Happy Ever After (Hong Kong TV series)

Happy Ever After (Traditional Chinese: 金玉滿堂) is a 1999 Hong Kong grand-production television period drama. A TVB production, the drama was produced by Chong Wai-kin, written by Chan Ching-yee and Choi Ting-ting, and stars an ensemble cast. The drama is set during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor of Late Imperial China's Qing dynasty. The drama tells of a story regarding the struggles of a poor chef and his best friend earning an opportunity to serve the Qianlong Emperor, also befriending the emperor along the way. The drama also places an emphasis on Chinese cuisine with documentations concerning the Manchu Han Imperial Feast.

Happy Ever After
Promo poster
金玉滿堂
GenrePeriod drama
Romantic comedy
Written byChan Ching-yee
Choi Ting-ting
StarringBobby Au-yeung
Mariane Chan
Kwong Wa
Nnadia Chan
Roger Kwok
Opening theme"Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Spice" (甜酸苦辣) by Roman Tam
Ending theme"Loving You Is Not Just A Thing" (愛你不是渾閒事) by Nadia Chan
Country of originHong Kong
Original languageCantonese
No. of episodes40
Production
Executive producerChong Wai-kin
Production locationHong Kong
Camera setupMulti camera
Running time42 – 45 minutes
Production companyTVB
Original release
NetworkTVB Jade
Release15 March (1999-03-15) –
7 May 1999 (1999-05-07)
Traditional Chinese金玉滿堂
Simplified Chinese金玉满堂
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJīn Yù Mǎn Táng
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingGam1 Jyuk6 Mun5 Tong4

Happy Ever After acclaimed positive reviews from critics and was TVB's third highest-rating drama of 1999, peaking to 40 points (over 3 million viewers). Happy Ever After was re-broadcast on the same channel in 2007 between January and March.

Cast

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  • Bobby Au-Yeung as Tai Tung-gun (戴東官), an imperial chef and he plays his dad.
  • Mariane Chan as Sun Siu-siu (辛小小), Tung-gun's wife.
  • Kwong Wa as Qianlong Emperor (乾隆)
  • Adia Chan as Fong Ling (方寧), Consort Tak.
    • also as Ngok Sam-yu (岳心如), the daughter of Noble Ngok. She shares similar facial features as Consort Tak.
  • Roger Kwok as Suen Min-leung (孫勉良), Tung-gun's best friend.
  • Fiona Leung as Kam Chui-fa (甘翠花), Min-leung's wife.
  • Suet Nei as Empress Dowager (太后)
  • Wu Fung as Sun Chiu-kwan (辛超群), Siu-siu's father.
  • Angie Cheung as Kei Sin-yung (紀倩蓉), Min-leung's first love.
  • Wilson Tsui as Chiang Hing-ka (蔣慶嘉), manager of the Imperial kitchen.
  • Ha Ping
  • Benz Hui
  • Roger Kwok as Suen Min-leung