would go well with the lap cheong, I have had it with chorizo before and the aniseed flavour compliments the pork sausage. I used Cider vinegar for a change as I am always using rice wine and I thought the apple vinegar taste would also compliment the pork. I was very pleased with the results.
The most important thing is to have all your ingredients ready before hand. First fry the chopped lap cheong (chop on the diagonal) in a small amount of oil. Remove and place on paper. Add a little more oil to the wok and hea, then add the onions. Followed by garlic, preserved veg, pickled turnip, fennel, mustard greens, baby sweetcorn, rice and lap cheong. Keep stirring so it all gets really mixed in. Flavour with cider vinegar, soya sauce and black peppper.
I am throwing a party to celebrate the Year of the Rat. I will be cooking some dim sum lunch box recipes and playing my usual mix of East Asian & Western music. Expect Etta James, Anita Mui, Thai Molam, Toots and the Maytals, Betty Chung, Lee Dorsey and Rita Chao (pictured). Scooterworks is a lovely cafe/bar on Lower Marsh, SE1, just 3 mins walk from Waterloo station.
I am very excited about this event: Chinatown Arts Space presents an evening of East/West musical collaboration with a live performance from Beijing Hip Hop crew Dragon Tongue Squad and UK scratch master DJ Phat (Kevin Quan) and Spanish guitarist Suki Mok. There will also be a dance performance from Blazian.
When? Thursday 21 & Friday 22 February 2008, 8pm Where? Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House How much? £12 Adults, £8 Students & ROH Access List, £5 Standing
An acquired taste, the bitter melon aka bitter gourd, draws out the sweetness of other flavours creating a harmonious balance. I recently had a very nice Surinamese bitter melon dish in Amsterdam, unable to find the exact recipe but it was similar to this recipe for Steamed, stuffed bitter melon with black bean sauce.
For all things bitter melon see the National Bitter Melon Council's web site: www.bittermelon.org
Chow's alien comedy CJ7 will be released here in the UK on 21st March. You can watch the trailer here: www.sonypictures.net/movies/cj7/ Looks entertaining. Wonder if the alien will be a big merhcandise money spinner? It is quite cute...
You will need either a whole chicken cut up or chicken pieces. Six pieces to serve four people.
chicken 4 oz tamarind pulp 8 cups boiling water six cloves garlic finely chopped 6 shallots finely chopped 6 oz palm sugar- or any dark brown sugar will do.. 1 cup dark soya sauce good handful toasted coriander seeds ( roast in dry skillet ) salt and freshly ground black pepper
you can add a little chilli too if you like it hot
Put tamarind pulp in a bowl- pour on boiling water. Mash it thoroughly and after five mins strain into a larger bowl Throw in garlic , shallots , sugar and soy sauce.
Add chicken pieces. Rest the marinade either overnight or AT LEAST FOUR HOURS.
put the chicken and marinade into a large pan on top of the cooker. Sprinkle over the coriander. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes- until chicken is tender and the liquid is reduced. This is quite a dry dish so if you have too much liquid at this stage- spoon some off and reserve for later use. most of the sauce should be absorbed by the chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper Serve with coconut rice and a spicy coconut and pineapple sambal
The veteran Hong Kong star - actor, producer, writer, director, TV presenter and restauranteur - was born on 14th April 1953. Eric started his career in cinema as a stuntman. His father Tsang Kai wing was a professional footballer and then coach and Eric was following in his footsteps until at 23 he got fed up of being compared to his Dad and wanted to excel at something different. As a footballer he had met Sammo Hung and Lau Kar Leung and become friends with them. Although he didn't know kung fu Lau Kar Leung thought his physical skills could be put to good use as a stuntman. He began working, often as a double for women as he was short.
Eric then decided to turn his hand to screenwriting and in 1977 wrote the script for the Shaw Brothers Kung Fu masterpiece (Wu Tang Clan and Tarantino favourite) The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Industry friend Karl Maka helped him with this new career move.
