May Food Keep Us Together (Chinese: 飲食男女) is a television documentary series on food and people in Hong Kong. The first season contains 52 self-contained episodes, each of which tells the story of a restaurant or eatery.

May Food Keep Us Together
飲食男女
GenreDocumentary
Created byPeoples Production
Country of originHong Kong
Original languagesCantonese & Mandarin
with Chinese or English subtitles
No. of seasons2 (Season 2 in production)
No. of episodes52 (Season 1, 2011–2012)
Production
Production locationsHong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan
Camera setupCanon EOS 5D Mark II
SLR cameras
Running time24 minutes
Production companyPeoples Production
Original release
NetworkNext TV, Taiwan
Release4 June 2011 (2011-06-04)

Synopsis

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May food Keep Us Together is a documentary series that captures the lives of ordinary people who cook and serve food as a profession in Hong Kong. There is no celebrity chefs, presenters or voice-over in the series. Through their own voices and accounts, every episode tells a story of these men and women within and beyond the walls of the kitchen.[1]

Apart from telling the human story of these food heroes, the series is also a collection of Hong Kong cuisine. The distinct food culture of Hong Kong is illustrated in the programs.(e.g. Dai Pai Dong, eating dim sum as breakfast, dining together as the ties of family, etc.).

Production Team

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May food Keep Us Together is a production of Peoples Production Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Next Media Limited.

Episodes

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There are a total of 52 half-hour (24 minutes) episodes in the first season. The following table summarises the cuisines featured.

Season 1

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Episodes Titles (original titles in Chinese) Featured cuisine / food
1 Tango with Snakes (與蛇共舞) Snake soup and snake feast
2 Al Fresco Dining, Hong Kong-style (食在路邊) Hong Kong styled seafood
3 Boiling Water Hot Tea (水滾茶靚) Yum Cha / Dim Sum
4 The Coffee Man (咖啡人生) Coffee
5 The Dim Sum Masters (叄去壹) Yum Cha / Dim Sum
6 Sweet Troubles (老實糖水) Sweet soup
7 More than Enough (盆滿缽滿) Pooh Choi / Big Bowl Feast
8 There's No Place like Home (回家百利好) Cha Chaan Teng / Hong Kong-style Teahouse
9 Kung Fu Kitchen (百轉紅廚房) Chinese home cuisine
10 No Door to be Closed (麵店不關門) Cantonese styled noodles
11 Roast Goose on Fire (火鳳凰) Roast Goose
12 Call me Mr. To-fu (豆腐佬係我) To-fu
13 Love Spins on Beef Offal (牛雜大佬) Beef offal and brisket noodles
14 Mooncakes for All (大同人月圓) Mooncakes
15 Five-storied Roast Belly Pork (炭燒五層樓) Siu yuk / Roast Pig
16 Inside Mr. Bii's Dumplings (老畢的故事) Shandong Dumpling / Jiaozi
17 Farewell, Dream Team (拍檔再見) Teochew Cuisine
18 Buns Let Us Live in Peace (總會平安) Traditional Ping on Buns
19 Chicken Intestines for the Soul (緣繫蘭香) Beef Omasum and Chicken intestine noodles
20 Swiss-sweet Chicken Wings (黑色幽默) Soy-sauce Western
21 A Time to Cook (造麵有時) Taiwan beef noodles
22 Father and Son on a Bamboo Ride (剛柔竹昇麵) Jook-sing noodles
23 The Vietnamese Way to Feel Full (越南式溫飽與幸福) Vietnamese cuisine
24 When Times Taste Bittersweet (奶茶回甘時) Hong Kong-style milk tea
25 Old flavours, New Times (回鍋懷舊菜) Traditional Chinese cuisine
26 Hot Pot Rock'n Roll (滾滾樂手) Hong Kong styled hotpot
27 What Makes Us A Couple (無冤不成夫妻檔) Dai Pai Dong
28 The Tie of a Teochew Family (情暖潮州冷) Teochew cuisine
29 Jamming Tears and Smiles (Jam出百味人生) Handmade jam
30 The Banquet Must Go On (不散筵席) Banquet catering
31 Going with the Ebb and Flow (順流逆流) Typhoon shelter styled seafood
32 Growing Old with Chinese Pastries (夕陽餅香) Traditional Chinese Pastries
33 Happy Chef, Happy Restaurant (法式開心大廚) French Cuisine
34 The Grassland Seahopper (塔門遊子) Congee and seafood
35 Making Sushi, Making Friends (和味・喜八) Japanese Cuisine
36 Brothers and Bothers (難為車仔麵) Cart noodle
37 Little Egg Tarts Made by My Great Parents (小城蛋撻) Egg tarts
38 Off the Stage, On the Pan (後生仔煎包) Shanghai-styled meat bun
39 Fish Balls on the Road (手打魚蛋腳踏車) Fish balls
40 Congees for Three (食粥三代) Cantonese styled congee 
41 The Women in Our Family (廚房半邊天) Seafood and Hong Kong stir-fry
42 The Pride of a Hangzhou Cook (味出杭州) Hangzhou cuisine
43 A Colorful Organic Taste (種出美味色彩) Organic vegetable
44 French Chef in a Chinese Village (法國大廚回小鄉) French home cuisine
45 Last Stall Standing (圍村街坊味) Dai Pai Dong
46 The Burnings of Brotherhood (兄弟不怕洪爐火) Steak
47 The Chef with the Dragon Tattoo (左青龍 右大廚) Hong Kong stir-fry
48 Nyonya Mother Cooks Best (家香娘惹菜) Nyonya Cuisine
49 Best Before (此日期前最佳) Yunnan wild mushroom
50 My Grandma from Thailand (泰菜傳香) Thai cuisine
51 Fresh Chef, Fresh Seafood (流浮海上鮮) Seafood
52 Bugs and Noodles, Yunnan Delicacies (情牽米線) Yunnan cuisine

