Vignettes of the World
I have a very favorable impression of Jiangmen due to a personal memory of my grandma. When WWII began, resources were scarce. She would take her mother’s Qing dynasty clothes to the merchants of Jiangmen in exchange for money. “One piece of my mother’s Qing …
The theme of security and protection has been prominently featured in the diaolou’s that I have visited in Kaiping. But Nan Lou is perhaps the only diaolou that came with an official history in the defense of the nation. We called a car to take …
My friend and I went to Kaiping because she saw an ad on the MTR in Hong Kong promoting the Chikan Ancient Town. As such, it was with a whole lot of anticipation that I arrived at Chikan from Majianglong Village.
And, to say the least, the experience at Chikan was disappointing, and I shall explain below.
Upon arrival, Rongan Lou greeted visitors with a cheeky banner saying “fat choi from now on,” (become super wealthy from now on). This is one of the few diaolou’s in the ancient town. Rongan Lou has 6 stories, and it is one of the taller diaolou’s that I have seen.
We stayed at the Changsheng Hotel on site at the ancient town. The hotel was clean and modern, and that was about the best experience we had there at Chikan.
Included in our room fees was the entrance fee into the Chikan Ancient Town. As with Huangyao, you will be going through a face scan as your “entry ticket.”
Entrance fee is waived for Kaiping locals. We are not sure if other Chinese locals can enter the ancient town for free as well. Our appearance certainly did not pass for a local Chinese, therefore every time we tried to enter the ancient town, we were asked to show our “tickets.”
Chikan, meaning “red ground,” acquired its Chinese name due to the abundance of red earth in the area. The two main clans that settled in this area of Kaiping in Chikan were the Guan and the Situ. The history of settlement began about 350 years ago. In the earlier times, the Guans and the Situs did not get along. They each set up their own marketplaces, which were the economic lifelines in Chinese societies. Where their economic and territorial interests clashed, the two clans had resorted to violent confrontations.
Photos: The ancestral halls of the Situs and the Guans, respectively.
The Tan River (Tanjiang) runs through now Chikan Ancient Town. Traditionally, the Situs marked their territory north of the river. The Guans took the south. As with the general area of Kaiping, Chikan is also known for the heavy influence that the overseas Chinese have had in all aspects of its history and landscape.
Finally, because of the beautiful city-scape of Chikan, an abundance of its fusion architecture and qilou’s (arcade buildings that are very much a prominent feature of Guangdong architecture), Chikan has been a very popular choice for movie sets.
Photo: The qilou’s (arcade buildings) are very prominent in Guangdong architecture.
Amongst the best-known ones are Qiuxi (2009) and The Grandmaster (2013). Another movie that has earned wide acclaim was Let the Bullets Fly (2010). It was set in Kaiping.
Our first sense of Chikan was its night scenery. To be fair, Chikan at night was beautiful in its own right. There was a very happening night market, but we opted to have dinner at a proper establishment. We found Meitang Hotel.
Located in the boundary point between the territories of the Guans and the Situs, Meitang Hotel was revitalized into a heritage site with upscale ambience. It is named after Situ Meitang, an overseas Chinese of the Situ lineage that had a legendary life working as a chef in the United States. He was a pivotal figure in a few anti-Qing organizations. He would eventually make great contributions to the 1911 Revolution.
The food was good, no doubt. Although we were hoping for western cuisine, we were shown a Chinese menu. For some reason, the restaurant was not able to handle the demand that evening (it did not seem like a full house to us). It took a very long time for our food to arrive. Considering that the experience was not perfect, we thought we paid a lot for this meal.
After our meal, we walked around the Chikan Ancient Town. Here are some of the photographs that shows its night scenery. The riverside areas are very popular with the tourists.
The next morning we woke up and decided to walk a little bit more in Chikan, to see it in daylight. We slowly warmed up to the ambience of the studio city. We debated whether those buildings were heritage, or merely props that were built for movie sets. They looked, oddly, so new and so old at the same time.
After a leisurely lunch and coffee, we decided to take the tour bus as our finale in Chikan, before we would head off to the Nan Lou for some authentic, history-heavy diaolou viewing. I highly recommend the tour bus. Do keep in mind that the afternoon hours are very busy for this tour. It takes the tourists on a run around the studio city, certainly to spots too far for us to walk to.
By then, we have decided that most of what we were looking at were indeed old, heritage buildings. It was just that they were too poorly renovated, (they could not have been called “restoration”) with clearly new materials simply plastering over the old, without even skillful craftsmanship.
The popularity of Chikan being a prime location for movie sets has resulted in Chikan Ancient Town being turned into a Universal Studio-type of venue. The Chikan studio city was built in 2005 with an RMB 20 million funding. The area spans 60,000 square meters.