"To help script The 36th Chamber of Shaolin I studied harder than I ever did in my life even more than when I was in school. I studied all the books I could find because I really wanted to put all the animal styles in the script - tiger, snake etc. I wrote about the theory of kung fu so I could put that material for Lau Kar Leung. Then the next scipt I wrote was Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog."*
Eric then got into directing, his first job was as assistant director on the Jackie Chan movie The Fearless Hyena. Instead of joining the film production company Golden Harvest like Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung Eric's friend Karl Maka brokered a deal with Cinema city. Tsui hark was also part of the Cinema City family. Eric directed Aces Go Places for Cinema City which became a popular series of films (he also starred in them). Eric was definitely not the matinee idol type and believes he paved the way for other fat/quirky looking actors.
In 1984 Eric left Cinema city and Sammo approached him and asked him to join Golden Harvest to star in and associate produce Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars.
In 1986 Eric teamed up with old pal Jackie Chan to direct him in Armour of God:
"I talk to Jackie. I told him he was not improving. He had now girls in his films. I told him that, even though I'm not that famous, some girls like me. I also said he had no friends in his movies. I suggested that he should begin to work with singers like Alan Tam and put some girls in his movies."*
In 1992 Eric co-founded the film production company Untied Filmmakers Organisation (UFO). Around this time Eric's career as an actor was changing. In the 1980's he starred in numerous Carry On style, cheesy slapstick comedies. in the 1990s his roles began to be more serious. Notably his role as a mob boss wooing Maggie Cheung in Comrades Almost a Love Story directed by Peter Chan. Eric's character is introduced in very brief shots as longer shots may have got automatic laughs from the Hong Kong audience.
In the 1990s Eric began to get more serious roles in dramas and in 2002 he was given a fantastic role where he really came into his own as an actor - as Triad boss Sam in the finest film of the Hong Kong gangster noir genre Infernal Affairs. Apparently Anthony Wong was supposed to play this role but they wanted someone with real gravitas (and acting awards!) to play the policeman so they gave him this role instead. Good news for Eric and it is hard to imagine anyone else in the role now. Eric's inspiration for Sam came from watching Anthony Quinn in Avenging Angelo: "In every scene he is eating and that defined his character. I wanted to be a guy that no one could pin down. No one knew when he was happy and when he was sad. He was always different...The most important thing about playing this role is the fact that I am old enough to be the boss of Andy Lau and Tony Leung. I sa these 2 actors grow up in the film business so it was natural for me to be the boss."
As well as eating in films Eric is obviously a bit of a foodie as he has now become a restauranteur. First he opened the restaurant Eric Deli Paradise in the Hartmas Shopping Complex Malaysia - in good company Kenny Rogers has a chicken restaurant there (I suppose he does look a bit like Colonel Saunders). The restaurant serves steam boat and dim sum goodies. Pictures of Eric adorn the walls and his TV show Super Trio Series plays on a TV.
Eric opened his first mainland China restaurant this year in Shanghai. Also a hotpot place, he thinks it will never go out of style and hopes visitng HK stars will patronise the restaurant.
Eric is still busy making movies, starring in the 2007 Wong Jing comedy Beauty and The 7 Beasts and due to hit our screens in Jay Chou's Shaolin Soccer homage Kung Fu Slam Dunk in 2008.
Eric Tsang with your raspy voice, cheeky expression and limitless talents, we salute you.
Anchovies with Peanuts Fishy salty and delicious, serve on its own or add it to congee.
80g dried anchovies (medium size about 5cm) 100g peanuts (shelled and plain NOT salted) 2 cups oil 2 large chillies, sliced 3 cloves garlic roughly chopped 3 spring onions chopped 1 tablespoon rice wine (Shaohsing) pinch of pepper
Deep Fry fish in wok and drain. Remove most of the oil. Re heat and add chillies, spring onions, garlic and rice wine stir fry for 2 mins, add fish and peanuts and fry for a further 5 mins. If you like it spicy add chilli sauce or if you like it sweet add sugar. Or if you like it really fishy add fish sauce, yum.
Oyster omelette is apparently the most popular snack served in Taiwanese night markets (according to the China Post). I found a recipe here: http://hipfood.wordpress.com
Just found out about this Japanese movie produced by Stephen Chow, to be released in 2008. It is in the same vain as Shaolin Soccer with a young lacrosse player (Kou Shibasaki) improving her game by learning Shaolin kung fu.
