"God of Cookery", along with "King of Comedy", the "Royal Tramp" movies, and "From Beijing with Love", is one of Stephen Chow's best work. Furthermore, "God..." marks a turning point in Chow's career, where he noticeably shifts from mo-lei-tau to more cerebral and dramatic movies (that are still equally funny).

Chow plays the reigning "God of Cookery" (whose real name never gets mentioned, by the way), who is a great theoretical chef but has not done actual cooking ever since he made it big in business. As he cared more about profit margins and less about cooking itself, he becomes cruel to his employees and negligent about the way good food is prepared. One day, a plan to overthrow this "god" by one of his competitors is revealed as he is publicly upstaged and humiliated by his apprentice (Vincent Kok).

Having lost his empire, he is banished to the streets, where he meets scarred Sister Turkey, played by Karen Mok (might I say that the guts she shows for putting on that repulsive make-up gained her respect from me that is endless just like the flooding of the yellow river). From here, he seeks to regain everything he has lost through "pissing shrimp beef balls", which become such a culinary sensation that it gave him a chance to compete for the title of "god of cookery". Through it all, he remembers what it means to be a great chef, and along the way, also finds unlikely love in Sister Turkey, who is secretly his greatest fan.

All the performances in this movie are fantastic. Ng Man-Tat chooses to play a villain here, and proves that he can play the bad guy just as well as the good guy. Karen Mok was a gem here, and Vincent Kok was excellent as Chow's antagonist. Throw in some hilarious gags (e.g. the "Usual Suspects"-type interrogation scene) and you have yourself a Chow flick for the ages. Rating = 10/10