Welcome to the Future of Hong Kong

HONG KONG, December 24 – Saw a trio of mannequins that freaked me out at the Hong Kong Museum of Science. They projected video face onto the lifeless humanoid forms and gave them voices in order to narrate the exhibit. It was very trippy.

Christmas Advertising in Hong Kong: Movie Stars, Pop Singers, and Clark Kent

Large Billboard Ad for Gary Chaw’s (曹格) Tour. It’s sponsored by Johnnie Walker.
HONG KONG, December 24 – Marketing and advertisements say a lot about a people. They highlight the best values of a culture as well as its shallowness. In Hong Kong, the corporate graffiti is everywhere you look. Your eyes can’t escape a product pitch or a public service announcement. Most Hong Kong denizens do their best to ignore them. I, on the other hand, obsess over their meaning and over-analyze their subtext. I also document them on this blog.

New Adventures in Dim Sum

Glutinous rice and Chinese sausage.

HONG KONG, December 23 – When I’m in Hong Kong, I always look for the most creative and tastiest dim sum dishes in town. The competition is extremely intense with the countless number of tea houses and restaurants lining every major thoroughfare. The financial survivals of these establishments are reliant on their ability to innovate, steal, and borrow. Unlike their Western counterparts, the chefs here don’t rely on the same classic favorites like a simple cheong fun (腸粉) or shaomai (燒賣). They keep redefining the notion of dim sum in an effort to constantly improve their menu. Here are some of my favorite little discoveries.

Hong Kong's Sidewalk Comics

Hong Kong History Museum Exhibit of a Comic Book Lending Library
HONG KONG, December 22 – After the Second World War, Hong Kong children used to spend their free time at the local sidewalk comic book lending library. They paid 5-10 cents to burrow a single comic book. The vendors of the library would also set-up a row of tiny benches to accommodated their pint-sized clientele. These kids were hardcore.

Jane Lui Double Taps New York

NEW YORK, October 22 – Based on a recommendation, I went to see Jane Lui’s performance at the Rockwood Music Hall. Lui, a recent internet phenom, has been known as one of the more notable independent musical acts in the San Francisco scene. Unlike past generations of musicians, her career was born out of the internet and takes full advantage of powerful marketing tools like youtube and social media networks. Through a spirited digital DIY campaign, she has carefully garnered a pretty loyal following making her internet famous.

You Can Have Your Moon Cake and Eat It Too

New York, September 22 – The Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) (a.k.a. Moon Festival or Lantern Festival) is one of the most widely celebrated holidays across Asia. It marks the end of summer and honors the immortal moon goddess named Chang'e (嫦娥). The day is usually celebrated with building paper lanterns and eating moon cake. I didn't build too many lanterns as a child, but I did partake in the consumption of some cake. It's perhaps the only time I actually eat the sweet pastry.

While shopping in Chinatown, I couldn't find our traditional brand of moon cake in any of the stores or bakeries. So, I tried a new brand of moon cake imported from Hong Kong. The packaging was very beautiful. Each cake was individually packaged in a small painted tin box within a case. The bottom of the case was lined with a golden silky cloth.

You Can’t Stop the Paperdoll

Right to Left: Steve Paelet, Chip Thomas, and Teresa Lee Chaisiri
New York, July 17 – After recently winning the Grand Prize at Kollaboration New York, the Paperdoll band played at the Crash Mansion.

According to their website, the band was planning an extensive tour of Shanghai (which has just concluded). They were scheduled to play one last performance before going to China. I heard about it at the very last minute and hastily rushed over to the venue. I wanted to see them before they embark on their overseas journey.

Tze Chun's Children of Invention DVD Release Party

New York, August 14 – Giant Robot New York held a DVD release party for Tze Chun’s Children of Invention. It attracted a decent crowd of indie film fans and New Yorkers.

The film is his first major full length feature garnering 17 film festival awards and an official selection for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. It tells the story of a single mother who is drawn into a Ponzi scheme. She is arrested, and her two young children are left to survive on the streets alone.

