Food For Life - Season 1

1x1 - Episode 1

August 1, 2005

YAU HOK LAI, DANIEL, the son of the owner of the well-known local restaurant Ho Ting Roast Geese, along with CHAN KA LOK, a chicken seller, and CHOW CHI YAN, a girl who works for her father’s transportation company, is admitted to the cooking competition ‘Yummy Yummy’ that is organized by a local TV station. Led by the PR Officer of the TV station, CHOW MAN HEI, MANDY, all entrants head for Singapore to compete with other contestants. Soon after his arrival, LOK becomes a good friend of the Singaporean representative TERRY NG. While playing ‘Truth or Dare’ with other contestants, TERRY is requested by LAI to tear down a road sign, about which he seems a little hesitant. The head of the Singaporean Team, who is nicknamed MONITOR, doesn’t want to lose face and makes TERRY go and steal the road sign at the designated place.… ...

1x2 - Episode 2

August 2, 2005

MONITOR and LAI are in competition with each other for the title of the team Captain. LOK makes a long distance call to his adoptive mother AU LAI YUNG. TERRY accidentally overhears their conversation, which reminds him of his angry mother. He misses his parents an awful lot and cannot help but sneak back to their food store to see how they are getting on. YAN is afraid that she will be the first to be screened out. HEI understands her worries and offers to take her out for a drink, hoping that this may help relieve her stress. LAI goes out for a walk, during which he has a row with a rich Singaporean girl YUKO. YUKO believes that LAI has scraped her car but LAI insists that he is innocent. In the confusion, LAI pushes YUKO into the sea. The competition starts – each team is required to go to the designated food store and enjoy the authentic Singaporean dishes with fifty dollars only.… ...

1x3 - Episode 3

August 3, 2005

It is later found out that the boss of Ching Kee, Uncle CHING, is MARY’s long-term nemeses, which explains why TERRY is so afraid to be confronted with him. The Blue Team has won the first round while the Orange and the Green Teams are heading for the final checkpoint. Knowing that their situation is getting worse, LOK figures out a way to make TERRY finish his job. The Yellow Team manages to reach the final checkpoint in the last minute and finally proceeds to the next round of competition. YUKO brings LAI home to see her father, during which he is forced to tell a series of lies. TERRY confides to LOK that he fears his mother MARY but respects her a great deal at the same time. YUKO gets seriously drunk. LAI has no choice but to bring her back to the guesthouse he is staying in. Having spotted the pair together in the guesthouse, HEI believes that LAI is going to sexually attack the girl.… ...

1x4 - Episode 4

August 4, 2005

YUKO urges LAI to go and meet her father again. LAI is so annoyed that he calls HEI for help. TERRY calls his father up asking for useful tips about cooking Hainanese Chicken Rice. CHING discovers this and is more assured that he is right not to teach TERRY and his team mates. LAI returns to Ching Kee after disappearing for a few hours. Thinking that he was skiving off, LOK gives LAI a terrible telling-off. LAI runs off after being shouted at. TERRY and YAN try to persuade him to go back but LAI refuses. LAI’s father YAU KWOK TUNG asks him about the progress of the competition. Not wanting to disappoint his father, LAI changes his mind. As the Yellow Team is about to be disqualified, LAI turns up suddenly and joins his team mates for the competition. The Yellow Team has secured entry to the semi-final and will have to return to Hong Kong for the next round of competition.… ...

1x5 - Episode 5

August 5, 2005

HEI is thrilled to get a long distance call from her boyfriend MARCO. There is a burn hole in YAN’s mattress, which makes her liable for compensation. Knowing that YAN is innocent, HEI tries her very best to intercede for her. LOK returns from Singapore and is warmly welcomed back by the people in his neighborhood. TERRY goes to find his girlfriend JANE in the red-light district but is caught in trouble. Luckily LAI and LOK come along in time to save him. LAI brings LOK and TERRY to his father’s restaurant, where he meets his eldest sister WAI SUM and gets slagged off for being too lazy and complacent. YAN’s father is in China waiting for kidney transplantation. YAN is so concerned about his father that she urges her mother WU YUK BING to pay him a visit. The Hong Kong leg of the competition begins and the eight entrants are required to finish the spicy noodles within twenty minutes.… ...

