KUNG FU KITCHEN DUCK V1 ACT 1

04 MARCH 2010

Intro scenes In the far east, Kung Fu isn't

just martial arts but a term to
mean MASTER skills in any art
form. It's well deserved praise
after years of seriously hard
training.

1. MJ in kitchen In today's crash course world,

can a novice achieve kung-fu
status overnight? We put this
to test in Kungfu kitchen. This
week, kungfu Peking Duck.

2. OPENING TITLES GRAPHIC, MUSIC

KUNGFU KITCHEN
3. EXT. STREET – MONTAGE BEIJING It's said that one of life's
FOOD SELLERS biggest regrets is to be in
Beijing and not eat Duck.

Not only is the dish of prime

symbolism to the city, it's hard
to avoid it.

4. MONTAGE OF DUCK SELLERS Music

Beijing is the only place where

duck sellers get listed on the
stock exchange, and where duck
maestros wax lyrical.

5. SOT: VARIOUS MASTERS

value of duck
eg: quanjude chef
the whole duck has vitamin B and
E, its good for health and anti-
aging properties.

sot:
got to find lyrical bits

6. Thick Beijing accents are a

contrast to the requirements of
a perfect duck: ultra thin,
crispy skin that shatters on

2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1 1

 impact.

7. A flesh so tender it's a

definite ooh la la..

8. Kungfu skills are required to

roast the bird to perfection and
to carve 120 even slices in less
than 10 minutes. Not a meat
thermometer or electric carver
in sight.

9. Can a novice hope to achieve

such skills overnight? This
woman thinks she can.

10. GRAPHIC: THE DISCIPLE

MJ in Singapore Teo Min Jun or MJ is no
newcomer to Chinese culture or
to ducks. Back in Singapore,
she's a trainee chef at a
restaurant whose specialty is
Peking Duck.

11. MJ IN JING SOT: MJ

The duck is Cantonese style
the work she does.

12. MJ BEING SERVED DUCK An artist by training, a chef by

ambition, MJ takes on Beijing
without regret. Duck after
duck after duck.

13. MONTAGE OF HER TASTING VARIOUS SOT: MJ + COMMENTS

DUCKS WITH VARIOUS COMMENTS
SOT: WAITRESS
More than one way to cook Peking Duck

14. MONTAGE MJ WALKABOUT The duck hunting season has

begun for MJ. Her mission is to
find a master who will teach her
Peking duck done in the most
traditional kungfu way. She
looks to the famous names.

15. QUANJUDE MASTER AT WORK Quanjude is known nicknamed

Wallstreet Duck; with servings
of more than 2 million ducks a

2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1 2

 year, it's easy to see why it's
listed on the stock exchange.
The restaurant originated in the
xx dynasty and has continued
with the tradition of roasting
in an open oven using wood from
fruit trees. Like an Olympic
torch, the fire never dies.

16. DADONG MASTER AT WORK Dadong is the new age duck

joint: it prides itself on a
cholesterol-friendly bird with
modern methods of freeze drying
skins before the roast

17. DUCK BANQUET: BIANYIFANG Bianyifang is nicknamed Small

Duck and is the oldest duck
restaurant of all. Its history
dates back to 1330s and the same
ancient roasting methods have
survived to this day.

MJ, impressed by the

restaurant's antiquity as much
as by its all duck banquet where
30 dishes are produced from a
single bird, digs deeper.

18. INT REST. KITCHEN MUSIC

19. int rest MJ flirts with the A little chat with the boys in
guys the backroom helps her towards a
decision. She will take her
kungfu challenge at Bianyifang.
MJ from Singapore has finally
found a beijing duck maestro.

20.
GRAPHIC: THE MASTER

21. CHEF TAO INTERVIEW SOT: Chef TAO

22. MJ meets Chef Tao The ducks at Bianyifang are

roasted by radiant heat in a
menglu... a traditional [gas?]
oven where temperatures are
controlled intuitively. Not a
gas mark in sight. This is the

2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1 3

 arena of MJ's kungfu kitchen
challenge.

23. GRAPHIC THE CHALLENGE

24. Montage of challenge MJ's challenge in the Kung Fu

kitchen is to

- prep a Peking duck, this

requires a year's training

− roast requiring 4 months of

training

− carve 120 slices in 10 minutes

another 4 months

Altogether a task that require

nearly 2 years of training.

MJ is going to attempt all these

in less than 5 days.

SOT: MJ
something about her challenge

25. MJ meets Tao Her first day of training starts

with good and bad news. Chef Tao
tells her their ducks are no
longer prepped in their kitchen.

SOT: TAO
SOT: MJ
[If any]

He is however willing to go back

in time and show her the ropes.

They begin with Inflation.