Regarding his future projects, Chun is set to direct a segment of the film adaptation of Will Eisner’s A Contract with God.


Tze Chun talking about James Jean's prints. Cindy Cheung, lower left.

NYAFF 2010: Calloused Fists of the Beast

Right to Left: Bruce Leung and MC Jin
NEW YORK, July 8 -- On the closing day of the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), they featured a retro-kung-fu flick named Gallants. It was a return to the original Hong Kong Kung-fu feature with tonue-in-cheek references to the old school classics.

Executive produced by Andy Lau (劉德華), the film features several old school kung-fu stars such as Bruce Leung Siu-Lung (梁小龍) and Chen Kuan-tai (陳觀泰). They are joined by some younger cast members such as Wong Yue-nam(黄又南) and MC Jin (歐陽靖).

NYAFF 2010: Saturday with Sammo

NEW YORK, June 26 – I missed the opening of the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), so my first impression of this year’s festival started with the screening of Eastern Condors (東方禿鷹).

Eastern Condors is a particularly special film to my generation of Hong Kong film fanatics. I was first exposed to the film in the early 90s. I was probably a ‘tween at the time. I remembered watching the film on a poor grainy VHS tape with bad tracking. So the prospects of seeing it on the big screen were very exciting to me.

After the film, Sammo Hung (洪金寶) participated in a short Q&A with the folk at the NYAFF. They discussed a variety of topics concerning the making of the film. Hung appeared visibly tired, but he heroically powered through the appearance. The kung-fu legend even acted out some of the behind the scenes stories. He seemed both warm and gracious to his fans.

A real treat for the audience was the surprise appearance of Joyce Godenzi (高麗虹), who is Hung’s wife. She was the lead actress in Eastern Condors and several other kung-fu flicks. Godenzi initially gained public attention as a former Miss Hong Kong and fashion model. She parlayed her successful modeling career into a decade long Hong Kong film career. She starred in some memorable martial arts films such as She Shoots Straight and License to Steal. Despite her age, Godenzi is still stunningly beautiful (minus the short 80s hairdo). I was hoping that she would participate in the Q&A, but sadly she didn’t.


After the Sammo Hung Q&A, I stuck around the theater until the screening of Kung-fu Chefs. It’s another Sammo Hung film of a more recent vintage. While waiting for the screening to start, I unexpectedly ran into a bunch of friends from other blogs, podcasts, and local anime clubs. They were pretty chill.

Related Links:

• Teleport City » NY Asian Film Festival

Do You Know What Time It Is? It's Tuen Ng Time.

zòng zi (粽子)
It's that time of year again! It's Tuen Ng Jit (端午節). The holiday is traditionally celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar (Julian: June 16, 2010). It honors the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan (屈原) who committed ritual suicide by throwing himself in the Miluo River. The festival is primarily celebrated with dragon boat races and the consumption of zòng zi (or zòng).

I didn't do any dragon boat racing but ate my fair share of zòng.

A Different Shade of Red

NEW YORK, June 4 – The Chambers Fine Art held an impressive exhibition opening for a young Chinese artist named Ye Nan. The exhibit is named Red Phosphorous and had an interesting mix of abstraction, industrial grit, and political propaganda.


Who Conquered Theirs

Most of Ye Nan's work consisted of thin layers of paint and red liquid phosphorous. Phosphorous is an industry chemical used to make matches, pesticides, toothpaste, and detergents. The phosphorous, which is used in Nan's paintings, gives his work an industrial quality similar to Robert Rauschenberg's Combines in some respects.


Ideal Nation

In terms of content, Nan's use of overtly political titles and subversive imagery adds a philosophical element to his work. Although he is too young to remember the early Chinese Communist revolution, he masterfully incorporates its propaganda techniques into his art. For example, his monochromatic use of the color red and the frequent employment of flag motifs are directly referencing the visual vocabulary of early Chinese Communist propaganda.


