Announcing July's Food 'N Flix Selection: "Eat Drink Man Woman" (Kahakai Kitchen is Hosting!)

If you are a film fan, chances are you have seen an Ang Lee film at some point, regardless of your favorite movie genre, with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sense & Sensibility, Hulk, Brokeback Mountain, and Life of Pi being the best known. I was introduced to Ang Lee, when I first moved to Hawaii and the arthouse theater I frequented before it closed held a retrospective of his first three films--Pushing Hands, The Wedding Banquet, and Eat Drink Man Woman. I loved all three of these films--which are referred to as his "Father Knows Best Trilogy"--but it was Eat Drink Man Woman that I loved the most. I am very excited to be hosting July's Food 'N Flix film event and sharing this favorite film.

Released in 1994 and set in Taipei, Taiwan, it is the story of the Chu family--patriarch Mr. Chu, a widower and semi-retired Chinese Master Chef with three very different daughters. Each Sunday, Mr. Chu cooks them an elaborate dinner, where the food is shared along with whatever is happening with the family--and plenty of tension and humor caused by the growing transition of the old ways into new, and gender, cultural, and generational identity. Food. Love. Family. 

If you haven't seen the film, but the story sounds familiar, you may have watched Tortilla Soup (an early Food 'N Flix pick), that came out in 2001 and was based on Eat Drink Man Woman but was set in the Hispanic community of Los Angeles. Although Tortilla Soup is livelier and more accessible (the lack of having to read subtitles), ;-) causing me to watch it more often, there is a quiet charm to Eat Drink Man Woman that never fails to make me smile--not to mention the tables full of incredible and elaborate Chinese cuisine to drool over. 

I look forward to see what fabulous dishes that my Food 'N Flix friends make inspired by this foreign foodie film classic.

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Want to join in the Food 'N Flix fun?!

Here's how to participate:

• Watch the chosen film (Eat Drink Man Woman) Taking inspiration from the film, head into the kitchen and cook, bake or make a dish.

• Post about your creation on your blog with a link back to THIS post and a link to Food 'N Flix. (Use of the Food 'N Flix logo is optional.)

• Your post must be current (during the month of the film). And we don't mind if your post is linked to other events...the more the merrier.

• Have fun with it!

• Email your entries to me at Debinhawaii@gmail.com and include:
• Your name
• Your blog's name and URL
• The name of your dish and the permalink to the specific post you're submitting
• Attach a photo of any size (or tell me which one to "pull" from your post)
• Indicate "Food 'N Flix Submission" in the subject line of your email

Deadline for submission is Wednesday, July 29th

  (I'll be rounding up all of the Food 'N Flix entries here at Kahakai Kitchen very shortly after.)