Chua Lam
Encyclopedia
Chua Lam (simplified Chinese: , traditional Chinese: , Japanese
: チョイ・ラン) (born 1941 in Singapore
) is a columnist
, food critic
and occasional television host in Hong Kong
and Japan
. He was also a movie
producer
for the Hong Kong
movie studio Golden Harvest
.
, and later migrated to Singapore. His father worked in a high-ranking post at the Shaw Brothers Studio
and his father died in 1997.
Chua Lam currently is staying in Hong Kong.
of several movies for Golden Harvest
, including several films for Jackie Chan
. Notable films include Mr. Nice Guy
(credited as executive producer
), Thunderbolt
(credited as producer), Sex and Zen
and City Hunter
(credited as producer).
. Chua later switched to writing columns for the Next Media's
publications, namely Next Magazine
(on movies and a restaurant guide), Apple Daily
and Eat and Travel Weekly. All columns have continued as of 2007.
in Japanese. Chua is primarily known in Japan as a judge on the Fuji TV
series Iron Chef
. Chua studied as a student in Japan and lived there for several years, because of this he is exceptionally fluent in Japanese, allowing him to enjoy the experience of living and visiting places in Japan where most ordinary tourists do not. He writes about his living experience in many Hong Kong newspapers and magazines.
Chua is famous to advocate the use of pork dripping
in food preparation and as a condiment. He has cited and promoted the pork fat usage in most of his TV shows.
"Happiness comes from sacrificing a bit of your health".
"Long live cholesterol!" "膽固醇萬歲!"
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
: チョイ・ラン) (born 1941 in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
) is a columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
, food critic
Food critic
The terms food critic, food writer, and restaurant critic can all be used to describe a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings. While these terms are not strictly synonymous they are often used interchangeably, at least in some circumstances...
and occasional television host in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He was also a movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
for the Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
movie studio Golden Harvest
Golden Harvest
Golden Harvest is a film production, distribution, and exhibition company based in Hong Kong. It played a major role in becoming the first Chinese film company to successfully enter the western market for an extended period of time, especially with the films of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan...
.
Background
Chua Lam's father, Chua Boon Suan (蔡文玄), hailed from the Jio Mung Chua (蔡門石) village in ChaozhouChaozhou
Chaozhou is a city in eastern Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the South China Sea to the southeast...
, and later migrated to Singapore. His father worked in a high-ranking post at the Shaw Brothers Studio
Shaw Brothers Studio
The Shaw Brothers Studio , owned by Shaw Brothers Ltd., was the foremost and the largest movie production company of Hong Kong movies.From their distribution base in Singapore where they founded parent company Shaw Organization in 1924, and as a strategic development of their movie distribution...
and his father died in 1997.
Chua Lam currently is staying in Hong Kong.
Movie producer
Chua was a producerFilm producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
of several movies for Golden Harvest
Golden Harvest
Golden Harvest is a film production, distribution, and exhibition company based in Hong Kong. It played a major role in becoming the first Chinese film company to successfully enter the western market for an extended period of time, especially with the films of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan...
, including several films for Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
. Notable films include Mr. Nice Guy
Mr. Nice Guy (1997 film)
Mr Nice Guy is a 1997 Hong Kong martial arts action crime comedy film directed by Sammo Hung and starring Jackie Chan. It also stars Richard Norton as the villain, with whom Chan had worked in 1993 film City Hunter and Chan and Hung had worked in Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars. Hung makes a cameo as...
(credited as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
), Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt (1995 film)
Thunderbolt is a 1995 Hong Kong action film, directed by Gordon Chan and starring Jackie Chan. In some early North American releases, it was known as Dead Heat....
(credited as producer), Sex and Zen
Sex and Zen
Sex and Zen is a 1991 Hong Kong erotic comedy film directed by Michael Mak and starring Lawrence Ng and Amy Yip....
and City Hunter
City Hunter
is a hardboiled manga series written and illustrated by Tsukasa Hojo, published by Shueisha in the Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1985 to 1991. The manga was adapted into an animated television series by Sunrise Studios in 1987...
(credited as producer).
Writer
Chua was a columnist on Oriental Daily in Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Chua later switched to writing columns for the Next Media's
Next Media
Next Media Limited , founded by serial entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, has more than 3,600 employees and is the largest-listed media company in Hong Kong....
publications, namely Next Magazine
Next Magazine
Next Magazine is a Chinese weekly magazine, published in Hong Kong and Taiwan with different versions. Owned by Jimmy Lai , both magazines are the number one news magazines in both markets in terms of audited circulation and AC Nielsen reports...
(on movies and a restaurant guide), Apple Daily
Apple Daily
Apple Daily is a Hong-Kong-based tabloid-style newspaper founded in 1995 by Jimmy Lai Chee Ying and is published by its company, Next Media. A sister publication carrying the same name is published in Taiwan, Republic of China under a joint venture between Next Media and other Taiwanese companies...
and Eat and Travel Weekly. All columns have continued as of 2007.
Tour organizer
In recent years (2005 - current), Chua has organized special tours in Asia and around the world to sample the best local speciality food. Chua often writes, in his newspaper columns, about the tours' organizing trips where he and others sample food from four or five restaurants per day in order to select the best restaurants.Japan
Chua has written a number of books and restaurant guides on Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in Japanese. Chua is primarily known in Japan as a judge on the Fuji TV
Fuji Television
is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....
series Iron Chef
Iron Chef
is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1992, is a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle built around a specific theme ingredient. The series ended...