Within its enormous square footage, the Chikan Ancient Town offers little by way of direction. In such a space, it is difficult for visitors to navigate the key sites without getting lost. The signages did not help much within the studio city. There is a large map that we saw, but really only in one spot within this vast space.
What frustrated us the most was the fact that it was a big hassle trying to get inside the studio city from our hotel. Our hotel stood right across the river from the ancient town, and for some reason, we kept walking on streets and bridges that looked as if they were leading into the ancient town but they turned out to be dead ends. We could not understand why a clear throughway could not have been provided. We have had to turn back a few times as we tried to get inside the town area.
In my humble opinion, the sites inside the studio city were poorly-renovated. The clear intention was to serve as movie sets and there was no effort to bring out the historic qualities in these buildings. The studio city trumped the authenticity of valuable historic sites with gaudy makeshift props and that broke my heart. There was little for the heritage tourist within the studio city.
The story of Chikan was not told to us in any coherent manner. I only learned about some key historic sites after we left: the Jinghui Lou, the two libraries of the Situs and the Guans etc. In the large map, there was no indication where the narrative of Chikan would be told, and there were thousands of buildings claiming to be heritage in the area. Although some shops showed exhibitions, the story told was pitifully inadequate.
Photo: One of the very few exhibitioins that we came across, on the former site of a light and power company.
My conclusion from this experience was that Chikan was actually not touristy enough. It was meant to be a studio city, certainly not for tourists. The poor design of the studio city was amply frustrating to those who look for more than instagrammable photographs.
Having spent one frustrating night and half a frustrating day there, I suggest tourists to scrap the Chikan studio city, and just visit the arcade buildings on the west bank of the river.
Our next stop is Nan Lou. It was going to be a whole lot better for the history tourist.
The Wikipedia on Chikan (Chin).
I had to hurry through the Majianglong Village because time with the hired car was up soon. Even a quick walk through the village brought forth quite a different experience from the previous two sites that I visited, the Zili Village and Liyuan Garden. Majianglong …
At first glance of the introduction of Kaiping, I was actually least interested in Liyuan. Somehow when the Diaolou’s are placed in a rich man’s manicured garden they seemed to lose authenticity to me. As it turned out, the Liyuan Diaolou’s were very engaging as …
For a very long time, the Lin Heung Tea House of Sheung Wan was known for being a prime touristy restaurant that the Hong Kong locals do not go. Often touted as the “most traditional dim sum in Hong Kong,” the restaurant served its dim sum in the now-but all-disappeared dim sum carts and its aged staff would pour boiling water into your individual tea cups with a super long-beaked teapot.
I imagine that this was the practice until the restaurant temporarily closed in 2019. It reopened in 2020, but did not survive the COVID pandemic and closed in 2022 again. Having gone through quite a significant makeover, it again reopened its doors at the same location in Wellington Street this year.
I took an American friend on a tour in Central and thought of Lin Heung Tea House. There was some indecision there, because restaurants serving Cantonese dim sum are a dime a dozen in Sheung Wan. If Lin Heung Tea House was still serving the kinds of dim sum that I had when I took another friend there last time (more than 15 years ago), then on the basis of its terrible food quality I should not bring this friend there now.
Well, what a surprise. We went to a Lin Heung Tea House that has moved on with the times in major respects but retaining some of its iconic qualities. And food was honestly good.
Ling Heung Lou is a century-old brand name that originated in Guangzhou as a traditional Chinese confectionary. In Guangzhou, it was, and it still is, known for its lotus paste pastries. I have written about the Lin Heung of Guangzhou previously, please see more history here.
The very first Lin Heung Tea House made its debut in Hong Kong in 1927, as a branch of the Guangzhou Lin Heung. At its heyday, there were three Lin Heung restaurants in Hong Kong operating under its umbrella brand name, namely Lin Heung Tea House, Lin Heung Chaan and Lin Heung Kui.
Lin Heung in Hong Kong has always been the venue for traditional Cantonese food, including its classic pastries, dim sum and traditional Cantonese cuisine. The Wellington Street location used to serve cattle liver siu mai (steamed dumplings), which was really one of its kind even in Hong Kong.
The Guangzhou Lin Heung group business operated in the standard limited shareholding company structure until the founding of New China. The developing command economy in China had resulted in major ownership restructuring (as well as renaming) of the Lin Heung Lou in Guangzhou. Dividend payments from the Hong Kong restaurants stopped during those first decades of Communist rule in China.
