Food Lore

Ten years ago, dreaming of a brighter future for her family, Nieves moved away from her seaside town of Cartagena, Philippines to work as a domestic helper in Manila. Today, as she returns home for the annual fiesta, Nieves realizes that the distance is taking its toll.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a talented Japanese chef, Thang, woos a beautiful stewardess, Van, with a special tofu dessert. The couple quickly enters a whirlwind romance but soon discovers their irreconcilable differences about food and love. Desperate to win Van back, Thang attempts a series of dubious culinary experiments to keep her in his life.

When a mysterious woman, Maria, arrives on the shores of a small, traditional Indonesian village to open a beachside diner, the local men are mesmerized by her inventive cooking and beauty – much to their wives' dismay. Desperate to connect with her husband, Ratih approaches Maria to mine her culinary secrets, and soon learns why the newcomer has such powerful insights on men.

Faced with debt and hardship, Anbu moves to Singapore to serve as a caretaker to an elderly man, Raja, suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Amidst their struggles and differences, the unlikely duo forms an intimate bond over food and past memories--but just when all seems to be going well, an unexpected event threatens to unravel Anbu's world once again.

When an arrogant American actor, Michael, arrives in Thailand to star in a low-budget horror film, his disdain for Thai culture and cuisine shows. Rather than try local dishes, he sticks to what he knows best: burgers, donuts and coffee – but his perspective shifts when he tastes a medicinal soup prepared by the production caterer, Orn.

During a night out, Julie, a beautiful French chef new to Singapore, crosses paths with Ifran, a single father struggling to maintain his mother's food stall. Faced with a daunting challenge at the restaurant where she works, Julie seeks Ifran's help to create a unique Malaysian-French fusion dish. The result is a powerful exploration of flavor and emotion.

When a quiet train headed out of Tokyo, Japan experiences an unexpected delay, the paths of four passengers – an uninspired picture book author, a recent widower and his daughter, and an elderly retired wrestler – cross as each of them revisits long-forgotten memories and finds new hope for the future.

A young entrepreneur, Tim, hopes to start a restaurant franchise in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with Maki, a short-tempered genius chef. Maki resists Tim's efforts to broker a deal with a well-known investor, but when Tim discovers the secret to Maki's sambal petai, he's torn between his desire to sell the recipe and his loyalty to his new friend.