We Still Have Many Virgin Islands

Despite his visual usage of Communism propaganda techniques, the spirit of Ye Nan's artwork is actually the product of contemporary Chinese attitudes and modes of thinking. According to the exhibition statement, his work is drawing inspiration from industrialization, science, politics, and rock music.


Ultimate Victory


Ultimate Victory (detail)

The New Grand Tour

NEW YORK, June 3 – A group of notable artists traveled to the remote regions of China (including Tibet) to find artistic inspiration. Their travels resulted in an interesting group show at the Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery. The show was titled "The New Grand Tour" borrowing the name from a western cultural practice of sending young (aristocratic) adults to tour the great cities of Europe.

I had a few problem with the curating of the show. The gallery did not label any of the pieces in the show. Especially in a group show, identifying artists and their works is important. I asked someone working at the gallery for any gallery guides, lists of works, or a simple exhibition postcard. They had no clue, and I couldn't find any literature located in the exhibition area. Forget the website. It's a very beautifully designed flash menu system, but it's not functional.

Regardless of the curating problems, the art was pretty interesting. The incorporation of local religious and tradition folk art with a modern aesthetic was fascinating.

Artists featured in the show: Suitman & Young Kim, Deanne Cheuk, José Parlá, Rey Parlá, Rey, Rostarr A.K.A., Romon Kimin Yang, and Davi Russo.

Here are a few pieces from the show:


Artist: José Parlá



Artist: Suitman & Young Kim









Related Links:

• Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery Showcases a Wide-Ranging Body of Work
  

Kanji Flash Cards and Listening to Ed

Making kanji flash cards and listening to the Ninja Consultant's coverage of Ed Chavez's Anime Boston panel.

Buy Mi: Hong Kong Billboards and Advertisements [2009 Back Post]

NEW YORK, February 25 – While hang out in Hong Kong (December 2009), I paid close attention to local advertisements and billboards. It's always fascinating to observe local marketing campaigns. Here are a few interesting Hong Kong advertisements:


Love Mi, Sammi!

Sammi Cheng (郑秀文), the hugely popular Canto Pop singer, had a giant billboard covering the entire side of a building in the Tsim Sha Tsui district. It was so big that I had trouble fitting the entire poster in the viewfinder of my camera. The object in the foreground is a street light which should give you a sense of scale. The billboard was promoting Cheng's Love Mi tour which was being sponsored by Johnnie Walker.


The Tomino-esque Thing

Mass Transit Railway (MTR), Hong Kong's subway system, is the lifeline of the city. It's also my preferred method of travel. On several subway cars, I found Gundam posters. It was a cross promotional effort between the Gundam franchise and the MTR.


Learn to Shot -> John Woo Style

During my visit to Hong Kong, the city was hosting the 2009 East Asian Games which is kinda like a mini-Olympics for Asia. The city was covered with banners promoting the event. They made a unique banner for each sport, but this one caught my eye. The locals nicknamed this event "The John Woo Challenge".


Danny Wears a Seiko

On my way to breakfast, I unintentionally ran into posters of Daniel Wu (吳彥祖) at a Kowloon watch store. Wu, a fellow Giant Robot Magazine writer, was endorsing Seiko's line of Criteria watches. In addition to being a writer, I hear he does some acting on the side...


The First Circle of Hello Kitty

Cool Japan comes to the Hong Kong subway. Hello Kitty, the official ambassador of the color pink, enticed Hong Kong commuters to spend their holiday in Japan. The Japanese tourism posters were displayed throughout the MTR subway system, and Admiralty Station was completely transformed into the Hello Kitty Station. I'm sure that this is a sign of the Apocalypse.


Journey to Mong Kok

Here is another interesting subway poster. The Monkey King doesn't want you to monkey around on the escalators. Public transportation is serious business.


Doraemon Pulled This Out of His... Pouch?

In a lift leading to a pedestrian overpass, I found these instructional safety stickers with Doraemon(ドラえもん). Yes, trust the imaginary flying blue marsupial.


Let Them Eat Idol Christmas Cake

The Maxim cake company is notorious for using very attractive girls and female pop idols in their advertisements. The white fluffy concoction on the left is the "Angel Christmas Cake", and the sugary chocolate guilt trip on the right is the "Devil Christmas Cake".