2 mackerel (filleted) 5 tablespoons sake/rice wine 5 tablespoons soya sauce 2" piece of ginger (peeled and grated) cornflour vegetable oil for deep frying lettuce leaves lime wedges 2spring onions (finely chopped)
Cut the mackerel into strips about 1.5cm thick. Mix the soya and sake in a bowl and add the grated ginger, put the fish in and make sure all pieces are well coated. Leave to marinate for 1 hour minimum. When ready to eat (perhaps your rice is gently cooking?) heat the veg oil in a wok (need lots for deep frying). Drain the fish pieces and coat them in cornflour (sprinkle some cornflour on a plate near the wok). Put them into the oil when it is ready and fry for 2-3 mins until golden. Remove from oil and drain on kitchen paper. You will probably need to to fry in 2-3 batches as to avoid overcrowding in the wok. Arrange the mackerel on a plate of lettuce leaves, sprinkle with spring onion and serve with lime wedges. Delicious on its own as a starter/snack or with rice for a meal.
for the paste: 1 or 2 cloves garlic, chopped up 2" piece ginger, sliced 2 tablespoon tumeric 1 teaspoon coriander seeds ground up or ready ground coriander 1 teaspoon shrimp paste or yellow curry paste (optional)
1 tin coconut milk a little water dashes of fish sauce 1 tablespoon honey juice of half a lime a little oil (groundnut or veg)
Cut the pumpkin into chunks (take off skin and de-seed). Chunks should be about 2". Make the curry paste by pounding together all paste ingredients in a pestle and mortar. Don't worry about making the paste totally smooth. Put the oil into a medium hot wok, add the paste and the pumpkin chunks and coat. Pour the coconut milk in and top up with water add a few dashes of fish sauce. Heat up and simmer for 20 mins. Then add th honey and lime - taste to check the balance is right. Serve with rice and tung choi. If you like you can add a couple of halved crabs to the curry 10mins before it is ready. If doing this definitely add the shrimp paste to the curry paste. Sprinkle with chopped fresh coriander before serving.
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.
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!
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.
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....
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.
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.
A season of films from Hong Kong is showing at the ICA 12th - 16th October. Ringo Lam's 1997 thriller Full Alert, Ann Hui'sOrdinary Lives and the more recent 2006 musical Perhaps Love plus others.....
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.
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:
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
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.
Ingredients: Crust: 4 cups of all purpose flour 1/4 cup dried milk powder 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 3 large eggs 1&1/4 cups sugar 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp 1&1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Filling: 1 12 Oz jar apricot preserves 1 cup chopped pitted dates 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut 3/4 cup raisins Glaze: 1 large egg lightly beaten 2 tablespoons water
To make the crust, sift together the flour, milk powder, baking powder, and salt and set aside. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, and beat vigorously until the mixture 'ribbons' off the beaters, about five minutes. Add the melted butter, vanilla extract, and the sifted dry ingredients to the egg mixture, folding after each addition. Mix to a rough dough, turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly to a smooth dough. Form the dough into a long, snakelilfe roll and cut into 20 pieces. Mix together the ingredients for the filling and stir to combine evenly. Divide the filling in half. Cover one half with plastic wrap. With your hands, roll the other half into a long snake and cut it into 10 pieces. Uncover the first half and repeat. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets. Using your fingers press each dough piece into a 3" circle, making the edges thinner and the centre thicker. Spoon a portion of the filling into the centre, gather up the edges to enclose and pinch them to seal. Roll the cake into a ball and flatten it to a 3" round. Press into a mooncake mold or carve a criss cross design on top. Arrange the cakes about and inch apart on the lightly buttered baking trays. brush them with the glaze. Bake for 30mins until golden brown. Cool on a rack and serve.
This recipe was taken from the book Moonbeams, Dumplings and Dragon Boats published by The Children's Museum in Boston.