. Chua studied as a student in Japan and lived there for several years, because of this he is exceptionally fluent in Japanese, allowing him to enjoy the experience of living and visiting places in Japan where most ordinary tourists do not. He writes about his living experience in many Hong Kong newspapers and magazines.
Filmography
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1985 | Heart of Dragon Heart of Dragon Heart of Dragon is a 1985 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film directed by Sammo Hung, and starring Hung, Jackie Chan, Emily Chu and Mang Hoi.It is also known by the titles as 'The First Mission and Powerman III.... |
| 1986 | Dr. Yuen and Wisely |
| 1987 | Armour of God Armour of God Armour of God is a 1987 Hong Kong martial arts action film co-directed by, and starring Jackie Chan. The film features Chan's regular kung-fu, comedy and stunts, with an Indiana Jones-style theme... |
| 1987 | Born to Gamble Born to Gamble -Cast:*Onslow Stevens as Dan "Ace" Cartwright & Henry Mathews*H.B. Warner as Carter Mathews*Maxine Doyle as Cora Strickland*Eric Linden as Earl Mathews*Lois Wilson as Paula Mathews*William Janney as Fred Mathews*Ben Alexander as Paul Mathews... |
| 1987 | Killer's Nocturne |
| 1987 | Erotic Ghost Story Erotic Ghost Story Erotic Ghost Story is a Hong Kong erotic film remake of the 1987 film The Witches of Eastwick. Directed by Lam Ngai Kai and starring Amy Yip, So Man, Hitomi Kudo and Manfred Wong, it was released in 1990, though it was first screened in 1987 at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain.-Synopsis:Erotic... |
| 1988 | Profiles of Pleasure |
| 1988 | Peacock King |
| 1989 | Four Loves |
| 1990 | A Sau-loh |
| 1991 | Robotrix |
| 1991 | Erotic Ghost Story II |
| 1991 | Au revoir, mon amour |
| 1991 | Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky is a 1991 Hong Kong martial arts film written and directed by Lam Nai-choi, and based on the Japanese manga Riki-Oh by Masahiko Takajo and Saruwatari Tetsuya... |
| 1992 | Erotic Ghost Story III |
| 1992 | The Cat The Cat (1992 film) The Cat The Cat The Cat (衛斯理之老貓 Wai Si Li zhi Lao Mao (Wisely's Old Cat) is an October 24, 1991 Hong Kong film directed by Lam Ngai Kai. It is an action film with science fiction elements... |
| 1993 | City Hunter City Hunter is a hardboiled manga series written and illustrated by Tsukasa Hojo, published by Shueisha in the Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1985 to 1991. The manga was adapted into an animated television series by Sunrise Studios in 1987... |
| 1993 | Crime Story |
| 1994 | Girls Unbutton |
| 1994 | Chinese Torture Chamber |
| 1994 | Spirit of Love Spirit of Love Spirit Of Love is the sixth album by the musical group Con Funk Shun. It was released in 1980 on the Mercury Records label.-Track listing:#"Got To Be Enough" #"By Your Side"... |
| 1995 | Trilogy of Love |
| 1995 | Thunderbolt Thunderbolt A thunderbolt is a discharge of lightning accompanied by a loud thunderclap or its symbolic representation. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors, or, as Plato suggested in Timaeus, of the consequences of a close approach between two planetary cosmic bodies,... |
| 1995 | An Affair in Nanjing |
| 1996 | The Imp |
| 1997 | Mr. Nice Guy Mr. Nice Guy (1997 film) Mr Nice Guy is a 1997 Hong Kong martial arts action crime comedy film directed by Sammo Hung and starring Jackie Chan. It also stars Richard Norton as the villain, with whom Chan had worked in 1993 film City Hunter and Chan and Hung had worked in Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars. Hung makes a cameo as... |
| 1998 | Extreme Crisis |
TV shows
- 2007: Market TrotterMarket trotterMarket Trotter is a television program about food and eating. Mr. Chua Lam is the leading eater and Amanda Strang, So Yuk Wa, Wong Nga See, Vanessa Yeung are some of the eaters with Mr. Chua Lam.The program lead us to eat in the whole world...
(蔡瀾逛菜欄) - 2007: Ten Years AfterTen Years AfterTen Years After is an English blues-rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart...
(拾年) - 2008: Chu As Choice (蔡瀾歎名菜)
- 2009: Be My Guest (志雲飯局)
Gastronomic philosophy
One of his most beloved dishes is stir fried bean sprout with fried tofu and fish sauce.Chua is famous to advocate the use of pork dripping
Dripping
Dripping, also known usually as beef dripping or more rarely, as pork dripping, is an animal fat produced from the fatty or otherwise unusable parts of cow or pig carcasses...
in food preparation and as a condiment. He has cited and promoted the pork fat usage in most of his TV shows.
Quotes
"Choose to do something and you have a 50/50 chance of succeeding. Choose to do nothing and you will definitely fail.""Happiness comes from sacrificing a bit of your health".
"Long live cholesterol!" "膽固醇萬歲!"