As of 2024, at its reopening, Lin Heung Tea House is the only surviving Lin Heung brand restaurant in Hong Kong. Lin Heung Kui, which was established by the same Hong Kong owners in 2009, has remade itself into another brand name called Luk On Kui in May 2024.
In terms of history, the Lin Heung Tea House of Hong Kong will have reached its centennial in 2027. There are three more years to go for the current lease at 160 Wellington Street. Due to rezoning, the current venue, which has given home to Lin Heung Tea House since 1996, is expected to be surrendered then.
Sources suggest that the current Lin Heung Tea House was reopened by former staff members with the investment of a supportive patron. It retains the trademark that has stood the test of a century’s worth of history, licensed by the previous group owner. However, this is, by and large, a new entity in terms of its ownership and operation.
As said before, the Lin Heung Tea House still serves the dim sums in dim sum carts that make their rounds throughout the restaurant.
If you want the tea served in the classic tea cups (a large cup with individual lids), then you would have to pay extra. As far as I could observe, Lin Heung Tea House is still more popular with the tourists than with the locals.
In terms of food selection, the standard repertoire of ha gow (steamed shrimp dumplines), siu mai (steamed pork dumplings), chicken wrapped in tofu skin, tan san (deep fried egg pastries) are available. We were truly amazed by the quality of its food, and prices were reasonable (a little over HK $100 per head). My American friend wanted to try the egg tarts and the puff pastry on the egg tarts did not disappoint.
It was still a venue hot with significant foot traffic but the horror of its wet floor in the past has been fully addressed. The place is cramped, surely, but it is clean and well-lit now.
The Wikipedia on Lin Heung Tea House (Chin).
HK01, Lin Heung Tea House Reopens (Chin).
The free public tour at the Hong Kong Observatory is rumored to be very difficult for anyone to secure a spot. I was fortunate that I succeeded in signing up in my first attempt. On a rainy afternoon I headed to the Observatory with much …
I took interest in the Tsiu Keng village area in Sheung Shui because there is a palm woods there that is very photogenic. Upon some research I learned that there are a few interesting things to do and see there. Let me take you on …
Want milk tea? Cha Chaan Teng is the way to go. Cha (tea) chaan teng (restaurant), refers to a practice in the early times that these restaurants would charge you double if you sat there and only sipped the bland Chinese tea that the waiter served you. People certainly do not go to the cha chaan teng’s for tea drinking only, as there is always a “free” hot beverage for you if you order the meal sets.
The Cha Chaan Teng is a little bit difficult to dub an English name over. In European terms, the cha chaan teng is somewhat equivalent to the café’s of France in the way that they are prevalent in all corners of Hong Kong. The commonality of the food served in the cha chaan teng is like the fish n’ chips shops in Britain, as classic food that is humble but representative of the local dining culture. In American terms, the cha chaan teng is like the millions of fast food stores in America, each restaurant or brand serving a variety of, essentially, the same type of food, meant to be consumed in an easy, quick and casual manner.
There is no argument that the cha chaang teng’s are distinctly Hong Kong, as its food clearly expresses Hong Kong’s historical character as a predominantly Chinese society with heavy foreign (British and otherwise) influences. The omnipresence of cha chaan teng’s in Hong Kong is also the very testament of a working class culture. Most of them serve up comforting food in one plate, ultimately meant for just one person to order, eat, finish, have a milk tea, then move right along the day’s rhythm.
For Hong Kong locals, cha chaan teng’s are the go-to for quick meals. Whilst they usually have more to offer than fast food restaurants, the cha chaan teng’s are known for being very efficient in their service as well. The ambience is usually a little more comfortable in cha chaan teng than fast food restaurants. Their milk tea is also generally better. The menu items are the commonplace dishes, but there are usually more varieties than the fast food chains. The standard features on a cha chaan teng menu don’t go wrong — in any such restaurant that you randomly walk in — local pastries, fried rice, fried noodles, soup ramen, soup spaghetti, baked rice, and standard home-cook style rice plates.
The idea of the Cha Chaan Teng has been around for some 70, 80 years in Hong Kong. After World War II, there was a void between the two predominant dining cultures of Hong Kong, that of the food for the local Chinese and for the western foreigners. At the time, most Chinese people could not afford the high-end restaurants that served western cuisine. The cha chaan teng then rose as a localized vision of western food, offered cheaply, for the local Chinese. And it is in this sense that cha chaan teng’s are distinctly Hong Kong.