1x6 - Episode 6

August 8, 2005

Both MONITOR and LAI get through to the final. Among his father’s stuff, YAN finds a birth certificate of a baby girl called CHOW MAN HEI. In the meantime, HEI also comes to suspect that CHEONG is his biological father who dumped her and her mother when she was still a little girl. She goes to verify with YAN but YAN denies it. The final competition to be held in Zhuhai, China will last for three days and two nights, in which MONITOR and LAI will be working along with their former team mates. Both teams are required to catch as many chickens as possible in the first round. They will not be given any tools and the winners will be allowed to stay in a hut for the night. YAN spots a fishing net beside a river, which she would like to use as a tool to catch chickens. But in just a second or two, MONITOR comes along and grabs the net. In the confusion, TERRY and YAN lose their balance and fall into the river.… ...

1x7 - Episode 7

August 9, 2005

LAI has finally won this round. Thinking that HEI has seriously disrupted the filming, the TV producer orders her to leave immediately. HEI has no choice but to wave goodbye to LAI and his team mates. Then comes the highlight of the competition – each team is required to prepare three dishes with only a bag of salt, a knife and a box of matches. The judge, Master LAW, is really impressed by the dishes prepared by both teams and cannot really make up his mind until the final dishes are presented. LAI has lost the competition. His father gives him a few words of comfort and LAI is resolved to achieve something. HEI returns to her post but most of her work is not recognized. TERRY decides to stay in Hong Kong to look for his girlfriend JANE. ‘Yummy Yummy’ is re-shown on TV and has surprisingly caught the attention of LOK and his one-time team mates. LOK invites LAI and others to a gathering through SMS messaging.… ...

1x8 - Episode 8

August 10, 2005

LAI goes back to work at Ho Ting Roast Geese Restaurant. He is so generous that he has given out a great number of coupons, which annoys SUM to a great extent. SUM assigns him a routine counting job at the warehouse, which is quite an offence to the lad. Feeling so upset, LAI goes to confide in TERRY and LOK. LOK’s adoptive parents CHAN WAI and YUNG are not happy with TERRY for he has made no contribution to the family. LOK suggests TERRY help out at his parents’ chicken stall but TERRY ends up causing the couple a lot of trouble. Ho Ting is invited to participate in the filming of a TV program which promotes Hong Kong as a tourist destination, but SUM doesn’t welcome the idea and turns them down right away. HEI offers to go and talk to the management of Ho Ting, hoping that this will help maintain her status in the TV station. Not long after, LAI comes and asks HEI to do the filming, which gives her a great thrill.… ...

1x9 - Episode 9

August 11, 2005

LAI feels too ashamed to face his father. He claims that he is having a holiday in Macau but TUNG has soon found out that it is just a lie. SUM insists that LAI deserves some punishment but TUNG doesn’t take her advice and even lets him take charge of the newly bought food magazine, which irks SUM beyond measure. The TV producer refuses to compensate Ho Ting. HEI goes and asks her supervisor for an explanation but ends up being blamed for causing the trouble. HEI gets furious at the accusation and offers her resignation at once. Knowing that YAN’s staff have had repeated absences from work, LOK offers to help out without hesitation. YAN is so impressed with his thoughtfulness and begins to suspect that he is in love with her. YAN runs into LAI, during which she gives him a telling-off for causing HEI to lose her job. LAI, however, has got no clue what she is talking about.… ...

1x10 - Episode 10

August 12, 2005

HEI is heartbroken to find that MARCO has been cheating on her. She is so disappointed in this man and kicks him out of her home immediately. To make it up to HEI, LAI would like to hire her as the Deputy Chief Editor of the food magazine. HEI has declined the offer, though. TERRY catches sight of JANE in Central. Not wanting to miss a chance, he keeps wandering around Central hoping to see the girl again. Knowing that his parents are coming to Hong Kong, TERRY immediately asks LAI for a proper job and manages to book a deluxe suite in a prestigious hotel. In order to further convince MARY, TERRY decides to take his parents to the magazine’s office for a visit. A few days after his parents have flown back to Singapore, TERRY returns to the chicken stall to work. CHUN and MARY have not yet left Hong Kong. They follow TERRY to the chicken stall and find out that their son has told a pack of lies.… ...

