ON A HONG KONG MENU, KUNG FU AND NOSTALGIA TO GO

by Alison Dakota Gee

The bill of fare at Hong Kong's new Bruce Lee Cafe is meant to pay homage to a legendary screen idol. But somehow, culinary offerings such as Fish of Fury, Satay of the Dragon and Kung Fu Curry do not quite capture the mythic qualities of the martial arts hero.

Never mind. They do, at the very least, hint at Bruce Lee's remarkable resonance. It was a quarter of a century ago, on July 20, 1973, that Lee died at age 32 of cerebral edema, apparently brought on after he had taken too much aspirin. But for the people of Hong Kong, as well as for those all across the region, Lee ­ martial arts warrior, film star, cultural ambassador, philosopher and writer ­ remains one of the most popular icons of the 20th century.

Testament to his enduring power is everywhere in this small, two-story cafe and makeshift museum. There are shelves and shelves teeming with Lee memorabilia: T-shirts, ceramic figurines, coffee mugs and posters. His original nunchuckas (a weapon fashioned from two wooden sticks and a chain) and his somber black kung fu suit from The Way of the Dragon are displayed in a Plexiglas shrine. Covering every wall are movie stills that capture him, mostly bare chested and slick with sweat, in the peak condition of his short life.

But it is the images of Lee in motion that stun. They flicker from television monitors, commanding foreign tourists and die-hard local fans, who have already marked a well-worn pilgrim trail here, to stand around the cafe's bar, silent and transfixed. All of Lee's fabled scenes play again and again: the 30-minute, meticulously choreographed pas de deux of primal blows, kicks and yelps performed by Lee and Chuck Norris in the Rome Coliseum at the culmination of The Way of the Dragon. The passages from ''Enter the Dragon,'' in which Lee moves slowly, silently into a darkened hall of mirrors while his adversary Han lies in wait.

In each of the cult-favorite scenes, Lee prowls the screen, his body radiating energy and anger, pectorals and biceps twitching in building fury.

"He was the most charismatic person I ever met," said Jon Benn, the American-born restaurateur who opened the Bruce Lee Cafe. Benn, who moved to Hong Kong in 1970, has earned a minor international celebrity among Lee fans as the evil white villain Big Boss from The Way of the Dragon. A businessman, not an actor, Benn met the Hong Kong movie mogul Raymond Chow at a cocktail party shortly after he arrived from the United States.

"He came up to me and asked if I would like to be in a film with Bruce Lee," Benn said. "At the time, I had no idea who Bruce was but I said, 'Sure, why not?"' Today, Benn regales the cafe crowds with tales of his friendship with Lee, which flourished even after the movie wrapped.

"Bruce loved to show off," said Benn, sitting below a photograph of himself locked in a no-contest arm-wrestle with the actor. "On the set, he would suddenly drop down onto two fingers and do a hundred push-ups. Once, just for fun, he jumped up around nine feet and kicked a lightbulb out of a ceiling fixture."

When Benn opened the cafe in June, Lee followers finally found a place to gather, trade stories, pay their respects and ­ yes, it must be said ­ shell out cash for more Bruce Lee keepsakes.

During July, there will be several Hong Kong venues at which devotees and the curious can celebrate his memory. On Monday, the anniversary of the day on which Lee died, Raymond Chow's studio, Golden Harvest, will premiere "And Now You're Dead," an all-action feature starring Lee's daughter, Shannon.

On Saturday, the Hong Kong-based Bruce Lee Fan Club will open an exhibition of memorabilia at the Hong Kong Arts Center that the words "shockingly comprehensive" can only begin to describe. The collection is made up of almost every imaginable trace of Lee's existence, 10,000 items that range from the expected (laser disks, rare books, Lee action figures, Lee-theme toys, his personal weapons) to the downright fanatical (a pair of his shoes and pants, a face mask and a credit card receipt for a $12.55 shirt that bears Lee's signature ­ which a fan club member bought for $1,300 at a Los Angeles auction.)

Lee was born in 1940 in San Francisco (his father was a Cantonese Opera comic actor who toured internationally), but he spent most of his boyhood years in Hong Kong. At the age of 3 months, he made his film debut in Golden Gate Girl (although appearing as a newborn girl, he was more of a prop than a character). By 18, he was commanding starring roles in such local films as The Orphan. His international debut came with a supporting role in the American television series The Green Hornet.

As Kato, the Hornet's crusading companion, Lee astonished American viewers with his kung fu prowess. Star-vehicle movies such as Fists of Fury parlayed Lee into an international celebrity and, in the process, placed the Hong Kong film industry on the map of world film.

Some people think that Lee redefined the way Asian men were perceived by moviegoers in the West ­ and indeed, by themselves. For Hong Kong Chinese living under British colonial rule, he became a vital symbol of personal and cultural strength.

"My father took me to see The Big Boss when I was 7 years old," said Lawrence Cheng, spokesman for the fan club. "Afterward, I could not sleep all night. I kept thinking about Bruce and asking myself, 'How could a Chinese man ­ or any man ­ be that fast, that strong?' Bruce Lee completely changed the image of Chinese people."

It wasn't only martial arts enthusiasts who felt so passionately about Lee. Film critics applauded his work as well. Law Kar, the programmer of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, said, "Bruce Lee was not just a kung fu hero, he was a national hero. He might have made highly commercial films but he brought to life characters who inspired strong feelings against oppressive bosses, colonialism and the ruling class."

LEE'S cinematic persona was that of a classical martial arts master: "He not only had great physical skill but high ideals and a defined philosophy as well," said Law, adding that Lee would always stand up for fallen people. "He spoke out and fought for what was ours, " Law said. "And what we continue to take from Bruce Lee is his purity."

© International Herald Tribune, 07-17-1998