''Happy Ever After'' (Traditional Chinese: 金玉滿堂) is a

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

grand-production television period drama. A

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...

production, the drama was produced by

Chong Wai-kin Chong Wai-kin is a Hong Kong television producer and director. He first entered Asia Television (ATV) as a director and producer for the channel's television dramas. In 1989, he moved to Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) and has stayed in the ...

, written by Chan Ching-yee and Choi Ting-ting, and stars an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

. The drama is set during the reign of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

Late Imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. 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 Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ot ...

with documentations concerning the

Manchu Han Imperial Feast The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...

. ''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

Bobby Au-Yeung Robert Au-yeung Tsan-wah (born 28 July 1960) is a Hong Kong actor best known for his comedic roles in many TVB television dramas. He gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Ben Yu in the 1991 legal drama ''File of Justice' ...

as Tai Tung-gun (戴東官), an imperial chef and he plays his dad. *

Mariane Chan Mariane Chan () (born 1 August 1972) is a Hong Kong actress. Television series *'' Love is Beautiful'' (TVB, 2002) *'' Lost in Love'' (大囍之家) (TVB, 2000) *''Witness to a Prosecution'' (TVB, 1999) *''Life for Life'' (命轉情真) (TVB, 1 ...

as Sun Siu-siu (辛小小), Tung-gun's wife. *

Kwong Wa Kwong Wa (born Chan Muk-wah on 19 November 1961) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. He is known for his portrayals of Chinese historical characters such as Lao Ai ('' A Step into the Past''), Xiang Yu (''The Conqueror's Story''), Tang Sanzang (''Jou ...

(乾隆) *

Adia Chan Nadia Chan (; born 21 January 1971) is a Hong Kong actress, singer, model, and spokesperson. Life and career Chan was born to Chinese Ethnic Indonesian parents. Chan's parents are Indonesian Chinese and her family moved to Hong Kong when she ...

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 Roger Kwok Chun-on is a Hong Kong television actor and former singer, who works for the TV station TVB. Kwok was born in Hong Kong, and his native family roots are in Zhongshan, Guangdong. He is one of the three actors who won Best Actor three t ...

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 Hung Suet-nei (Chinese: 熊雪妮), known as Suet Nei or Suet Nay (Chinese: 雪妮) is a Hong Kong actress born in 1945, Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Rep ...

Empress Dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also g ...

(太后) *

Wu Fung Bowie Woo Fung (born 18 January 1932) is a Hong Kong veteran actor and director with family roots in Guangdong, China. A matinée idol in the 1950s and 1960s, he began his acting career in long form Cantonese films 1953, becoming an overnight succ ...

as Sun Chiu-kwan (辛超群), Siu-siu's father. *

Angie Cheung Angie Cheong Wai-yee is a Hong Kong-based Malaysian Chinese actress. She won the Miss Chinese Malaysia in 1992 and went to Hong Kong to compete for the Miss Chinese International in 1993. After that, she signed a contract with the Hong Kong ...

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 Teresa Ha () (October 6, 1937 – August 5, 2019) was a former Chinese television and film actress from Hong Kong. Ha is credited with over 260 films. Career In 1956, Ha started her acting career in Hong Kong films. Ha first appeared in The Soul ...

Benz Hui Benz Hui Shiu-hung (born 4 November 1948) is a Hong Kong film and TV actor. Hui is credited with over 165 films. Hui is a currently a TV actor with TVB. Early life and family Hui comes from an influential family in Canton. His great-grandfather ...

as Suen Min-leung {{DEFAULTSORT:Happy Ever After TVB dramas 1999 Hong Kong television series debuts 1999 Hong Kong television series endings Qianlong Emperor