Four Chinese New Year films were released in 1995. Among these was Steven Chow’s two-part A Chinese Odyssey, which received only a lukewarm response. In contrast, Tsui Hark’s The Chinese Feast achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success. In this film, Tsui cleverly transforms a cooking competition into a martial arts showdown, portraying the food industry as a world of rival wuxia sects. The plot comes to a boil when the arrogant supremo of 'Super Group' (Xiong Xinxin), who intends to bring all Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong under his control, issues a challenge to master chef Au (Law Kar Ying). To save his restaurant, Au accepts, but a heart attack makes it impossible for him to participate in the Manchu Han Imperial Feast culinary battle.

Au’s apprentice Sun (Leslie Cheung), who wants to emigrate to Canada, and Au’s daughter Ka Wai (Anita Yuen), who has been feigning madness to avoid inheriting the family business, step into the breach, but the pair is hopelessly out of their depth. They must convince the reclusive master chef Kit (Kenny Bee) to return and help. They quickly discover that alcoholic Kit will have to undergo a strict training regimen to recover his dulled culinary senses, however, and a series of comical exercises reminiscent of Kung Fu comedies ensues. As the culinary battle reaches its climax, the rival teams’ innovative methods for cooking bear’s paw, geoduck, and monkey’s brains bring numerous surprises. In Tsui Hark’s hands, a culinary contest becomes a suspense-filled, fantastical story, demonstrating the director’s boundless creativity and efficiency; even the formulaic New Year film proves no obstacle for him.

Tsui Hark (b. 1951, Vietnam) spent his early years in Vietnam before moving to Hong Kong, where he completed his high school education. He then moved to the United States where he graduated from the film programme at the University of Texas at Austin. After a short spell of work in the US, he returned to Hong Kong and became a director at TVB. Later, during a brief stint at Commercial Television, he directed The Gold Dagger Romance (1978). The Butterfly Murders (1979), Tsui’s feature film directorial debut, was hailed as one of the early examples of the Hong Kong New Wave. Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980) faced censorship from the colonial government for its uncompromising vision. Tsui would break ground with Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983) by introducing Hollywood special effects to the wuxia genre. For much of the 1980s, Tsui was one of the creative masterminds behind the hitmakers Cinema City.

In 1984, he and Nansun Shi founded Film Workshop, which launched with the critically acclaimed Shanghai Blues. Tsui and his company found much success in several popular long-running film series, including A Chinese Ghost Story (1987), The Swordsman (1990), and Once Upon a Time in China (1991). In a career spanning over four decades, Tsui has not stopped finding new ways to reinvent himself as a director, writer, and producer. His take on the wuxia genre has continued to evolve in The Blade (1995) and the Detective Dee series. His Chinese war epic, The Taking of Tiger Mountain (2014), impressed audiences in China and abroad for his creative storytelling and eye for spectacle.