Awards and nominations

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  • 17th Asian Television Awards 2012, Singapore[2]
Winner (Best Infotainment Program)
Finalist (Best Infotainment Program)
  • 48th Chicago Intercom Competition 2012[3]
Gold Plaque (Community Relations / Development)
Silver Plaque (Human Relations / Social Issues)
  • 2012 Accolade Competition, USA[4]
The Best of Show Award
The Award of Merit
  • 33rd Annual Telly Awards 2012[5]
Bronze Award (Documentary)
Bronze Award (Cultural)
  • 47th Chicago Intercom Competition 2011[6]
Gold Plaque (Community Relations / Development)
Silver Plaque (Human Relations / Social Issues)
Silver Plaque (Arts / Culture)
  • 16th Asian Television Awards 2011, Singapore
Finalist (Best Infotainment Program)

Broadcasting

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May Food Keep Us Together was premiered on Next TV in Taiwan on 4 June 2011. Subsequently, the series has been broadcast in San Francisco, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.

Territories Network/Channel Premiere date Timeslot
Taiwan Next TV (Variety) 4 Jun 2011 1100 and 1500 on Sat (Re-run)
San Francisco KTSF 26 29 Oct 2011 1730 on Sat
Hong Kong TVB HD Jade
TVB J2
19 Feb 2012
29 May 2012
1755 on Sun
2130 on Tue[7]
Singapore Mio TV (Jia Le) 5 Sep 2012 1830 on Wed
Malaysia Astro (Quan Jia HD) 21 Oct 2012 1830 on Sun

References

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  1. ^ "17th Asian Television Awards". Television Asia Plus. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  2. ^ "Asian Television Awards 2012 Winner List". Asian Television Awards. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  3. ^ "2012 INTERCOM Award Winners". The Chicago International Film Festival. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Accolade Competition 2012, Best of Show Winners" (PDF). Accolade Competition. Retrieved 13 January 2013.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "33rd Annual Telly Awards, 2012, Film/Video Bronze Winners". Telly Awards. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  6. ^ "2011 INTERCOM Award Winners". The Chicago International Film Festival. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  7. ^ "飲食男女". tvb.com. Retrieved 14 January 2013. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
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