1x11 - Episode 11

August 15, 2005

HEI finally accepts LAI’s offer and joins the magazine. HEI gets a call from her maid Aunt LUK saying that MARCO has had a car accident and is lying in the hospital. HEI is so worried about MARCO and hurries to the hospital right away. Once again MARCO makes a sincere apology to HEI and begs for forgiveness. HEI is so deeply moved and the lovers make up soon afterwards. TERRY asks for a job at LAI’s magazine, in the hope that this will give JANE a better impression of himself. LAI wants to introduce some changes to the editorial direction of the magazine, which is strongly opposed by HEI. Under the threat of bird flu, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has ordered WAI and YUNG to close their chicken stall, leaving the couple in genuine financial difficulty. But with the help of TERRY, they manage to sort out the problem. TERRY decides to move out of LOK’s home. YAN is surprised to know that HEI is reconciled with MARCO.… ...

1x13 - Episode 13

August 17, 2005

WAI is worried that his business will sooner or later be affected by bird flu. After serious consideration, he decides to close the chicken stall. LAI and YAN are happy to offer a job to LOK, but LOK turns them down respectively and instead decides to join a chicken farm as a worker. LAI suspects that HEI is going to see MARCO off at the airport. He goes to follow her but is discovered eventually. LOK finds it so hard to adapt to the new working environment. Thinking that there is no future at all for him to stay on the farm, he finally decides to return to the city centre and look for a new job. TERRY learns from a magazine that the dandy who went out with JANE has married another girl. He is so worried about JANE and has made her a comfort card, which brings a ray of sunshine to the girl. TERRY is so impressed by JANE’s reaction and becomes convinced that he and JANE will get back together someday.… ...

1x14 - Episode 14

August 18, 2005

HEI cannot really concentrate on her work after running into CHEONG. LAI has noted this, and to cheer her up, he has bought her a lot of nice food. CHEONG makes a call to YAN saying that he is all right. HEI, who is next to YAN, asks to say a few words to ‘Uncle CHOW’. Having heard HEI’s voice on the phone, CHEONG feels so pleased. LOK is offered a job by a noodle shop and is required to work in the kitchen. The head chef, SHING, doesn’t like LOK and keeps shouting at him. Feeling so frustrated, LOK decides to look for a new job and scans through the Classified Post during the break. The noodle chef, Master LO, thinks highly of LOK and cooks him a bowl of Dan Dan Noodles. SUM rebukes HEI for running an article which TUNG’s friends may find offensive. LAI tries to intercede for HEI and, in a fit of impulsiveness, he declares his love for HEI, which shocks everyone there to the core.… ...

1x15 - Episode 15

August 19, 2005

LAI and HEI’s colleagues start to gossip about them. Regardless of what they say, LAI is resolved to woo HEI, which makes HEI extremely embarrassed. Master LO offers to teach LOK how to make noodles. YAN blames Master LO for eating up the soup she prepares for LOK. Master LO sees through YAN but LOK insists that he only regards her as a good friend. HEI and LAI get trapped in the lift. LAI grabs this opportunity to express his love for HEI but HEI rejects him at once. TERRY has lent all his savings to JANE but not long after, he discovers that she has spent all the money on clothes. He is so disappointed in JANE and finally decides to give up on her. SHING makes up an excuse to dismiss LOK, which irks Master LO. Master LO can no longer put up with SHING and decides to resign right away. LAI is reluctant to see HEI after being rejected. He pretends to be sick so that he can skive from work.… ...

1x16 - Episode 16

August 22, 2005

LAI blames YUKO for being too nosy but YUKO claims that it is the best way to win HEI back. LAI starts to believe her. Knowing that MARCO is marrying, HEI gets so depressed. She and LOK, who is also depressed for some reason, go to the pub for a pint. She drinks herself into a stupor and refuses to go home. LOK has no choice but to bring her back to his home. YAN is surprised to learn that LOK has given up his dream as a noodle chef just for the sake of money. To realize his dream, she tries to borrow money from LAI so that she can set up a noodle shop and hire LOK as the chef. As a friend of LOK, LAI agrees to the request. LOK learns from Master LO that the owner of a new noodle shop is going to employ him. He is so happy that he tells YAN the good news at once. YUKO reveals to LAI that HEI has stated clearly that she will never accept his love.… ...

