Charmaine Mok

On The Menu | Curry fishball tiramisu. Tomato and scrambled egg ice cream. Hong Kong food firsts for April 1

It is a big week for Hong Kong as the heritage dim sum parlour Lin Heung reopens, with a fresh lick of paint and familiar classic dishes back on the trolleys

We also tried two viral – and thankfully time-limited – food items from Miss Tira and Ikea. Tomato and scrambled egg soft serve ice cream, anyone?

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Charmaine Mok

Published: 7:45am, 3 Apr 2024Updated: 4:08pm, 3 Apr 2024

This past April Fools’ Day had a few surprises – namely, that something appearing to be a joke turned out to be real.

The first was the news that Lin Heung Tea House, the historic dim sum parlour on Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong, was set to open again on April 1. After a tumultuous few years that saw the restaurant close in 2019, reopen two days later, then close, seemingly for good, in 2022, it was resurrected once more on Easter Monday at 6am.

By Tuesday morning, it seemed this news had not got out. The teahouse was barely half full, but began filling up around 11am. The staff zipping about seemed happy to be back. “It’s the old boss,” one confirmed as she topped up our tea.

The space has been refreshed with more than just a lick of paint – the furniture is new, the lighting brighter and the uniforms updated, with some staff wearing utilitarian beige aprons with the Lin Heung Tea House logo stitched in red as if they are working in a speciality coffee shop rather than an old-time dim sum restaurant.

New neon signs for Lin Heung Tea House have been installed on the corner of Wellington Street and Aberdeen Street, Central. Photo: Charmaine Mok

Some trolley pushers seemed newer to the job, having to consult the menu to figure out the right price of the dim sum before stamping our cards. But everyone seemed jovial, and the familiar sight of silver-haired regulars propping up a newspaper over their morning tea is something we have missed.