Food critic could spend HK$30m 'in a few hours'
Should anyone be lucky enough to win HK$30 million in the Mark Six and not know how to spend it wisely, simply ask gourmet Chua Lam.
While most advisers earn their living telling other people how to invest their money, Chua is one of the few who has made a name for himself, and a small fortune, by telling people how to spend their money - mostly on good food, wine and travel.
He is well known for his colourful food columns and his television shows on travel and food. But before turning full-time towards all things gourmet, Chua produced Jackie Chan movies, including Wheels on Meals, Armour of God and Nice Guy.
Born in 1941 into a Chinese family from Chiu Chow living in Singapore, Chua went on to study film in Japan. There he helped the Shaw Brothers import Japanese movies to Hong Kong and later assisted in producing Hong Kong movies in Japan.
All this allowed Chua to earn enough at a young age to support his studies and enjoy a taste of life.
In the past two decades he has focused on food and travel. He created Bo Bo Tea, licensed his name to a gourmet centre in Hong Kong and then later in Shenzhen - which has a number of restaurants hand-picked by Chua - and launched a deluxe travel agency that specialises in tours of France and Japan. Plus he writes several restaurant review columns in newspapers and magazines and hosts a TV show on food and cooking. His latest programme every Sunday on TVB traces the history of traditional Chinese food.