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The Chinese Feast

The Chinese Feast (Chinese: ????) is a 1995 Hong Kong film co-written, produced and directed by Tsui Hark, and starring Leslie Cheung, Anita Yuen, Kenny Bee, and Law Kar-Ying.

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Synopsis

Kit was a master chef who once raked in many accolades as being the finest Chinese cook. An elite cooking competition had placed him enviably in front of many aspiring colleagues and he seemed to have the world at his feet. However, the competition placed him in a dilemma of conflicting interests of heart - his own craft or the woman whom he loves.

His obsession (and persistently stubborn attitude) with his work confirmed that he did not appear to hold his girlfriend in a special regard. She was about to give birth to their child, at the same time he was about to participate in an important and prestigious cooking contest. She dumped him for disregarding the relationship. Realising that a successful career can only be shared with a significant other, Kit turned bitter. He became an alcoholic, traumatized by the separation. His career diminished and he was quickly forgotten. To further compound problems, his sense of taste appeared to have left him due to his constant drunken state, and he became cranky and unsociable.

Elsewhere, a popular Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong owned by Au was approached by an organisation 'Super Group' who wished to merge all major Chinese restaurants into a powerful group to eliminate all opposition in Asia. Au protested and the Super Group supremo throws down a challenge to cook the legendary Manchu Han Imperial Feast, where the loser would be absorbed into the Super Group indefinitely.

Au then enlists the assistance of former triad member a rookie chef named Sun who aspires to be a top chef, and had worked at Au's restaurant wishing to shed his criminal past together with Au's daughter Wai. After several foiled attempts at preparing even a simple dish, they then realised the futility of their initial efforts as the Feast could only be accomplished by a master chef and their limited cooking skills would be of no use if they were to save their establishment.

It would then be unquestionably up to Sun and Wai to travel to China to seek the once-famous Kit and to engage his valuable services in order to salvage the integrity of their restaurant.

Once there, the duo managed to catch up with Kit. They were able to convince Kit to join forces after much persuasion, particularly a reunification with his wife. The former great chef was still in a drunken state most of the time and proved unhelpful, at least at first. After much practice, Kit was able to improve.

During the tournament, the contestants prepared rare and luxurious dishes. Kit was able to recapture his previous glories and ultimately saved Au's restaurant after a closely fought contest. The movie would eventually end on a happy note as is the theme of all Lunar New Year movies.