1x17 - Episode 17

August 23, 2005

LAI has lost a great number of clients within a short period. He tries his best to attract clients to his magazine but in vain. CHEONG who is recovering from the kidney transplant operation returns to Hong Kong for a good rest. YAN brings HEI to a photo studio, where they took their family photos together. She hopes this will help HEI recall her childhood memories and in turn patch up her relationship with CHEONG. HEI gets so upset as soon as she spots a photo of CHEONG holding a baby girl. WAI suspects that PO is going out with someone. Being worried that PO will get cheated, he decides to follow her around and see what is going on. PO and the guy have disappeared in Kowloon Tong where a lot of love hotels can be found. This makes WAI extremely angry and worried. When PO returns home, WAI immediately questions her about her boyfriend. With nothing to hide, PO honestly reveals that she has been dating TERRY.… ...

1x18 - Episode 18

August 24, 2005

LAI who is in no mood for work has entrusted his business to his third sister WAI LAN. YAN’s staff CHOY has lost over ,000 worth of goods. YAN plans to borrow money from a lending institution so that she can compensate the client. Knowing that YAN is in great financial difficulty, HEI offers to lend her money. YAN is deeply moved but regrets having lied about her true identity. SUM comes to the magazine’s office asking to see LAI. She claims that the magazine will be taken over by Ho Ting unless LAI can show up at once. In the meantime, HEI, LOK, TERRY and YAN have respectively received an SMS from LAI. LAI’s message is so strange that everyone is worried he is going to take his life. TERRY finds some information about rock climbing at Tung Lung Island. Believing that it has something to do with LAI’s disappearance, everyone hurries to Tung Lung Island to have a look. LAI gets hurt while rock climbing.… ...

1x19 - Episode 19

August 25, 2005

Knowing that TERRY and PO have gone to Kowloon Tong again, WAI gets so angry and beats TERRY up in the street. Just minutes later, WAI comes to realize that it is a misunderstanding and that the pair have gone to Kowloon Tong for voluntary work only. LAI is reluctant to rely on his father and decides to find a job himself. But no matter how hard he tries, he doesn’t succeed. YUKO follows him wherever he goes, which is a great nuisance to LAI. LAI gets so annoyed with YUKO and asks her to leave him alone. SUM takes over the magazine and dismisses TERRY right away. Without a hawker license, TERRY and LOK go to sell noodles in the street. Having been harassed by the local gangsters all over again, they have no choice but to move to the backstreet. LAI sympathizes with them, and to help them out, he asks his staff to come and have an interview with them. With the increased publicity, LOK and TERRY have won more and more business.… ...

1x20 - Episode 20

August 26, 2005

The TV station discovers that MONITOR has bribed a member of their staff. For this reason, MONITOR has been deprived of the championship and the award will be given to LAI instead. LAI is awarded a shop and he decides to share the honor with LOK, YAN and TERRY. He plans to run a restaurant together with his best friends. YAN gets drunk and in a state of stupor, she reveals that she has met his dream man. After she wakes up, HEI, being so curious, asks her who has stolen her heart. YAN who is deeply in love with LOK dare not reveal the truth. She ends up telling a lie by making up a figure called KWONG. SUM has cancelled HEI’s column and transferred her to the Complaints Section. Feeling so frustrated, HEI offers her resignation. LOK gives her a few words of comfort and encourages her to concentrate on looking after their new shop.… ...

1x21 - Episode 21

August 29, 2005

HEI is reluctant to work with YAN. Having handed over her duties to LOK and LAI, she leaves Just Noodle at once. LOK tries but fails to make HEI change her mind. WAI runs into PO and TERRY who are going to see a gynecologist. He suspects that TERRY has made PO pregnant. In an attempt to intercede for YAN, CHEONG goes to see HEI after being discharged from hospital. He asks HEI for her forgiveness but is rejected. HEI not only tells CHEONG off for causing her mother’s death but also blames herself for lending all her mother’s money to her greatest foe. Having heard HEI’s words, CHEONG feels so ashamed and is left with nothing to say. CHEONG gets knocked down by a car outside the building in which HEI lives. He is seriously injured and falls into a coma. YAN learns from the driver that CHEONG ran out into the road intentionally as if he was going to kill himself. LOK brings HEI to see CHEONG.… ...

