Magic Kitchen (魔幻廚房)

Who will be the King Chef? We'll soon find out.

I can't handle this kind of contest.

Don't jump to conclusions yet.

If piracy existed in culinary arts,

I'd be your ultimate bootleg chef.

I'm the owner chef of a private kitchen.

Ho is my assistant.

Our business has been booming.

Here come the crabs. Enjoy.

But I don't really care for cooking.

I've been copying my mother's recipes.

She was the genuine culinary master.

Unfortunately, nobody knew about that.

Beef Noodle.

Soy Sauce Noodle.

She apprenticed in a big hotel's kitchen.

Took her ten years to become a "frier".

Sweet and Sour Pork.

Ming, you cook it.

Sexual discrimination limited her career.

She never got a promotion.

As a kid, I had two big questions.

First, there were only two of us at home.

Why did mom always cook so many dishes?

Yau.

This meal is for Elvis' memorial.

At 2:00 am Hong Kong time today,

US President Ronald Reagan,

having survived an assassination attempt,

is in a stable condition after surgery.

The White House denies the need for

Vice President to take over his duties.

Who should we thank for this meal, Yau?

President Reagan.

As a kid, having good food sure was fun.

But seeing mom weep in private,

out of exhaustion from cooking,

I felt very guilty.

Soon, I began to reject her cooking.

And became anorexic in the end.

UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher,

...met with Deng Xiaoping this morning,

to discuss the handover of Hong Kong.

She tripped outside the Great Hall of the People

when she left the meeting.

Hurray. Time for grocery shopping.

Oh my God.

Our family recipes have a new volume.

Why did dad run away before I was born?

Will he be back?

That was the second big question I had.

The fact that your father dumped us

was because of the curse.

Yes. Our family curse.

Your name is Yau Murong.

Murong is your mother's family name.

We were a prestigious family in Southern China.

Ju Murong, your granny's granny,

excelled in literary and martial arts.

She was the crown jewel of the family.

Mom said that Ju was a spoiled brat.

Auyoung was a master chef in town.

He was deeply in love with Ju.

Ju told Auyoung that she would marry him

if he passed over his cooking skills.

Using the Galactic Rotation Stance,

Ju sucked away Auyoung's culinary talents.

Auyoung lost his cooking skills for good.

Ju's righteous father was furious.

He kicked Ju out of the family.

He even hired a shaman to cast a spell.

So that Ju and her female offsprings

would all become chefs,

to pass on the Auyoungs' culinary arts.

Meanwhile, they would all be dumped by men

until the karma came full circle.

Your dad dumped me before your birth.

This is your dad.

My dad should look like Chow Yun-fat.

Not an ordinary old man.

I didn't ask about dad again.

My anorexia continued.

Then one day, mom cooked a simple meal.

It was the best meal of my life.

It was blissful and joyous.

Who were there at the table?

I can't remember a thing.

I studied fashion design.

Worked as a buyer in a department store.

Then the economic bubble bursted.

I hopped from one bad job to another.

Mom opened her restaurant 3 years ago.

But she passed away 6 months later.

I managed to take over.

Thanks to mom's secret cookbooks.

But it seems that

I'm destined to be a chef.

Thank you for the hard work.

So that's what the show is like.

Let me show your way out.

Sure.

Please thank Mr. Murata for inviting us.

As for the contest,

I have to think about it first.

I shall wait for your good news.

He says he'll wait for your good news.

Good. So long.

Good bye.

The show's famous. Even in the US.

You have to accept the invitation.

They announce the ingredients live.

No time to flip through the cookbooks.

I'd be caught totally off guard!

You can't depend on your mom's books

for the rest of your life.

It's time you found your own style

and became a genuine chef.

The show'd be the perfect opportunity.

Nah, our business is good.

No need to complicate things.

Stop it.

Gotta pretend I don't speak Japanese.

But you really don't speak Japanese.

Chun Yao?

Yau.

No wonder.

What do you mean by that?

You hit me from behind.

Mine's a rental car.

How're you gonna compensate?

Compensate?

Yeah.

I'll pay right now if you dare to ask.

- It's okay. - Yes.

Just a scratch. Insurance will cover.

A friend?

Sorry. Chun Yao.

Ho.

- Nice to meet you. - How's it going?

Do you have time for coffee?

Gotta take some friends to the airport.

I'll be busy tonight.

If the mechanic needs anything, call me.

- Okay. - I stay at Shimbashi.

Century Hotel, Room 2301. Call me anytime.

Anytime.

Okay.

Your ex?

How do you know?

It's all written on your face.

About time. Thought you'd stood us up.

Where's Ho?

Cruising the town on his own.

The flight is 6:30. Still have time for coffee.

Blue Mountain, please.

You and Ho will go to onsen tomorrow.

Things will happen when you're naked.

Just keep in mind,

your ass droops a bit these days.

Turn off the light before you undress.

Shut up. I'm not horny like you.

He's been working for me for 3 years now.

Never got a raise or bonus.

The trip's an incentive.

Thought you were here to keep me company.

Turned out to be a shopping trip for you!

Of course.

Show me what you got.

Kwai works in a talent management firm.

But dating is her true profession.

Even back in kindergarten,

she was already full of potential.

There was this boy in our class

who had a very bad habit.

He'd take out his thingy

and parade it around.

Quarry Bay.

But it didn't bother Kwai at all.

She told the boy,

"I'm bored.

Show me your thingy."

And they got caught.

Both got detention.

Thought I'd go sweep the outlets.

But May said it's too far away.

Too classy for her.

She didn't want to go.

May's a successful publicist.

Someone way too elegant to visit outlets.

Three years ago at the Mid-Autumn Festival,

some friends came to my restaurant for crabs.

Kwai brought May over and introduced us.

Wait. Let's eat first, shall we?

Alright, alright.

I first learned about...

...the sensuality of food that night.

If you ever want to have a food orgy,

I suggest having crabs with a bunch of friends.

With a crab in hand,

a bond was established between you and the crab.