Bear Cat - Rufus Thomas (show theme) Pussy, Pussy, Pussy - Light Crust Doughboys Autumn Evening - Bai Kwong (Shanghai Lounge Divas LP) What A Little Moonlight Can Do - Billie Holiday Pinghu Qiuyue: Autumn Moon Over Still Lake - UK Chinese Ensemble There's A Silver Moon On The Golden Gate - The Girls of The Golden West Love Song Under the Moon - Miss Yao Lee Moon of Manakoora - Dorothy Lamour Howling at the Moon - Hank Williams Moonlight Lover - Joya Landis
I am pleased to announce that the Lucky Cat radio programme returns to the airwaves this week. The new show time is 10 - 11pm on Tuesdays, with a repeat on Fridays 2 - 3pm. The show will be broadcast from Resonance FM's brand spanking new studios here in London. As before you can tune in on the radio in London (104.4FM) or online if not: www.resonancefm.com
If you have any requests or suggestions for the new series please do email me: luckycatzoe@gmail.com
Creator of the first instant noodles Momofuku Ando has passed away age 96. Born in Taiwan whilst it was under Japanese rule he then moved to Japan. In the World War II when food was scarce he came up with the idea of dried, flavoured instant noodles. The first instant falvour was chicken ramen, launched in 1958. The Cup Noodle was created in 1971 (Pot Noodle is the preferred brand in the UK) and his most recent product was for astronauts - Space Ram. There is even a museum in Japan dedicated to Momofuku's life in the noodle world: http://www.nissin-noodles.com/index_new.html And so farewell Cup Noodle King......
Ang Lee's new film Lust Caution stars Lucky Cat favourite Tony Leung Chiu Wai and is set in Shanghai in the 1940s. Here is the Chinese poster. It has been given a 17 rating in the US and should open this Autumn (or Fall depending on which side of the Atlantic you're on). The Chinese poster certainly has echoes of In The Mood For Love - gorgeous cheongsam, check, brooding Tony, check, period setting, check. Looking forward to this one.
Good news, the shopping mall in North London will continue to serve up lo pak ko alongside ramen noodles and roti canai until June 2008.
Laurence Martin – Development director of Development Securities said, “Following five months of discussions with tenants involving the GLA and Brent, we’re pleased to have reached an agreement to move forward and redevelopment an exciting new OC.....We recognise that it is not possible to temporarily relocate tenants during redevelopment and because of this there is a period of uncertainty for the tenants. Therefore, we have agreed a clear timetable for close down of the package of measures including rent free from now until closure to provide assistance to tenants.”
I'm trying to be a bit healthy at the moment so the other night I tried steaming a chicken instead of roasting it. The result was delicious. I bought a smallish chicken and placed it breast down in a steamer. I filled the pan below with 5cm of water and threw in some star anise and jasmine tea. 2 hours of simmering later the chicken was ready. It didn't look too appealing but the meat fell off the bone and was moist and flavoursome. I served it with a Ken Hom recipe dip:
2 spring onions chopped finely
1 2cm lump of ginger chopped finely
1 tea spoon salt
1 table spoon soya sauce
2 tablespoons of heated groundnut oil
Mix all the ingredients then heat the oil in a wok until smouldering then pour over (make sure to use a heat proof bowl). Serve with the steamed chicken, rice and steamed vegetables.
Recently I went to see Dirty Ho at the NFT (or should I say BFI as it has all changed now). The film is shwoing as part of the Heroic Grace : the Martial Arts Film Part II season. I went to Part I some years back and saw the Cheng Pei Pei classic Come Drink with Me.
Part II is 1970's - 1980s period of HK martial arts cinema. Dirty Ho is a Run Run Shaw classic starring Tarantino's favourite Gordon Liu (inscrutable face, amazing kung fu). Directed by Lau Kar Leung, legendary martial artist and director (most recently seen acting in Tsui Hark's Seven Swords). The bright, gaudiness of the early scenes set on a floating brothel are wonderful.
Despite receiving 10,000 objection letters opposing the development as it currently stands, the Mayor approved Development Securities planning application on 15 March 2007 to demolish Oriental City with no provisions on the relocation of businesses or community facilities.