26. MASTER TAO INFLATING DUCK SOT: MASTER TAO Inflate the skin

To ensure crisp roasting, the skin

has to leave flesh. Master Tao
uses a modern gadget - the bicycle
pump.

How were ducks inflated pre-

bicycle? This question will have to
wait as MJ moves onto the next
step. Gutting

2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1 4

 27. MASTER TAO
[good shot of tugging at
kk0113_partb 250102]
28. MJ is left on her own to
practise
29. she struggles with bicycle pump MJ's first struggle is not the
kk0113_partb
171518
[move this to challenge]
30. MJ guts the bird
31. master gives her a lesson
and show her how to pull
2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1
A Kungfu master is able to gut the
bird from under its wings... a
precise, extreme-heimlich maneouvre
that's done in less than a
minute... the envy of any surgeon.
Chef Tao used to gut at least 50
birds a day.
SOT: MJ OVERLAY
Chef said he studied anatomy
UPSOT: MJ
as she continues to gut on her own.
sot: mj
God help me..
[somewhere in roll kk0113_partB]
[USE THIS FOR CHALLENGE MONTAGE]
fowl but the gadget. Of all the
inventions of China, there is
yet a user-friendly a duck pump.
[move to challenge ]
It's beginning to look like
invasive surgery by a quack
doctor.
SOT: I'll start feeling for the heart.
21.57
SOT: I cannot feel the heart 22.29.05
[end point]
SOT: [She finds the heart] There you
go, organ number 1... the heart
22.51.22 [end point]
SOT: SIFU opened up to study the
anatomy of the duck. 23.2605 [end
point]
sot: mj
23.33.24
now i'm still in the blur, i'm trying
to feel in the dark.
sot: mj
i NEED help here, I need help here. I
cannot find.
24.13.11 [end point]
{move to challenge]
Gutting a duck is a touchy feely
kind of thing. You have to be
5
 out the oesaphagus certain of what you're looking
for and what to pull out. Split
the gut, spoil the duck.

sot: mj 28.16.12
it's already destroyed , so
bloody, theres too much blood on
montage of guts coming out the skin. have to maintain the
in bits and pieces – some skin in tip top shape. Failure
bile has spilt on the number 1.
table
29.17.22
Her first lesson and all is not
well.
a dejected MJ washes the
duck sot: mj
and bashes her hand on the 25.44.11 [end point]
tabletop. i dont feel so confident about
this.
[move this para to the challenge
segment.]

32. The duck is state of blood Chef Tao interfenes before the
duck is totally ruined.
[move this to the challenge]
SOT: CHEF TAO 27.28.22
I already told you
33. INSERTING THE SORGHUM The disembowled duck is now
trussed with a sorghum stick, to
widen the cavity. It's like
raising a flagpole in the dark.
mj tries it at 33.40.16
SOT: MJ
GAWD!!! 34.39.03
38.10.00 she's lost the
sorghum in the duck SOT: MJ
Argghhh

34. Unless you're an expert on duck

anatomy, or have xray vision,
prepping is groping around in
the dark. This experience has

2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1 6


35. master gives her more tips.
where to put the hooks,
depending on duck anatomy.
42.29.21
36. CHEF TAO shows her how to
blanch duck and put sugar syrup
37. GV DUCK BANQUET
38. INT. DUCK PREPARATION FACTORY... SOT ? Modern facility
MJ watches
39. GV Hutong
40. HUTONG GRAFITTI ON THE WALL
2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1
left MJ a little miffed.
The final step is hooking, but
not any old spot will do. Even
this step has to be anatomically
precise.
The clean duck is now blanched,
coated in syrup and left to air
dry overnight. A good time for
a break.
[unofficial end of part 1]
Hard to imagine that slightly
more than 3 generations ago, the
Peking Duck was forbidden to
anyone but the Emperor and his
court.
But it's hard to imagine Beijing
of today... many old ways have
given to the new. Even bird
preparation.
As MJ tours through the modern
facility, she can't help but
wonder how ducks were inflated
pre-mechanisation. The answer
leads her to a different set of
innards.
Beijing's gloss hides an
underbelly. There was a time
when the city was forbidden and
narrow alleyways coiled around
it, each brimming with life less
imperial. Today, on the 3rd day
of training, MJ finds herself in
a hutong maze in a quest: Pre-
industrial duck inflation.
Liqun is a boutique restaurant
whose owner Chef Li is happy to
show her the ways of the old.
7
 41. Liqun blows the duck sot: mj

3 quick blows and the duck is

blown like an air bag. It's easy
to understand why modern food
standards have closed a chapter
on this kungfu skill.

