Gilded Chopsticks

Gilded Chopsticks
Gilded Chopsticks promo poster
Genre	Historical fiction
Created by	Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited
Written by	Yeung Song Bo 楊松柏 Ho Sai-kit 何世傑 Wong Cheng-man 黃靜雯
Starring	Wong Cho-lam 王祖藍 Ben Wong 黃智賢 Joey Meng 萬綺雯 Nancy Wu 胡定欣 Louis Cheung 張繼聰
Opening theme	Loyal Subject 忠臣 by Wong Cho-lam 王祖藍 & Stephanie Ho 何雁詩
Ending theme	Tears of Departure 離人淚 by Louis Cheung 張繼聰
Country of origin	Hong Kong
Original language	Cantonese
No. of episodes	25
Production
Executive producer	Wong Wai-sing 黃偉聲
Production locations	Hong Kong, Zhejiang Province China
Camera setup	Multi camera
Running time	45 mins.
Production company	TVB
Original release
Network	Jade, HD Jade
Release	10 February (2014-02-10) – 14 March 2014 (2014-03-14)

Food for the Slaves
Traditional Chinese	食為奴
Simplified Chinese	食为奴
Literal meaning	Eat to be Enslaved
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin shí wèi nú Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization sihk waih lou/nou Jyutping sik6 wai4 lou4/nou4

Gilded Chopsticks (Traditional Chinese: 食為奴; literally "Eat to be Enslaved") (Chinese: 食為奴; pinyin: Sik Wai Lo) is an 2014 Hong Kong historical fiction television serial produced by TVB. Set during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, the fifth emperor of a Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, the serial follows the adventures of a lazy but gifted "golden-tongued" imperial chef Ko Tin-po (Wong Cho-lam), whose clumsy activities lead him to befriend Emperor Yongzheng (Ben Wong) during an imperial struggle for the Qing throne. The story is inspired by Jin Yong's wuxia novel, The Deer and the Cauldron.

Helmed by executive producer Wong Wai-sing, 25 episodes of the serial were be produced. Production began in Hong Kong in March 2013. The serial will also shoot on locations at Hengdian World Studios.

Synopsis

Ko Tin-po (Wong Cho Lam) has tasted many delicacies since he was young. He can easily distinguish between good and bad dishes. Unfortunately, his family’s financial woes have left him and his servant Lee Wai (Jack Wu) homeless. They resort to selling buns for a living. Consequently, they meet a street performer Kei Mo-suet(Joey Meng), the city’s most beautiful lady Nin Yeuk-bik Nancy Wu and a young chef Mai Siu-yu (Stephanie Ho). By chance, Tin-po also comes across the Fourth Imperial Prince Yinzhen played by Ben Wong), whom he instantly gets along with.

Tin-po is invited to be a chef in the palace, where he encounters his greatest rival Choi Hok-ting (Bob Lam). He is unexpectedly brought into the royal succession battle started by the eighth Imperial Prince Yinsi (Louis Cheung). Tin-po turns out to be Yinzhen's lucky star, helping Yinzhen defeat Yinsi time and time again. However, an accidental marriage contract quickly changes his circumstances...

Cast

Note: Some character names are in Cantonese romanisation.

Main characters

• Wong Cho-lam 王祖藍 as Ko Tin-po (高天寶) — Male age 26

Originally from a rich family but due to the government seizing all of his father's assets he has to resort to selling "salted fish" buns in his small rented restaurant. The Fourth Imperial Prince Yinzhen sorts him out because the Emperor Kangxi has a craving for his "salted fish" buns. He is later personally invited to be a chef in the Forbidden City by the Kangxi Emperor. Yinzhen is his ally, friend and protector at the palace when he is bullied by the head imperial chef Choi Hok-ting.

• Ben Wong 黃智賢 as Yinzhen, the Fourth Imperial Prince (四皇爺胤禛) — Male age 32

Officially Prince Yong of the First (雍親王), Emperor Kangxi's fourth son. Yinzhen later succeeds his father and becomes Emperor Yongzheng, but his right to the throne is tested. He's a kind hearted person who treats everyone fairly. He befriends Ko Tin-po when the Emperor Kangxi loses his appetite and seeks out food outside of the palace. He invites Tin-po to cook his "salted fish" buns at the imperial kitchen, who initially thought he was a imperial servant in the beginning. He has no means of wanting to succeed the emperor but is pitted against his 8th brother Yunsi when the crown prince position becomes available,

• Joey Meng 萬綺雯 as Kei Mo-suet (紀慕雪) — Female age 26

Ko Tin-po's friend. She performs martial arts in the streets with her mother to make a living. She also works at the Chinese medicine shop run by Wu Si-to. Yin-zhen has a crush on her but she likes the 8th prince Yin-si. She hates Manchurian people because she thinks they treat Han ethnic people unfairly.

