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.