Snow Equals Winter. Winter Equals Hot Pot! [2009 Back Post]

Little Sheep in Hong Kong
NEW YORK, February 11 – Yesterday’s snowpocalypse event makes me think of relatively warmer climates like my recent trip to Hong Kong. Hong Kong denizens consider 50 degrees Fahrenheit to be “cold”. Jeez... I would take a mild Hong Kong winter day over a mid-Atlantic snow storm any day.

As I watched the snow blanket my entire street, I could only think about one thing: Hot Pot (火鍋)! It’s a delicious Chinese winter tradition similar to Japanese Shabu-shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ).

During my visit to Hong Kong, I had the opportunity to dine at a local chain restaurant called the Little Sheep (小肥羊). I know the American image of “a chain restaurant” is the stereotypical fast food burger joint like McDonald’s, but the Little Sheep is not your ordinary franchise. Because of the nature of hot pot dining the raw food has to be fresh, and the Little Sheep doesn’t disappoint. Marinated beef, skewered shrimp, fish balls, and… omg… the mutton!

I'm getting hungry just blogging about it. I need to find some hot pot to warm up my buddha belly.

Related Links:

• 10 hot pot restaurants in Hong Kong: At 9 degrees celsius, hot pot is legit again | CNNGo.com
  

REVIEW: Bodyguards and Assassins

NEW YORK, January 30 – Is it me or is Donnie Yen bucking to be the next national hero of Hong Kong? Maybe he’s starting with Hong Kong and shifting to be a national hero of China. It sure seems like it.

Yen’s recent acting filmography includes Ip Man (葉問), The Founding of a Republic (建國大業), and Bodyguards and Assassins (十月圍城). He is also set to release Ip Man 2 (葉問2) later this year. Interestingly these films have all been historically based fictions with an emphasis on individual heroism and valor.

Some film critics argue that Yen is treading dangerously close to Chinese Communist propaganda in his recent pictures. I wouldn’t go so far as to label his films as propaganda, but they are very careful in their handling of modern Chinese history. It’s a soft touch that is not characteristic of the fast paced Hong Kong film industry.

Yen’s current film, Bodyguards and Assassins, tries to carefully reshape Chinese history with varying degrees of success.


The film is mainly centered on the arrival of Sun Yat-sen in 1905 Hong Kong. Sun plans to unite the various rebellious Chinese factions in order to overthrow the troubled Qing dynasty, and the royal court responds with a group of highly trained assassins (ninja?).

Donnie Yen plays a crooked police officer in the burgeoning Hong Kong police department. As a gambling addict, he constantly finds himself broke and desperately looking for side jobs to cover his addictive habit. As a thug for hire, he sometimes takes jobs that are morally questionable. Over the course of the film, Yen’s character has a change of heart and decides to protect Sun Yat-sen with a heroic band of outcasts, homeless, and destitute individuals.

The film can easily be bifurcated into two halves. The first half is the introduction segment which provides the various background stories for each hero and villain. The second half of the film is dedicated to the action packed chase and fighting sequences between the various characters.


The first half is pretty long (almost an hour) and suffers from a lot of pacing issues. It jumps from one character background segment to another character segment without any sense of order or rhythm.

However, Sun’s arrival to Hong Kong changes everything. The tempo picks up and the rest of the film is a high paced sequence of chase and fight scenes. The frenetic nonstop movement is the hallmark of Hong Kong cinema, and the kung-fu is pretty top notch with Yen showing off his amazing skills.

Some of the best acting performances in the film were delivered by Tony Leung Ka-Fai (梁家輝). He brought serious acting chops to the role, but some of his counterparts lacked the same skill. It was like watching a tennis pro play with a teenage amateur.


Eric Tsang (曾志偉) also had a small side role as the police chief. His limited on screen time was funny and delightful. He lightened the mood during some of the most depressing moments of the story.