42. MJ tries blowing UPSOT

[MJ trying but it won't separate]
[Liqun tries but it won't separate
either]

10:15:00
“This is hard..” …. can taste the duck
in my mouth”.

If there's a lesson to be learnt

- it's not all ducks are
inflatable.

43. MJ walking on street With the answer still lingering

on her mouth, MJ returns to
training at Bianyifang.

44. INT. BIANGYIFANT KITCHEN Today's lesson is kungfu skill

ROASTING part 2; duck roasting.

45. MJ learns roasting from

Chef Tao Bianyifang pioneered the
- she is pouring stock radiated heat roasting method in
into the duckc their Menglu. Nowadays the ovens
are gas fired, but once, sorghum
stalks were used as wood fire.
Other past roasting methods were
used as well, but this is
Bianyifang's deep duck secret
which MJ has yet to uncover. At
this moment, she's plugging duck
sauce.

46. SOT: MJ
about pouring stock into duck and
plugging it with sorghum stick. etc

sot: MJ
wai kao li zu
47. MJ continues to put duck SOT: MJ
to roaster and struggling − it's hot or something
with the pole
The key to roasting is

2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1 8

 temperature. It takes all of 45
minutes, but every 5? minutes,
the duck needs to be turned in a
compass direction.

If the heat is too high, you

leave the door ajar.

That's all there is to it. No

gas marks, no thermometers. Only
kungfu judgement skills.

48.
SOT: CHEF TAO
17:00 Tao
对于烤鸭这个职业来讲，我自己亲身感受烤鸭不象炒菜，
有很多很多的品种，非常单调，所以做这种工作呢，恒心
和耐心，这样才会把工作干得好，因为很单调的事，每天
都是出乎预料，重复的东西，如果没有自己一份恒心的
话，就不太好。
On roasting duck, I feel it is not
like cooking a dish where there is
lots of variety. It is rather dull,
so you need perseverance and patience,
to do the job well.

49. 05:20
Currently overwhelmed …… have to learn
the technique of the pole use the
cloth to make sure you don t get
burned… how you turn it around.

50. DUCK SLICING As temperatures increase, Chef

Tao warms up and gives MJ a rare
privilege. Novices are never
allowed to carve duck until
they've had months of training.
He makes an exception.

SOT: CHEF TAO

Yes you are privileged..ha ha ha

51. MJ STRUGGLES WITH DUCK A kungfu chef can carve 120 even
SLICING slices in under 10 minutes. At
the rate MJ is going, she may
not meet her challenge over the
next 2 days.

[unofficial end of part 2]

52. GV Ducks in parks and Of all the species of duck in
farms this world, the Peking is the
only one specially bred for its

2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1 9

 skin. Its name is a misnomer
because the species originated
from Nanjing, a city further
south.

Once they lived on the Grand

canal, and had black feathers.
With increasing traffic on
waterworks, rice fell off barges
and fed the ducks. They gained
weight, lost colour and became
the Peking duck breed of today.

Of course, today's Peking ducks

no longer live on canals but in
free range farms. They are
totally white, have long backs
and have 40 days to live before
the final countdown.

53. BIANYIFANG SCULPTURES Back in the old days, duck

roasting was a gruesome affair.
And this is the past that MJ is
about to discover...

Bianyifang's dark past... The

origina methods began with
sorghum wood fires. Once the
menglu radiated with heat, the
fires were put out and LIVE
ducks put in. Plates of sauce
lay within the oven. The doors
would shut. The ducks would
drink the sauce as they slowly
dehydrated. Eventually, they
would be roasted alive....
resulting in a succulent, self-
saucing roasted peking duck

SOT: MJ
SOT

54. Like duck to the slaughter, our

Singapore kung fu kitchen
contender, assesses the
prospects ahead.

Today, is D day, part 1. Without

any assistance, MJ will have to
kungfu prep a duck, leave it

2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1 1

 overnight and continue with
kungfu roasting and slicing the
next day.

Based on the past few days

training, she is not certain it
will be smooth sailing.

But she has a plan.

SOT: MJ
12:28
I’ll be using a different marinade
from my own restaurant, my own
interpretation into it…. roasting in
intra oven at Bianyifang… I m really
nervous but really looking forward to
it to make a good job into it.

55. CHEF TAO CONFROTING MJ Unfortunately, the plan falls on

the wrong ears. Chef Tao
confronts her.

SOT: MJ
14:19
I wanted to use my spiced salt…he wasn’
t very pleased because it’s like
breaking their tradition. So I m doing
it as per their style using their
marination … I will presenting it their
style …and also with my own
presentation. So hopefully will turn
out better.

56. GRAPHIC: FINAL JUDGEMENT

57. CU kitchen Today is challenge day 1. MJ
MJ starts with the duck. has to prep her duck with kungfu
skills and to the most
traditional methods.

