Vignettes of the World
The Tai Lam Chung Reservoir was the first reservoir in Hong Kong built after WWII. Construction began in 1952 and completed in 1957. It is also the largest reservoir in the New Territories, with a capacity of 21 million cubic meters. The main dam of …
From picnicking to jogging, from playing street music to bicycling, there is something for everyone at the Tai Po Waterfront Park. Wedged between the Tai Po Industrial Estate and Fu Shin Estate, the park prides in its open space of twenty-acres with thirty points of …
The Sam Tung Uk in Tsuen Wan is formerly the Hakka Wai Village (Hakka walled village) of the Chan’s. In Chinese, “tung” means the upper beams of the houses, which support the roof. Because this village had three main halls, the name Sam Tung Uk means “three beamed house.”
The Chan’s of Fujian came to Hong Kong during the 18th century. They settled in Tsuen Wan, farmed for a living and thrived. The 14th generation descendant Chan Yam-shing was the head of the family. He was much looked-up to in the community as a respectable person. As his family grew, he wanted to build a village.
The site where Sam Tung Uk is was very much favored in terms of Feng-shui. It was a “Reclining Fairy” in accordance with Feng-shui reading. However, then landlord of the site refused to sell. Even when Chan Yam-shing passed away, the family was not able to acquire this land. It was not until Cham Yam-shing’s first son, Chan Kin-sheung, grew up as the head of the family did the Chan’s manage to acquire this plot with a very high price. In the 51st year of the Qianlong Reign (1786) the Chan’s moved in to this newly-constructed walled village. It is one of the oldest walled villages in Hong Kong.
The village is walled in the shape of a rectangle. At the central axis there are three covered main halls. The first entrance is into the main hall, then secondly the Assembly Hall, and finally the Ancestral Hall.
This end gate at the Assembly Hall serves to ward off the evil forces. It protects the village from disasters. As such, the gate remains closed for usual days except for very special occasions. Above the gate is set a plaque of honor that the Qing Court gifted to Chan Kin-Sheung. It recognizes his significant contribution to charity and the community. The words mean “Greatly-Respected Patriarch.” Currently on display is a replica of the 1980s. The original was long ago beyond repairs.
Besides the three main halls and the living quarters of the four sons of Cham Yam-shing, the museum also houses a few other exhibitions. They aim to show the village lifestyle of 18th and 19th century Hong Kong. Perhaps of some significance is the acquisition of the exhibits. Apparently, even the indigenous villagers of the Chan clan had not retained any of the original tools, furniture and utensils by the time the Hong Kong Government decided to restore Sam Tung Uk in the 1980s. As such, the Museum had to source the restoration material of the structures and the exhibits from China. Museum officials found the Hakka Walled Villages of the Lai’s and the Luo’s in Longgang. The villagers still farmed with traditional tools. Therefore, the museum discussed with the village elders and acquired these items for display in this museum.
Actually of the exhibition there I found this point to be perhaps the most interesting. Clearly, by now there is probably very little chance to be able to acquire such items even from the villages of China.
There are other exhibitions on the side halls on traditional paper crafts and festivals. I found those to be mildly interesting.
It takes about one hour to tour the Sam Tung Uk and its exhibitions.
At the Tsuen Wan MTR Station, take Exit C, go through the mall, from that point about a five minutes walk.
Descriptions on-site at Sam Tung Uk.
Book Review: Hong Kong Internment, 1942-1945 by Geoffrey Charles Emerson This is a great introduction to Hong Kong’s World War II history. Originally written as a master’s thesis for history, this work approaches the subject matter with sympathy and life-breathing details. One of the main …
Hong Kong’s local oysters mostly come from Lau Fau Shan in western Yuen Long. The second generation owner of oyster farm Chan Cheung Kee decided to satisfy the palate of oyster lovers by opening the Best Oyster Noodle restaurant in Prince Edward. The oysters served …
“During the transport, the chefs would feed the baby pigeons with their own mouths to prevent them from starving. Because we used only baby pigeons of 23-24 days old, they were not able to eat on their own yet. If they could eat on their own, then they were too old for us already.” ~Mrs. Chung Kam Ning, interview with the Metro Radio Hong Kong
The story of Lung Wah began last century, in 1938. In its 80 years of existence, the “red house,” as it was known then, has witnessed a stellar chapter of Hong Kong’s history. Its fame as Shatin’s first hotel, and its chicken and pigeon cuisine, has drawn the patronage of Hong Kong’s top echelon. On its Hall of Fame are the likes of Bruce Lee, Cantonese drama actor Fong Yim Fan, writer Jin Yung, and many more.