The Save Oriental City is taking the matter to the Secretary of State for Community and Local Government to hold a public enquiry on the application. Oriental City Tenants Association will take the battle to the next stage to get this planning application overturned. After the Mayor’s decision, the Secretary of State for Community and Local Government Ruth Kelly MP will now consider this application and reach her decision by 22 March 2007.
Loosely based on an original manga by Bang Hak-gi and set during Korea's late Chosun Dynasty era, acclaimed Korean filmmaker Lee Myung-Se's (Nowhere To Hide, Bitter And Sweet) innovative and visually impressive reinvention of martial arts genre conventions, DUELIST is a ravishingly shot and brilliantly choreographed tale of intrigue and romance. Taking visual inspiration from the works of artists Matisse and Mondrian (specifically the pieces "Dance" and "Manhattan" respectively) and basing the fight choreography on rhythms and movements more associated with the tango and ballet than with kung fu and swordplay, in DUELIST Lee Myung-Se has created a uniquely artistic and visionary martial arts film unlike anything seen before.
Well, that's what the blurb says. Decide for yourself when it is released on 9th March in the UK.
The Asian themed shopping centre 'Oriental City', on the outskirts of London in sunny Colindale, is under threat from developers!
I have been to the centre a few times and it has an excellent food court with outlets selling food from all over Asia. Thus you are able to sample dim sum turnip cakes, Vietnamese pork and sushi all at the same time! Not to mention the delicious range of teas on offer. There is also a large supermarket and some shops selling Chinese dresses, DVDs, pottery and of course Hello Kitty and Doraemon goodies. When you're done shopping you can kill some zombies on the House of the Dead game in the arcade. The first time I went to Oriental City I spent 5 hours in there! Managed to fit in 2 meals. Yum. There is a large Chinese restaurant on the top floor which I have heard is good but I haven't tried out.
It seems to me it would be a great shame to get rid of it. It needs refurbishing if anything and some good publicity. Our mayor seems to have a penchant for all things Chinese at the moment perhaps he should intervene?
The sumptuous colours remind me of a Wong Kar Wai movie. His first English language film My Blueberry Nights should be out here in the UK this year. It is a road movie with Norah Jones in the lead role. Jude Law also stars, hmmm that does not make me leap about the room with enthusiasm. A remake of The Lady from Shanghai is apparently Wong's next project. I had heard rumours he was to make a martial arts film with Tony Leung (The Master), now that is more like it!
The magazine pictured also reminds me of the Thai movie Tears of the Black Tiger, a technicolor melodrama/cowboy film. Very good. The director Wisit Sasanatieng's second film Citizen Dog previewed at the London Film Festival 2 years ago but never got a general release. Shame as it sounded interesting (people with tails). Korean site with nice animated trailer: www.citizendog.co.kr/ Watch an extract on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdS1poPa4SM
Classic Wu Xia action from Shaw Brothers starring Cheng Pei Pei. I saw this a couple of years ago on the big screen at the National Film Theatre in London when they had a Martial Arts season on. Fantastic to see it on the big screen. Cheng Pei Pei is familiar to most Western audiences from her role as Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but she was a big Shaw Brothers star back in the 1960s. The movie features a prototype for the Drunken Master character, called Drunken Cat played by Yueh Hua. According to IMDB Cheng Pei Pei currently has 3 films in production. Her daughter Eugenia Yuan is also an actress and had a minor role in Memoirs of a Geisha (a film which I did not rate highly!), she stars with her mother in the upcoming The Shanghai Hotel. You can see a trailer for this new movie on Youtube.
cut the tofu up into medium chunks, leave to marinate for an hour or so in sesame oil and soya sauce. tear coriander, mint and basil into a bowl. toast some sesame seeds and add to the herbs with the tofu chunks, mix in. add chopped raw baby sweetcorn for added crunch. make a dressing with sesame oil, soya sauce, black pepper and finely chopped garlics and mix into salad. serve with rice. nice.
At last I have set up a podcast facility for 2005-6 Lucky Cat shows. To kick things off I have put up the show on Chinese Jamaican Reggae, co-presented by Jak Ripley, from 10th Feb 2006. More to come....
