Tip#1096: Food & Family Memories, Part 2 - Eat Drink Man Woman

I am so happy and grateful that my family gatherings around birthdays are still celebrated because it keeps our shared love of food alive and well! Delicious foods are the tasty glue that has kept my siblings and mom together despite relationship challenges we’ve been through. It also keeps my dad’s memories alive of how important family really is.

Both my brother and sister are excellent chefs and we’ve enjoyed authentic French cooking, Indian meals, Thai dishes and much more over the decades. I remember countless times I had not been well due to undiagnosed clinical depression and showing up at their homes secretly feeling disconnected, hopeless and in despair.

But once I tasted their homemade cooking my mood suddenly shifted into heavenly bliss! Ruminating negative thoughts disappeared for a few hours as I savored the mouth watering roasted duck, curried chicken or gourmet style mac and cheese!

Succulent grilled duck a la mon frère!

As I write this I am grateful my mental health is stable though I still have depression episodes that strike without warning. One thing I know for sure is that delicious foods and uplifting films are my go-to tonics for feeling better. And when they are combined in a movie it is twice the blissful experience!

Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)

The Taiwanese film, Eat Drink Man Woman, celebrates food and family while exploring the love and challenges between semi-retired Master Chef Chu (Sihung Lung) and his three unmarried daughters Jia-Jen (Kuei-Mei Yang), Jia-Chien (Chien-Lien Wu) and Jia-Ning (Yu-wen Wang). Directed by Ang Lee, this peek into Asian life is filled with many tantalizing scenes of cooking and some moving performances. See: movie trailer

The opening 6 minutes is a delightful scene of Master Chef Chu preparing a gourmet lunch for his three daughters at their home. It exemplifies his passion and care for cooking and a ritual he’s been doing for years. This scene is what makes this a must-see film for all food lovers! If you can’t wait to see the whole movie here it is: opening scene

Another wonderful foodie scene is when Chu helps a close family friend’s daughter eat a better lunch at her school. He cooks elaborate dishes and brings them to her at school much to the delight and awe of the other kids! It’s scenes like this that I highly recommend you have some Chinese food near you because, like all great foodie films, this will make you very hungry!

This movie was later remade in the US but with a Mexican family called Tortilla Soup starring Héctor Elizondo and Elizabeth Peña (see tip#943). Both are must-see movies for food lovers and both explore family relationships, siblings becoming adults and how fathers learn to adapt to life changes.

The sharing of food and meals can be the loving glue between family. It can give everyone strength to deal with life’s disappointments and unexpected adversities. When you have family gatherings remember to savor the meals you share and the love you feel for one another.

And if there are challenges in your relationships remember to watch an uplifting foodie film to remind you that delicious foods can give you uplifting joy and the feeling of hope that things can get better!

Related Tips:
Tip#943: Food & Family Memories - Tortilla Soup
Tip#1095: Food & Family Memories, Part 2 - Eat Drink Man Woman
Tip#939: Share a Passion for Film, Food & Friends – 360 Gourmet - Burnt
Tip#763: Passion is Fuel, Part 2 - Food Films - Chef 
Tip#764: Passion is Fuel, Part 3 – Food Films - Haute Cuisine
Tip#938: Passion is Fuel, Part 4 - Pleasurable Activities - The Ramen Girl
Tip#944: Passion is Fuel, Part 5 - Food Films - Spinning Plates

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DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE DEALING WITH
DEPRESSION OR DIFFICULT TIMES?
• READ: Top 10 Inspiring Movies for Managing Depression
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Emmanuel Lopez-Motivatorman
Motivational Speaker
Discover How Movies Inspire, Motivate & Empower You!
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