1x22 - Episode 22

August 30, 2005

YAN happens to discover that LOK has been in love with HEI. Despite her secret admiration for LOK, YAN encourages him to woo HEI. PO overhears TERRY’s phone conversation with JANE. She gets so jealous and asks to break up with him. WAI is afraid that PO will become an unmarried mother, and for her own sake, he suggests PO and TERRY should tie the knot as soon as possible. PO and TERRY, however, are absolutely clueless about what he means. TERRY has been volunteering for an elderly centre. LAI promises to let the elderly come and try the noodles at Just Noodle. LAI later discovers that the TV crew will come on the same day for the filming. Not wanting to miss this great opportunity to promote Just Noodle, LAI has finally turned down the elderly centre. LOK is not happy with LAI, and to express his anger, he decides to go on strike. HEI has come up with a way to solve the problem while LOK and LAI have made up with each other.… ...

1x23 - Episode 23

August 31, 2005

LOK brings HEI home to meet his parents. WAI who is thrilled to bits suggests LOK should marry HEI as soon as possible. To better prepare for her exam, PO makes a pack with TERRY to stop dating tentatively. Despite his promise, TERRY sneaks to the main gate of PO’s university to shoot a glance at her. YAN moonlights at a convenience store every night after work so that she can repay the loan to HEI without further delay. LOK gives YAN a call telling her that he has been going out with HEI. YAN gets so upset and asks to end the call. In order to ease YAN’s financial burden, CHEONG accepts a job as a caretaker. But much to his surprise, his place of work is just next to the building where HEI lives. As he is about to leave, he runs into HEI. Believing that CHEONG has come to hassle her, HEI gives him a telling-off and manages to drive him off. LOK points out that HEI should not keep on complaining about everything.… ...

1x24 - Episode 24

September 1, 2005

TERRY offers to help with food delivery but ends up going to the wrong place. Having waited too long, the customer has cancelled the order and makes a complaint to LAI. LAI blames TERRY for causing the trouble while TERRY is enraged by his attitude. The two of them have not spoken to each other ever since then. LAI has a talk with YUKO via video conference, during which he discovers that she has got a Caucasian boyfriend already. This has upset him a bit. LAI finally makes up with TERRY. The lads have been looking forward to the reconciliation between HEI and YAN. LAI invites YAN to TERRY’s home to discuss the development of Just Noodle. Knowing that YAN is coming too, HEI loses her temper and stomps out of TERRY’s home right away. LOK tries to stop her but HEI doesn’t listen to him. LOK finds it so hard to communicate with her and suggests they should separate for a while. Their conversation is overheard by YAN who has just arrived.… ...

1x25 - Episode 25

September 2, 2005

Knowing that it is WAN who has offered the choice seafood, WAI flies into a rage and gives her a terrible dressing-down. WAN falls over when she is leaving. LOK hurries to the hospital to visit WAN, during which he reveals that he has already forgiven her. HEI has witnessed the whole scene. Having been inspired by LOK and WAN, HEI decides to forgive YAN. LOK has made up with WAN, which infuriates WAI. WAI does not feel comfortable until LOK assures him that there will not be anyone who can replace him and YUNG. CHUN calls TERRY revealing that MARY is having an affair with a man. He asks TERRY to come back to Singapore as soon as he can. TERRY goes to have a talk with PO but is surprised to see her hanging out with a male classmate. He asks PO for an explanation but PO, as a result of not being trusted, asks to break up with him. Some customers become ill and need to be sent to hospital after eating at Just Noodle.… ...