58. she blows on the duck . and

fails.

sot: mj
God help me..
[somewhere in roll kk0113_partB]

59. she struggles with bicycle pump SOT: MJ

kk0113_partb

2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1 1

 171518
[previously in training
segment]
60.
61. master gives her a lesson and
show her how to pull out the
oesaphagus
montage of guts coming out in
bits and pieces – some bile has Failure number 1.
spilt on the table
29.17.22
a dejected MJ washes the duck
and bashes her hand on the
tabletop.
2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1
It's a bit unsuccessful, so I will
just try with the pump
UPSOT: MJ struggles with pump
MJ's first struggle is not the
fowl but the gadget. Of all the
inventions of China, there is
yet a user-friendly a duck pump.
[previously in training segment ] [need to
rephrase]
Things are not going smoothly
for MJ as she proceeds with duck
gutting. She's only had a few
days of practice. Normally it'd
take a year of training.
sot: mj
i NEED help here, I need help here. I
cannot find.
[end point]
[previously this was in training]
Gutting a duck is a touchy feely
kind of thing. You have to be
certain of what you're looking
for and what to pull out. Split
the gut, spoil the duck.
sot: mj 28.16.12
it's already destroyed , so bloody,
theres too much blood on the skin. have
to maintain the skin in tip top shape.
Is the prep going to ruin her
entire challenge?
sot: mj
25.44.11 [end point]
i dont feel so confident about this.
1
 62. The duck is state of blood
[previously in training
segment]
Chef Tao interfenes before the
duck is totally ruined.
SOT: CHEF TAO 27.28.22
I already told you

63. MJ has secretly prepared two

ducks. One with the traditional
syrup and the other with her own
concoction.

SOT: MJ

64. SUNRISE GV OR SOMETHING It's challenge day number 2.

Today is D day. MJ will have to roast and

slice her duck, plus introduce her special
MJ Peking Duck special to her master,
Chef Tao.

65. roasting 13:03

Mj (blue top) In a while I will
be doing the roasting process
all by myself. My stomach is
squirming. I don’t know how I
feel. But I’m really looking
forward to doing it and hoping
the result will be really good
66. 15:08

Now I’m going to stuff the

sorghum like master says
roasting outside and boiling
inside.
She's made another mistake...
possibly a major one... she's
forgotten to check the
temperature gauge or feel the
heat of the oven.

2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1 1

 Instead she focuses over a piece
of essential technology.

UPSOT: MJ
LOOKING FOR HER PHONE
15:12-15:15

67. MJ learns that the place is kept to pristine,

tip top condition. and that each round she
has to stand to attention.

MIS CHEF
tells her they have to stand there and
keep a watchful eye of their adoptive
ducks
17.28.00 9roll kk0104]
68. 15:16
She remembers she has a duck
roasting
“Colour is too dark …”
Montage of MJ meltdown
Like the duck, MJ seems to be
roasting on the outside and
stewing on the inside.

15:26 female chef nudging MJ to

check the duck.
But she here she gets some
support from female chef whom
she has bonded with.
69. 15:26
if you cannot stand the heat its
really painful on the hands and
it’s the wrong grasping
technique”

15:33
I feel very stressed because the
master is like looking at me all
the time.

15:36
Chill, chill, chill …….Mj can do
it.

16:08 (slicing)
.”I can do this…oh god why do I
feel so nervous
70. 14:30
Still wondering where to start
slicing so I don t hit the bone.

2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1 1


71. MJ serves MASTER DAO
72.
wai kao li zu – roasting outside boiling inside
2010 Sitting in Pictures KUNG F'UCK V1
Also need to be flexible. My
hands stiff…. Supposedly they
can use one hand just to grab
the meat but I’m still not there
yet.
The only female chef gives her a
hand.
14:42
I get the idea you need to
slice..i was using force to pull
it out .
15:04
I have finished…I feel more
confident but I don’t know
still, see what happens….”
It's all over. Does MJ admit
defeat?
SOT: CHEF TAO
感觉还是一个很活泼的一个女孩吧。感觉女孩子干厨师比
男孩子还要辛苦一点，因为厨师是一个挺强的体力劳动。
如果选择这个行业的话，她要投入比男孩子更多的辛苦。
那女孩看起来应该很活泼的一个女孩。女孩子干厨师的话
会很辛苦，不象男孩子，女孩子体力上比男孩子差很多。
厨师嘛，是体力劳动的工作，很强的身体吧。她选择这个
职业，要付出很多的努力。
She is a bubbly girl. For a girl to be
a chef, it is tougher than guys,
because being a chef requires physical
strength. If she chose this career,
she needs to put in more effort than
guys.
1