Playing at the
Victoria Film Festival
Victoria, British Columbia

Feb 1 to 10th

Tue | Feb 5 | 9:00 PM | SilverCity #3
Thur | Feb 7 | 6:15 PM | SilverCity #3

Back in 2011, I saw Chef of the South Polar (review link) at the Victoria Film Festival (VFF), and I learned a good noodle consists of a lot more than the love put into kneading the dough and creating the strands. Kansui is one part sodium bicarbonate and many other parts other trace minerals. To put them together in perfect harmony is part of many an Asian culture.

This year marks this event’s 25th anniversary (Taking place from Feb 1 to 10) and Ramen Shop (Ramen Teh) will continue to teach me something new in terms of how to celebrate life and food. Life lessons are often part of the theme in these movies, and I’m looking forward to what this year’s crop of films will offer.

Ramen Teh is of VFF’s World Perspective – Asia program. The tale here is about how Masato, a budding ramen chef, can he take over a family business. When his father passes away, he’s at a loss. Instead of keeping the operation going, he closes shop for a while to discover his family roots. He’s part Chinese and visits Singapore to find out if he has any relatives left. Along the way, he learns about what makes the soup, an essential part of any ramen dish, used special. His uncle knows a few tricks.

This film makes my list of must-see films for this year. It premiered in 2018 (Singapore) and is making its rounds worldwide. Perhaps two samplings are required. The quest for foodie related films is not limited to just this one event. This company offers The Art of Cocktail to whet many a taste bud in October and Feast: Food & Film in June. As much as I’d love to attend them all, tight finances do not allow me to attend all functions. At the same time, I’m a picky connoisseur. This rule also applies to the movies I’d love to attend. I have my picks for 2019 and have my ticket bought for one movie – the animated musical-comedy Seder-Masochism – as an essential must see. There are other works which have caught my eye, and those picks are in its own separate article, which is posted on otakunoculture.com