• Nancy Wu 胡定欣 as Nin Yeuk-bik (年若碧) — Female age 24

Ko Tin-po's love interest. Tin-po falls in love with her at first sight when she offered him a bun thinking he was a homeless person. Pressured by her older brother Yeuk-bik to become an imperial concubine of Yinzhen. She has a strong interest in food. Originally interested in Mai Siu-yu when she thought she was a boy because only Siu-yu could name all the soups in a food contest she held.

• Louis Cheung 張繼聰 as Yunsi, the Eighth Imperial Prince (八皇爺胤禩) — Male

Officially Prince Lian of the First (廉親王), the younger half-brother of Yinzhen. Before Yin-zhen's coronation as Emperor Yongzheng, Yunsi was a serious contender for the throne. He and Yinzhen become heated rivals when the crown prince position is up for grabs. All of his and Yinzhen imperial brothers except the former crown prince 2nd brother Yinreng are on his side.

Supporting characters

Imperial household

• Elliot Ngok 岳華 as Emperor Kangxi (康熙帝) — Male

Emperor of China. Yinzhen and Yunsi's father. He is a good and fair emperor who wishes to treat the Manchus and Han equally and fairly during his rule. He is disappointed in all of his sons since they fight among each other for his favor and wanting to succeed him as the next emperor. He personally invites Tin-po to be a imperial chef at the palace when he admires his cooking skills.

• Rosanne Lui 呂珊 as Consort Tak (德妃) — Female

Yinzhen and Yinti's birth mother.

• Power Chan 陳國邦 as Yinreng, the Crown Prince (胤礽) — Male

Kangxi's second son and Yinzhen's older half-brother. Originally the crown prince but fell out of favor when he and other high ranking government officials robbed from an imperial gold delivery. Yinzhen is the only brother he trust as he is aware of all the other brothers are jealous of him and want the crown prince position for themselves.

• Derek Wong 黃建東 as Yin-tang, the Ninth Imperial Prince (九皇爺胤禟) - Male

Yinzhen's younger half brother. He is impulsive and vindictive. He hates Yinzhen because he thinks Yinzhen told the Emperor Kangxi about him borrowing imperial government money, when it was really Yinreng who told the Emperor.

• Matthew Ko 高鈞賢 as Yin-e, the Tenth Imperial Prince (十皇爺胤䄉) — Male

Yinzhen's younger half brother and one of the most vocal supporters of Yunsi.

• Owen Cheung 張振朗 as Yinti, the Fourteenth Imperial Prince (十四皇爺胤禵) — Male

Yinzhen's youngest brother. An imperial military general for the government. He is part of Yunsi's imperial prince cliche but tends to defend and warn his brother Yinzhen when the other imperial princes has plans against Yinzhen.

• Ricky Wong 王俊棠 as Sok Ngak-to (索額圖) - Male

Yinreng's maternal uncle. Imperial minster. Emperor Kangxi sends Yinzhen to dispose him for starting a rebellion against the government.

Imperial kitchen staff

• Stephanie Ho 何雁詩 as Mai Siu-yu (米小魚) — Female age 20

Runs a noodle shop next to Tin-po's shop. Originally hated Tin-po because his "salted fish" buns would stink up the entire street and cost her to lost customers at her shop. Disguised as a man to protect herself. Tin-po befriends her because of her amazing knife skills and ask her to be his shifu. Tin-po brings her along to the imperial palace when he becomes an imperial chef. Despite the apparent mentor-mentee relationship, the two would eventually begin a romantic relationship.

• Jack Wu 胡諾言 as Lei Wai (李衛) — Male age 26

Tin-po's loyal friend and servant. Helps Tin-po run his restaurant. Later goes to the palace with Tin-po when Tin-po becomes an imperial chef.

• Bob Lam 林盛斌 as Choi Hok-ting (蔡鶴庭) — Male age 30

Head imperial chef at the palace. Sent by the crown prince Yinreng to obtain the recipe for Tin-po's "salted fish" buns. Pretended to be a wood twig delivery man in order to gain access inside Tin-po's restaurant kitchen. Uses dirty tactics to cause the closure of Tin-po's restaurant because Tin-po refuses to tell or teach him his "salted fish" bun recipe. Later he and his chef gives Tin-po a hard time when Tin-po becomes an imperial chef.

• Vincent Cheung 張漢斌 as Tsang Shing (曾勝) - Male

Choi Hok-ting's assistant and trusted subordinate.

• Chun Wong 秦煌 as The Great Chef (米桂) - Male

Works as an assistant imperial chef at the palace.