The Chung family was a prominent family in Guangdong. Chung Kam Ning’s grandfather was a Qing government official. His parents fled to Hong Kong from the calamities of wars in the early 20th century. The parents were entrepreneurs owning several lucrative businesses, including an old-styled Chinese private bank and a trading company.
Chung Kam Ning’s mother built Lung Wah first as their country home. During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese took over the two-storied mansion and it served as the military headquarter for the Japanese Imperial Army.
After WWII, Chung Kam Ning’s father turned the venue into a hotel, as just one out of many business ventures of the family. But the economy was in tatters then, and business was very poor. That was when Chung Kam Ning volunteered to take up Lung Wah Hotel. At 20 years old, he did not have the funds to hire a well-known chef, but he had a spirit of determination.
He found Ho Pak, who was a cloth vendor. Ho only cooked a few common home-style dishes when he started. With a spirit of perseverance, Chung gathered all sorts of recipes available in the local newspapers. He and Ho worked closely together, and included any successful attempts into the menu of the hotel. Slowly, he turned the business around in the following few decades. Eventually, Ho also made it as a great chef in Hong Kong.
Certainly, Colonial Hong Kong was Lung Wah’s most glorious time. Christ Patten, Hong Kong’s last Colonial Governor, has visited Lung Wah three times. In his first time, he went unannounced. On the second time, he knew his way and went straight to the kitchen area and handed his own menu over to the chef. When eating pigeons, he would use his hands, just like the locals do. In 1996, then British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd visited Hong Kong. Douglas Hurd loved Shanghainese fried dumplings. Mrs. Chung made these dumplings for him because the restaurant did not serve Shanghainese cuisine.
Lung Wah gained its fame through its three most famous dishes: roast pigeons, chicken congee and the mountain stream tofu.
At one point, Lung Wah Hotel was surrounded by farmland and the family raised many different kinds of livestock. A pigeon breeder in Tai Po gave Lung Wah some pigeons suitable for breeding. And breeding they did. Very soon, the farm had so many pigeons that they became a burden, because there was not a high demand for live pigeons. Well, the most obvious thing to do was to eat them. Chef Ho Pak then suggested: why don’t we make some roast pigeons? And since then, roast pigeons became the signature of Lung Wah. Actually the specialty of Shatin, for that matter.
And the making of these dishes have also changed with times.
At its heyday, Lung Wah has once sold a record of 6, 000 pigeons within a day. However, since the bird flu of 1997, there was no longer live slaughter of pigeons on site. The restaurant still owns a pigeon farm in the mainland, but the pigeons are transported “freshly frozen” as most fowls are nowadays. Therefore the pigeons served are no longer “slaughtered-live” as the Lung Wah fans might remember. The same goes with the chicken congee.
The mountain stream tofu was once made with water from the mountainous streams in Hong Kong. Again, due to changing times, it was no longer legal to use mountain stream for commercial production of food.
As such, these dishes are the standing witness to Hong Kong’s history and transformation in the past eight decades.
We entered Lung Wah via the Shatin villages. After a ten minute walk from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department in Shatin, we arrived at the beautiful corridor with red lanterns. I seemed to see myself in my primary school days again. I once had the opportunity to eat “slaughtered-live” pigeons here.
It was pandemic time and for lunch there were just about two to three tables in the spacious main dining room. We received a warm welcome. According to Wai Ling, the famous food critic, patrons who will have pigeons should take it as the main course. Order side dishes that are light-flavored, so to fully appreciate the pigeons. That was what we did. We each had one pigeon and only ordered veggies on the side.
To be fair, I really could not tell if pigeons were better then. I thought these pigeons were just as good. They were hot and juicy.
I took some time to take a good look at the venue. The red house has many different chambers and courtyards. Famous writer Jin Yung finished writing the martial arts novel The Book and the Sword here. In one of the now-closed hotel rooms lies a wardrobe that the famous Qing reformer Kang Youwei has used. The very site seems to breathe the history of Hong Kong into life.
I lived in Shatin for a good 8,9 years before I left Hong Kong. Even during the 1990s, dining at Lung Wah was a big deal for the Hong Kong commoners.
Before we left, the staff gave us beautiful coasters as a souvenir. To me, the true gift was the fact that the restaurant has continued to keep its door open despite the many difficult times in recent Hong Kong history. I shall not take this nostalgia for granted, as many historic dining venues have closed since last year’s unfortunate events and this year’s pandemic.
I will certainly come again soon.
Sources:
The Gold Plated Plaque, Metro Radio Hong Kong, Episode 220.
韋然編著，黃花紅酒醉龍華 (2008).
Introduction of Lung Wah Hotel menu.
