SYNOPSIS

Hainan (HI-Nahn) Chicken Rice: one of the staples of Singaporean cuisine, a Chinese risotto sizzled in a pan and simmered in chicken stock, glistening with chicken essence and fragrant with ginger, every grain plump and separate yet chewy and bursting with juice. .

Singapore is a place where East meets West, and the new meets the old. In all the inconsistencies of this culture, one thing cuts through all barriers: Food. Hainan Chicken Rice is the food of choice.

After being abandoned by her husband sixteen years earlier, Jen (Sylvia Chang; "Eat Drink Man Woman," "The Red Violin." Best Actress, Hong Kong Film Awards 2002 - "Forever and Ever"), raised her three sons alone. She uses her mother's secret Hainan Chicken Rice recipe and opened a restaurant to support the family.

Her two older sons, Daniel and Harry are gay, which leaves her with Leo, the youngest son who's a teenage model student and a good cyclist. A woman with traditional values, Jen is fretful that she would have no grandchildren, if Leo, too, turns out to be gay.

Together she and best friend, Kim Chui (Martin Yan; famous Chinese cuisine TV Chef "Yan Can Cook") device a plan to keep Leo straight by bringing in a French exchange student to live with them. She is Leo's age and her name is Sabine.

Sabine enters their lives like a breath of fresh air. Her motto is "life first, things second." Leo develops a strange but intriguing relationship with her, which greatly pleases Jen.

However, things begin to crumble for her again when Kim Chui becomes "the toast of the town" with his invention of a new dish deeply challenging her Chicken Rice. Kim Chui becomes a national celebrity overnight, and Jen's self-esteem is threatened.

Finally, their conflicts come to a head when Jen participates in a cooking contest with Kim Chui and other chefs from Singapore. Food unexpectedly becomes a medium that not only nourishes their bodies but also opens their hearts...

JCE MOVIES LTD AND ARCLIGHT FILMS

PRESENT IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE SINGAPORE FILM COMMISSION

A KENBIROLI FILMS & GROUND GLASS IMAGES

PRODUCTION A KENNETH BI FILM

RICE RHAPSODY
SYLVIA CHANG , MARTIN YAN , MELANIE LAURENT , TAN LEPHAM

SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY
MAGGIE Q

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
ANASTASIA LING

COSTUME DESIGNER
ELISA LAM

PRODUCTION DESIGNER
ANDY HENG

EDITOR
ROB TINWORTH

CO-PRODUCER
DUNCAN JEPSON

MUSIC COMPOSED BY
MASAHIRO KAWASAKI

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
LAM WAH CHUEN

HKSC PRODUCTION CONSULTANT
SYLVIA CHANG

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
JACKIE CHAN , ALBERT YEUNG , WILLIE CHAN , SOLON SO , GARY HAMILTON , ROSA LI ,
DUNCAN JEPSON , CHUI-INN LEE

PRODUCED BY
ROSA LI

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY
KENNETH BI