Be Home for Dinner

Chung Kwok-Chu is a celebrated food critic who also serves as assistant editor in chief of the Ko Jim Daily. When his son Si-Hon returns from Canada, Chu hopes he will choose a steady professional path rather than chase a kitchen dream. Si-Hon, however, reveals a different aspiration, eager to study and work as a chef. The plan to steer him toward a conventional future is challenged when Shum Bui-yee, a renowned chef, reluctantly agrees to take Si-Hon on as her assistant. Amid family feuds and a crowded dinner table, Chu tries to keep the clan together while balancing his pride, expectations, and the pull of new culinary ambitions for him to prove himself to family.

Be Home for Dinner is a 2011 Hong Kong drama blending family life with humor. The ensemble cast includes Elliot Ngok Wah, Jason Chan Chi-San, Kristal Tin Yui-Nei, Stephen Au Kam-Tong and Helen Ma Hoi-Lun in a contemporary urban setting.

Awards: No major nominations or wins are listed in available records. While the show features a strong cast and a culinary backdrop, it does not appear in prominent awards databases, suggesting limited presence on the international award circuit. That said, regional TV awards sometimes overlook such titles in the industry.

Be Home for Dinner offers a window into Hong Kong's dining culture and the way meals seed conversations and conflicts within families. The kitchen becomes a stage where status and affection compete, illustrating how food and lineage shape daily life and social bonds for viewers across generations today and beyond.

Reception and themes center on the clash between ambition and duty. The story probes parental expectations, generational shifts, and the lure of culinary achievement set against a busy family dynamic. It invites viewers to consider how success is defined, and whether harmony can coexist with personal dreams in a city.