Famous Singapore-born food critic and TV personality Chua Lam dies at 83

Straits Times

21 hours ago

Chua Lam was in Singapore in September 2023 when he attended the opening of Chua Lam's Charity Calligraphy Exhibition. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Renowned food critic and columnist Chua Lam, best known as one of the Four Great Talents of Hong Kong, has died at the age of 83.
His death was announced on his Facebook and Weibo pages on June 27 afternoon.
'Our beloved Mr Chua Lam passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones, at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital on June 25, ' said the announcement in Chinese.
'In accordance with Mr Chua's wishes, no ceremony was held to avoid troubling his friends and relatives, and his body has been cremated.'
The Singapore-born media personality was the brother of Madam Chua Liang, former principal of Nanyang Girls' High School, and former Singapore TV drama producer Chua Swan, who died in March at age 78.
Chua Lam was in the news in 2023 after he fell and suffered a hip fracture while rushing to help his wife when she fell. His spouse, former film producer Cheung King Man, died later at age 84. He went for an operation and had to use a wheelchair after he was discharged.
He was in Singapore in September 2023 to attend the opening of Chua Lam's Charity Calligraphy Exhibition held at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
In late April, there were rumours that he was in poor health and had been admitted to the intensive care unit in hospital. His assistant told the Hong Kong media then that he suffered a small ailment and was on the road to recovery.
Chua also took to social media on April 29, thanking everyone for their concern, and said he was not critically ill.
Multi-talented Chua was a writer, film producer, food connoisseur and TV programme host. He was also a member of the Four Great Talents of Hong Kong, who were known for their years of friendship and who all left their mark in their respective fields.
The other three members were legendary lyricist James Wong, who died in 2004 at age 63; martial arts novelist Louis Cha, who died in 2018 at age 94; and science-fiction novelist Ni Kuang, who died in 2022 at age 87 .
Chua published his first article in newspaper Nanyang Siang Pau at the age of 14. He moved to Japan to study, majoring in film, when he was about 18 . He then travelled to places such as New York, Seoul, Paris and Taipei before settling in Hong Kong at the age of 22 in 1963.
He became a production manager at movie studio Shaw Brothers and moved to Golden Harvest more than 10 years later. He produced several movies including City Hunter (1993), Thunderbolt (1995) and Mr Nice Guy (1997), which starred Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan.
Besides his film career, Chua was also actively involved in writing and hosting TV programmes. He was known as a food lover and food critic, whose food columns in newspapers proved popular with many readers.
He has published more than 200 books on topics such as travel , personalities, food, humour and his philosophy of life.
Chua caused a stir in 1989 when he co-hosted The Celebrity Talk Show with Wong and Ni Kuang. They smoked and drank on the set while grilling stars such as Chan, the late Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia and Cherie Chung on their private lives and their views on sex.
Chua ventured into the food industry in the 1990s, opening restaurants and launching food products. He also hosted several food programmes such as Market Trotter (2007) and Chua's Choice (2008).
Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.