Take the milk tea for an example. The British rightly take credit for the idea of putting milk into tea. The cha chaan teng’s of Hong Kong adapted the milk tea to the preference of Chinese diners. The British milk tea comes with the lightness and subtleties of high quality tea leaves. The local Hong Kong version comes with a heavy infusion of a strong tea base with mixed tea leaves, double, triple, quadruple-brewed, and the evaporated milk and sugar serve to taper the bitterness of the tea and add a touch of smoothness without the creaminess of regular milk. This is a classic example of how western cuisine is adapted to meet the budget and preferences of the local populace. And surely, every cha chaan teng has its own secret recipe for its milk tea.
In a previous entry, I have discussed Hoi An Café, which is now permanently closed, as one of the longest-standing cha chaan teng’s in Hong Kong. There are some other very well-known cha chaan teng’s that have acquired the status of heritage dining. In their decades-long experience in the dining scene, these old-schooled cha chaan teng’s have made their names in different kinds of menu items. As common as cha chaan teng foods are, the Hong Kong diners can easily tell the difference between good, regular and bad cha chaan teng food. In the following, I will introduce two historic cha chaan teng’s, each having its own specialty. In an upcoming entry, I will discuss Lan Fong Yuen, namely the oldest cha chaan tang standing in Hong Kong.
Sun Wah Café has established its presence in Cheung Sha Wan since 1966. A restaurant of the Or family, Sun Wah Café had a somewhat unusual beginning. The Or family originally ran a grocer business selling rice and containers. Because a restaurant owner owed this family business money, he sold his restaurants as the way to satisfy the debt. Or Ming Gon, the son of the grocer, then took up these restaurants and began the family’s business in food and dining.
Sun Wah Café’s name meant “A New China.” Even in its very beginning, the wonderful pastries, milk tea and coffee drew a large crowd. Over the long years, Sun Wah Café had gone through significant revamp to meet the changing preferences of its diners. In terms of pastries, Sun Wah Café has slowly phased out some of the old-fashioned items. For now, its egg tart in puff pastry remains the most popular pastry on its shelves.
Besides its egg tarts, Sun Wah Café also makes a fried Singapore rice noodle dish that has earned the praise of famous food critics. Its breakfast menu is also very popular, particularly the satay beef soup ramen and its omelet. Finally, its fried dry beef noodle and fried beef in scrambled eggs over rice are also must-order items.
By now, the restaurant is run by the third-generation owner, Ms. Or Shuet Wan. She has transformed the restaurant in significant ways as well, including the introduction of the afternoon tea set menu. The family purchased the shop as its own property, and it is hoped that the good name of Sun Wah Café will be passed on for generations more.
The address of Sun Wah Café is G/F, 334 Castle Peak Road, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon.
A restaurant with a long history in Mong Kok, Kam Wah Café & Cake Shop has earned its name since its beginning in 1973. In Chinese, the restaurant’s name is “bing teng,” a variant of the “bing sutt,” which is somewhat a predecessor of the current-day cha chaan teng. The owner of Kam Wah Café thought “bing teng” sounded trendier than “bing sutt,” and so Kam Wah’s Chinese name is Kam Wah Bing Teng.
The difference between a “bing sutt” and a cha chaan teng is in the license. Bing sutt’s only have the license to serve “snacks” (Light Refreshments License), but the cha chaan teng’s have the permission to sell any kind of cooked dishes. As a result of this limitation, the bing sutt itself is slowly becoming obsolete in Hong Kong. Kam Wah certainly made a smooth transition into a cha chaan teng, and long lines very often form for its wide variety of menu offers.
It being in a very busy part of Kowloon, Kam Wah Café & Cake Shop is especially popular with tourists. This is a key difference from Sun Wah Café, which mostly serves loyal local customers.
In my opinion, its most sought-after pineapple bun really is the very best on the menu. The buns are made throughout the day and they are kept warm on the premise. The most typical way to enjoy it is to order the bun with a fat slab of butter. The crunchy, sugary topping of its pineapple buns are made of lard from the Netherlands, A-grade flour, imported eggs from Europe and evaporated milk. Kam Wah Café sells over a thousand of these buns every day. Its kitchen churns out a new batch every ten, fifteen minutes.
Besides the pineapple bun, the restaurant features a menu that covers literally all bases in terms of cha chaan teng dining. From soup udon to fried ramen, curry with rice or Hong Kong styled fried rice, its menu will hit both your savory and sweet spots. Remember to top off your meal with its signature milk tea.
The address of Kam Wah Café and Cake Shop is 46-47, Bute Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon.
Hong Kong Historical Shops on Sun Wah Café (Chin).
Various Chinese sources online on Kam Wah Café.
What is known as the Cantonese bamboo noodles (in Cantonese “Zuk Sing” noodles) is a food familiar to many. The yellow, stringy and bouncy noodle is the very spirit in the Cantonese wonton noodle soup. Many people in Hong Kong and Guangdong would consider a …