The cast is also notable for the debuts of two of China's most popular actresses, Gao Yuanyuan and Xu Jinglei.

The film is an anthology of sorts, and tells its story of love and life in modern Beijing through a series of six vignettes.

Spicy Love Soup was, in addition, the first film in mainland China to see a simultaneous release of a soundtrack, consisting largely of contemporary pop songs.

[1] Released internationally in London's East West Film Festival in June 1998, Spicy Love Soup was generally well received by western critics.

Derek Elley of Variety cited the film as being a pioneering example of the "well directed" Chinese movie, that nevertheless doesn't fall into the camp of "artier" fare.