Cooking program filmed in Hong Kong shows chef chopping up live lobster

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

It might be worth writing to SBS and also starting a boycott of

Elizabeth Chongs's

cook books and programs. Last night on SBS (10th December 2004 West

Australian time)

on Elizabeth Chongs " Tiny delights " cooking program which screens on

Friday nights

, Chong visited a top restaurant in Hong Kong where she picked

a lobster out of a holding fish tank (it was alive). The Chef cut the

tail section off the lobster while it was alive and the rest of the body

crawled off the chopping board.

 

After he finished with the tail, he grabbed the rest of the animal and

chopped

off another large piece of its body, its legs and feelers were still

paddling.

Watching the live animal chopped repeatedly and split with a huge

cleaver was very disturbing.

 

I felt quite sick watching this program and its complete distain for

animal

cruelty, pain and suffering. Finally, the chef, after frying the

lobster,

carefully arranged the chunks of cooked dead lobster into the shape of a

lobster

to be presented to Chong on a serving plate. This whole segment was

sickening.

 

Kind regards,

 

Marguerite

 

http://tinyurl.com/49toc

Set to sizzle

October 30, 2004

Sydney Morning Herald article

 

<snip>

Chong is one of those chefs who breaks with the horny/drunk/erratic

mould represented on The Cooks. She is, however, no less passionate than

her young sweaty counterparts about her food. As a Chinese Australian

who worked in the industry long before chefs were elevated to the lofty

status of hairdressers, Chong has much to share with the home cook.

 

Also assembled in the popular magazine format, Tiny Delights is part

travelogue, part cooking demo, punctuated by plenty of good advice from

dear Elizabeth. We cover a good deal of China, get inside some

remarkably unglamorous but productive kitchens and learn to make some

dishes that Australians have been ordering regularly for a century. Will

I ever make wonton soup? Maybe not, but Chong's wok tips, like Perry's

rather loftier creations, might jerk a few of us out of our ruts.

 

Oddly, Tiny Delights is cheaply, even badly shot. No sizzle. No simmer.

No sex. It's as plain as a Chinatown wok. The lighting, the editing, the

videotape seem to drain the sex appeal from every dish and yet the

show's content is rock solid. Whatever makes Elizabeth Chong cook is

probably what's missing from The Cooks. Don't you hate a secret

ingredient?

[Guest guest]

I for one agree wholeheartedly, and am glad I didn't see the segment on SBS.

Perhaps we should follow this up with the station, and the cook.\

 

By the way, in Noosa (the Sunshine Coast of Queensland), a recently opened

Chinese

restaurant is still boasting 'shark fin soup' on the menu. I thought this,

too, had been

banned?

 

Anna P.

annapal