1x26 - Episode 26

September 5, 2005

Knowing that Just Noodle has been caught in trouble, SUM and LAN offer to help LAI with whatever he needs. LAI expresses his thanks to his sisters but is reluctant to accept their help. LOK calls WAN ‘Mother’, which gives her a great thrill. WAN is going back to Canada. Before she goes, she makes a call to YUNG thanking her and WAI for all they have done for LOK. LAI and LOK manage to give Just Noodle a good clean-up. Despite their efforts, the Government prompts them to close the shop. Being left with no alternatives at all, they have finally reached the decision to close Just Noodle. MARY suffers a severe bout of bellyache, making her believe that she is going to die very soon. On her way to the hospital, she has a heart-to-heart talk with TERRY. Not wanting to disappoint her, TERRY promises to try his best to get into university, which gives her a great sense of relief.… ...

1x27 - Episode 27

September 6, 2005

To test their sincerity, TERRY needs LAI and LOK to take part in a 42-km marathon. TERRY is surprised to see LOK and LAI on TV, both of whom are running in the marathon. Despite MARY’s objection, TERRY hurries to the spot to cheer them on. But LOK and LAI have got sick midway through the race and been sent to the hospital for treatment. TERRY then makes his way to the hospital to see how they are getting on. YAN gives HEI a beautiful and expensive watch as her birthday present. Later HEI finds out that the watch is bought by CHEONG. She calls him to say ‘thank you’, during which she even promises to dine with him at his home. HEI gets so upset when she notices how deeply in love her father is with BING. HEI goes to visit the tomb of her late mother, where she sees BING. BING recalls how she fell in love with CHEONG.… ...

1x28 - Episode 28

September 7, 2005

TERRY, LOK and LAI plan to set up a restaurant in Hong Kong. They would like to introduce Singaporean food into Hong Kong and are busy doing research. TERRY seems to have got the examination out of his head, which infuriates MARY no end. MARY is so angry that she falls down in a faint. To make it up to her, TERRY is resolved to get into university. HEI and YAN are flying to Singapore to join LOK and LAI. HEI leaves her cat with CHEONG before she goes. The cat pees on YAN’s bed. While trying to clean the mattress, HEI happens to discover that YAN has kept a detailed record of how she spent her days with LOK. LAI is shocked to see YUKO hanging out with a lesbian. All of a sudden, he manages to drive the lesbian away. Having noticed how LAI has reacted, LOK points out that he is just being jealous. A customer complains about MARY’s Hainanese Chicken Rice and TERRY immediately comes to have a debate with him.… ...

1x29 - Episode 29

September 8, 2005

LAI and his mates, who are divided into two groups, carry on with their research so that they can learn more about Singaporean cuisine. HEI has been trying to avoid LOK and even refuses to be his group mate. LAI has a strong sense of inferiority when he knows that YUKO’s new boyfriend is a young tycoon who built his business from nothing. LAI cooks a meal for YUKO, during which YUKO asks him if he has fallen in love with her. She reveals to LAI that BEN is just her cousin and the two of them have finally become lovers. LOK doesn’t know how to patch up his relationship with HEI. He wants to make a confession to her and needs to get some practice with YAN beforehand. YAN feels deeply touched when she hears LOK’s confession. HEI asks to break up with LOK, leaving him in a bit of a hole. HEI wants to go back to Hong Kong but is stopped by YAN. YAN goes on to reveal that LOK is going to buy her a beautiful necklace.… ...

1x30 - Episode 30

September 9, 2005

After having spent a whole night waiting for HEI, LOK comes to know that she has returned to Hong Kong already. He is extremely disappointed and throws the necklace away. LAI points out that YAN’s dream man ‘KWONG’ is actually LOK, but LOK has raised doubts about that. YAN stays up late to look for the necklace that LOK has thrown away. LOK is deeply touched when he sees the necklace again. As a token of thanks, he gives the necklace to YAN. As there is something wrong with the contract, LOK and YAN have to stay in Singapore for one more week. LAI brings YUKO to see his family. SUM remembers that YUKO is the one who has left the magazine’s office in a mess. She slags the girl off, making her incredibly embarrassed. Feeling insulted, YUKO can longer keep her temper and finally shouts at LAI with anger. HEI gives YAN a call, during which YAN reveals that she is going out with LOK. The news upsets HEI greatly.… ...

Episode 12

Food For Life - S1 - E12