On a negative note, the film attempts to hand jam a nationalist allegorical message throughout the narrative which I found a little distracting. It wasn’t a subtle nudging… more like a slap in the face. Jeez… I get it: patriotism and equality. I felt like a customer being subjected to some hard selling by a used car salesman.

If you could bear with the long introductory exposition, Bodyguards and Assassin will take you through an amazing journey of unlikely heroes and fascinating villains.

Related Links:

• YouTube - Bodyguards & Assassins - Official Trailer
• Bodyguards and Assassins - Hollywood Reporter
• Reviews: BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS - Twitch
• Bodyguards and Assassins - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• IMDb: Shi yue wei cheng (2009)
• Bodyguards and Assassins (2009) - LOVEHKFILM.COM
• Bodyguards And Assassins (Shi Yue Wei Cheng) - Screen International
• 'Bodyguards and Assassins' helps Chinese cinema enter the big leagues The Independent

Curry Hotspots in Hong Kong

NEW YORK, January 12 – CNNgo published my first official foodie article about my favorite curry spots in Hong Kong. Check it out!

CNNgo: 3 places to sate cravings for curry in Hong Kong

The Best Hong Kong Street Food

The Best Mini Egg Puff Vendor in the Tsim Sha Tsui district
HONG KONG, December 22 – Busy Hong Kong pedestrians are known for their love of street food, and thousands of tiny street vendors are ready to serve them quick and tasty treats. Here are some of my favorite Hong Kong street foods:

	Bok Choy Cookie The Bok Choy Cookie is a light waffle cookie that is wrapped in a thin sheet of rice paper. It’s a very sweet candy-like treat and is extremely light. If you have a sweet tooth, you must try one. They are sold along the boardwalk in the Stanley District of the city.
	Stinky Tofu The most infamous Asian street food is probably one of the most delicious in Hong Kong. Known for its disguising smell, Stinky Tofu is simply a fried fermented piece of tofu. The smell is the result of the tofu’s fermentation process but don’t let that discourage you. It’s a delicious little snack and taste better than it smells. Stinky Tofu is sold in many locations, but I prefer the Stinky Tofu vendors in the Mong Kok district.
	Mini Egg Puffs Mini Egg Puffs are the most popular street food in all of Hong Kong and are enjoyed by millions of people. The puffs are made from sweet pancake batter and are cooked in a griddle iron much like a waffle. The tasty little puffs can be found on every major Hong Kong thoroughfare, but the best are sold by the vendor located on the corner of Hillwood Road and Nathan Road in the Tsim Sha Tsui district. You can’t miss it because there is always a crowd of hungry people waiting to order.

REVIEW: Storm Warriors 2

HONG KONG, December 19 – I know that the blog has been taken over by food posts recently, and I have not really blogged about pop culture. Fear not! In addition to eating my way through the streets of Southern China, I also watched a good deal of Hong Kong cinema.

As a pop-culture addict, I closely monitor local advertising in particular the giant billboards and posters. There were two movie posters that were plastered on every street corner in Hong Kong. The first one was James Cameron’s Avatar 3D movie, and the other was Storm Warriors 2.

Based on a Hong Kong manwha, Storm Warriors 2 is a highly styled film that uses a lot of CGI to enhance the elaborate action sequences. Some of the larger scale battles blatantly rip-off the 300 movie with high contrast cartoonish CGI-enhancements. The Pang Brothers, the directors, reportedly admitted to cribbing off of the Zack Synder film.


The story follows the basic Shonen Fighting format with the bad guy being nearly invincible and the good guys training to defeat him. It’s simple enough that you can sit back and enjoy the CGI-enhanced visuals without worrying about all of the plot holes. The pacing seems pretty decent and the dialogue is very simple. Overall, it’s a high energy PG-13 popcorn movie.

Having never read the manwha, the relationship between the two swordsmen, Wind and Cloud, seems eerily reminiscent of the relationship between Griffith and Guts from the Berserk manga series.

Related Links:

• The Storm Warriors - Wikipedia
• IMDb: Fung wan II (2009)