Kam Tin, in the much older times, was known as Shum Tin. During the Ming Dynasty in 1587, a severe drought in the Baoan County depleted the granaries. The magistrate requested the villagers to submit grain. The results were poor, with the exception of the …
We did a quick tour at the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMOA) this day. Getting In We got a ticket for the timeslot of 12:30 – 2:30pm. We were mistaken as we thought that we could stay for as long as we wanted upon …
As of June 2023, the giant twines of Mau Ping have been destroyed (not completely) by a vicious person, who chopped down parts of the old trees. The twines suffered significant damage. Some experts have assessed that the damage is too great for the twines to grow back. We express the most severe condemnation to the person who committed this grave act against nature.
The trail of the day leads me to the twines of Mau Ping. I drove to the Sai Kung area and found my way to the beginning of the trail in Pak Kong. The first section is the Pak Kong Trail.
Within five minutes of hiking the Pak Kong Trail, I came across the first bamboo grove. This would be the second bamboo-lined trail I have seen in Hong Kong, the first one being in the Ho Pui Family Walk. I therefore naturally compared this bamboo grove with the one in Ho Pui Reservoir. To be honest, it was the difference between seeing a clean-shaved man with a crew cut and an unkempt, or at least rugged-face man. My inclination was the clean, trimmed and well-kept bamboo in Ho Pui. But I liked the view of bamboo generally so I snapped many pictures on the Pak Kong Trail too.
The trail then took on a gentle incline and its intensity increased as I hiked. At some point I looked back. I was looking far onto the views of the seas off of Sai Kung and its outlaying islands. My photographs don’t really do justice to the view though:
Soon I came across the first sign pointing to Mau Ping. It says 0.3 km and it sounded like too easy of a hike even to me. I was overjoyed: this 0.3km was a consistent incline. Although not too strenuous, it did go on for a good half hour.
It was in this part of the trail that I came across the second bamboo grove. This time, with a closer and refreshed look at it, I started to appreciate its beauty. The bamboo was overgrown, but its overgrowth weighed down and formed an arch over me. It felt like entering into a time-travelling bamboo tunnel. It was actually pretty cool.
I walked on these never-ending stairs and finally came upon the Mau Ping rest area. The grass was so verdant that I thought we were still in spring. I was very excited, for the twines of Mau Ping was near. I went through the pathway next to the pavilion.
Photo: the way to the Giant Bean is on the right of the pavilion
And there they were, the twines of old eerie trees, exhibiting all shapes and forms of coils.
I call these giant twines because I have no botanical knowledge. Apparently, this tree has the official name of Entada phaseoloides, in English colloquially as Giant Bean. Their fruits grow in pods.
There were many, many local tourists there waiting to take pictures. I managed to snap some shots in the split seconds when they took turns. According to other bloggers, this is a rare species in Hong Kong. They mainly grow in the Tai Po Kau and Sai Kung area.
Perhaps I should take readers through the way to the Pak Kong Trail. The main road that runs between Kowloon and Sai Kung is the Hiram’s Highway. If you drive from Sai Kung heading over to the Kowloon direction, make a right onto Pak Kong Road. If you take public transport, minibuses 1/1A/1S/2/12/101M depart from the Sai Kung pier terminus. Ask to get off at Pak Kong. When you are at the intersection of Pak Kong Road and Hiram’s Highway, you will see a water treatment plant. Go forward on Pak Kong Road, passing Pak Kong Garden (this section takes 15-20 minutes on foot), and you will continue to ascend through a gentle incline. At this following point, take the path to your left.
Keep going for a little, then at this next crossroad, sharp right.
Pass this checkpoint too, keep going and you will come upon an aqueduct. Keep going toward the fences, and the beginning of the Pak Kong Trail is right at its end. Once you find the Pak Kong Trail, just follow the signs for Mau Ping.
I went on a cloudy day. As I hiked up the Mau Ping section, my concern was “how could I get back down.” Reason being that both sections are ancient trails. The villagers paved them many years ago with stones. At certain points, I was ascending on smooth-surfaced rocks that resembled a steep slope more so than solid steps. Going downward would be very dangerous if it was slippery. Therefore be very careful and definitely do not go on a rainy day. In any event a hiking cane would be handy for this trail.
Parking: I parked at the curbside, where everybody else parked illegally. That way it saved me the first 15-20 minute walk on Pak Kong Road. I parked close to Pak Kong garden and still it took me 15 minutes to reach the beginning of the Pak Kong Trail.
It was two hours later when I made it back to my car. What a wonderful adventure.
Sources:
TimHiking.Com on Pak Kong and Mau Ping.
Hong Kong Herbarium on Entada phaseoloides.
After visiting the Police Museum, we decided to take a walk in the neighboring Aberdeen Reservoir. The entrance to the trail is right next to the Wan Chai Gap Park on the Aberdeen Reservoir Road. Simply walk along, all the way down on the paved …