Latest news with #TheDumplingQueen
The Star
24-06-2025
- General
- The Star
Heart And Soul: More than a mother
She has been both mother and father to us. Without her sacrifices, my siblings and I wouldn't be who we are today. — This visual is human-created, AI-aided. Do you have any real-life, heart-warming stories to share with readers? We'd love to hear from you. Please keep your story within 900 words. Photos are optional and should be in JPEG format (file size about 1MB, with caption and photo credit). There is no payment for stories, and we reserve the right to edit all submissions. Email your story to: heartandsoul@ with the subject "Heart and Soul". A new Chinese film, The Dumpling Queen , tells the true story of Zang Jianhe – a single mother abandoned by her husband who rose from selling dumplings on the street to founding Hong Kong's renowned Wanchai Ferry food brand. Many admire her perseverance, but what strikes me most is her struggle as both mother and breadwinner. Her sacrifices before success deeply resonate with me – my own mother is a single parent too. My father died when I was three and my brother two. Once a full-time housewife, she became the sole provider for five – including her elderly in-laws – after his passing. Like Zang Jianhe, my mother had no formal qualifications – she left school after Form Three. Fortunately, her elder brother offered her a job, but the pay barely covered the essentials: bills, food, and school fees for her children. Though uneducated, she valued learning – determined to lift us out of hardship. She paid for private tuition and worked mornings at a wet market to earn extra. Her generous friend often gave her free vegetables, helping her save more. Raised in a moderately wealthy family, she rarely sought their help – choosing instead to live frugally. She seldom bought clothes for herself, focusing only on necessities. When I was in Form Four, we moved to another town in the same district. Her job with her elder brother was ending, but she was lucky again – a relative offered to co-run a snack wholesale business. The early months were tough – sales were low, and we couldn't afford help, so I stepped in to assist. I remember once helping my mother at the shop when several police officers arrived – someone had reported us for selling firecrackers. They searched the place thoroughly but found only 'pop pops', a legal children's novelty. Still, they insisted on taking one of us to the station for questioning. They first chose me, but my mother strongly objected – I was just a student, and she feared a police record would ruin my future. She volunteered to go instead. Though initially resistant, she was eventually handcuffed and taken away. Thankfully, with help from relatives, she was released that night. A scene in The Dumpling Queen brought it all back – Zang detained for selling dumplings illegally, pleading with police to release her innocent daughters. It struck a deep chord. Like Zang, my mother has always shielded us – selflessly and fiercely, like a hen guarding her chicks. She has been both mother and father to us. Without her sacrifices, my siblings and I wouldn't be who we are today.
HKFP
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- HKFP
Sales for Hong Kong's Cinema Day begin with tickets priced at HK$30
Sales for Hong Kong's annual Cinema Day have begun, with tickets at theatres across the city up for grabs for HK$30. Organised by the Hong Kong Theatres Association, Cinema Day will take place on Saturday. Ticketing started at the box offices and online at noon on Wednesday. By 5pm, tickets were still readily available at most theatres, according to the ticketing websites of major cinema chains MCL, Emperor Cinemas, and Broadway Circuit. There was also no wait time to access the websites by late Wednesday afternoon, although there was a brief five-minute queue when an HKFP reporter visited the MCL and Emperor Cinemas websites at around 2pm. The movies that appeared most in demand included local dramas The Dumpling Queen and Vital Signs, Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts*, and an extended cut of The Last Dance, a homegrown melodrama released last year that became the city's highest-grossing domestic film. All tickets will be HK$30 on Saturday, except for morning shows for senior citizens, for which the price falls below HK$30. Saturday will be the city's third Cinema Day. The event was first introduced in 2023 as part of the government's 'Happy Hong Kong' campaign, meant to boost consumption and the economy amid the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Hong Kong Theatres Association, the last two Cinema Days broke records for the highest single-day attendance figures. Hong Kong's cinema scene has taken a hit since Covid-19, when restrictions ordered the closure of theatres for months at a time. Multiple cinemas, as well as major theatre chain UA Cinemas, have since closed. Last year, nine local cinemas shut as overall box office receipts in Hong Kong marked the weakest performance since 2011, according to figures compiled by Hong Kong Box Office Limited. Most recently, Newport Theatre in Mong Kok and President Theatre in Causeway Bay – both operated by Newport Circuit – closed in April. The closures left Hyland Theatre in Tuen Mun as the company's last cinema.
Times
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Kapow! China turns its back on Marvel movies
Among its retaliatory strikes for President Trump's tariff war, Beijing targeted Hollywood movies, threatening to deny them Chinese ticket sales. It may not need to. Initial figures for the latest Marvel superhero film, Thunderbolts* — the first Hollywood blockbuster to premiere in China since Trump's 'liberation day', when his tariffs were announced — suggest local audiences will not need anything as official as a ban to stay away. Opening on Wednesday, it took just 18 million yuan (£1.9 million), well behind The Dumpling Queen, a Chinese-language rags-to-riches biopic about a Hong Kong fast-food magnate that arrived in cinemas the same night. It was the lowest opening figure for a Marvel film in China for more than a decade. By Thursday, a May Day public
RTHK
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTHK
Hong Kong films reign during May Day break in China
Hong Kong films reign during May Day break in China 'The Dumpling Queen' is projected to finish with earnings of around 387 million yuan. Photo: courtesy of Mandarin Motion Pictures China's May Day holiday box office revenue, including presales, has surpassed 400 million yuan as of Saturday morning, according to film data platform Maoyan, with Andrew Lau's "The Dumpling Queen" topping the chart. The five-day holiday, running from May 1 to 5, is being led by the fact-based drama starring popular comedienne Ma Li. The film traces the journey of a Hong Kong street food vendor who becomes the founder of a household frozen food brand. "The Dumpling Queen" has already grossed around 100 million yuan, and is projected to finish with earnings of approximately 387 million yuan in the mainland, according to Maoyan forecasts. Second spot was filled by "A Gilded Game," a financial crime thriller from prolific Hong Kong director Herman Yau – starring Andy Lau and Oho Ou. Centered on high-stakes fraud and market manipulation, the film has taken in roughly 70 million yuan so far. Completing the top three on Saturday morning was Studio Ghibli's "Princess Mononoke," marking its first-ever theatrical release in the Chinese mainland. Originally released in Japan in 1997, this environmental epic is widely regarded as Hayao Miyazaki's breakout international hit. While 2025 May Day box office growth is lagging behind the same period of the past two years, its diverse lineup has drawn varied audiences. (Xinhua)
South China Morning Post
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
The Dumpling Queen movie review: Andrew Lau depicts founding of a Hong Kong food brand
2.5/5 stars Advertisement The inspiring true story behind the founding of an iconic Hong Kong food brand receives a largely uninspired retelling in The Dumpling Queen, a glossy if unabashedly melodramatic and run-of-the-mill biopic set primarily in the city in the late 1970s and 80s. The Dumpling Queen tells the rags-to-riches story of Wanchai Ferry founder Zang Jianhe (or Chong Kin-wo ), played by Chinese comic actress Ma Li without even a hint of humour. It begins in 1977 in Qingdao, Shandong province, where the mother of two young daughters bids farewell to her own mother and sister before travelling to Hong Kong to meet her husband (Kenny Wong Tak-bun) after four years apart. Advertisement However, upon arriving at the border railway station, Lo Wu, she learns that, under the influence of his wicked mother (Nina Paw Hee-ching), he has left her and married another woman, who has borne him a son in Thailand. Zang soon decides to leave him for good.