• Eddie Ho 何偉業 as Siu Fuk-chi (小福子) - Male

Low ranking imperial cook and eunuch. Yinzhen orders him to be part of Tin-po's group.

• Jacky Cheng 鄭家俊 as Siu Luk-chi (小祿子) - Male

Low ranking imperial cook and eunuch. Yinzhen orders him to be part of Tin-po's group.

Imperial government staff

• Dickson Lee 李家聲 as Fung Ying (馮鷹) - Male

Yin-zhen's trusted subordinate and personal bodyguard.

• Jimmy Au 歐瑞偉 as Nin Kang-yiu (年羹堯) — Male

Yeuk-bik's older brother, a military commander. He gains Yinzhen's trust for his fairness and non-corrupt ways of dealing with government matters.

• Yu Tze-ming 余子明 as Lee Tak-chuen (李德全) - Male

Emperor Kang-xi's personal and trusted eunuch. Would later commit suicide after supporting Yunsi in his unsuccessful bid to become Emperor.

• Yu Yang 于洋 as Cheung Ting-yuk (張廷玉) - Male

Imperial government chancellor.

City folks

• Ram Chiang 蔣志光 as Wu Si-to (鄔思道) — Male

Tin-po's restaurant landlord. He runs his own Chinese medicine shop. He's a Chinese doctor and scholar. He's also Kei Mo-suet's mentor.

• Helen Ng 吳香倫 as Kei Chau-kuk (紀秋菊) - Female

Kei Mo-suet's mother. Assist Mo-suet in the streets when performing martial arts.

• May Chan 小寶 as Siu To (小桃) - Female

Nin Yeuk-bik's maid. Hates all foods that are stinky. Hates Tin-po because she thinks his "salted fish" buns stinks. Her name sounds the same as "small stomach" in Cantonese which is a parody of her physical appearance since she is a plump girl.

Cameo appearances

• King Kong 金剛 as Kazari Matsugorō (文松五郎) - Male

Japanese imperial chef who challenges a Chinese imperial chef to a fried rice challenge and wins. Finds Tin-po's "salted fish" buns very tasty and delicious but still insults Tin-po as a lower level cook then him.

• KK Cheung 張國強 as Chin Tak-choi (錢德才) - Male

Imperial government official who took part in Yin-reng government gold robbery. Yin-reng murders him via strangulation to dispose of any evidence linking him to the crime.

Production

Casting

A 60-second sales production trailer of Gilded Chopsticks, which was then known as Food for the Slaves, was first unveiled at TVB's Jade Drama segment at the Programme Presentation 2013 on 8 November 2012. The trailer starred Raymond Lam as Yongzheng, Ron Ng as the imperial chef, Fala Chen as Lu Siniang, Nancy Wu as her accomplice, Sharon Chan as Imperial Noble Consort Nian, and Susan Tse as Empress Dowager Renshou. Although the sales presentation cast was only signed on to film the trailer, Tommy Leung, director of TVB's dramatic production department, expressed that the characters in Gilded Chopsticks were written with the sales presentation cast in mind.

In early December 2012, Raymond Lam turned down his role, citing scheduling conflicts. Wong Wai-sing was subsequently announced to be the serial's executive producer days later.

Wong Cho-lam joined the cast in late December 2012. Following the announcement, both Ron Ng and Sharon Chan were reported to have turned down their roles due to a schedule clash. Fala Chen, burnt out from the long filming schedules of Will Power, did not want to pick up another project too quickly and turned down her role. Wong then offered Chen's role to Linda Chung, who turned it down as well. Wong finally settled down with casting Joey Meng as Lu Siniang. As both Meng and Wong Cho-lam were starring cast members in Wong's Inbound Troubles, Wong proceeded to bring the rest of the Inbound Troubles cast over to Gilded Chopsticks, which included Louis Cheung, Bob, and May Chan. Essentially, Roger Kwok was by default set to portray the role of Yongzheng, but as Kwok was booked to film Lee Yim-fong's new Qing Dynasty drama during the production period of Gilded Chopsticks, he had to turn down the role. In late January 2013, Ben Wong was announced to take the role of Yongzheng. In early February 2013, Nancy Wu was confirmed to star as Nian.

Filming

A costume fitting press conference was held on 26 January 2013. The serial began filming in Hong Kong's TVB Studios in early March 2013. Production will be relocated to Hengdian World Studios in later months.

Viewership ratings

Week	Episodes	Date	Average Points	Peaking Points
1	01－05	February 10-14, 2014	28	29
2	06－10	February 17-21, 2014	27	28
3	11－15	February 24-28, 2014	29	31
4	16－20	March 3-7, 2014	29
5	21－25	March 10-14, 2014

External links

• Official Website