Hong Kong losing taste for traditional trades as city embraces new business chains
Barbers and shoe shiners become a rare sight, while tea houses shut as youngsters now prefer to get their caffeine fix at cafes
In the old days Hongkongers used to consume milk tea, pineapple buns, macaroni with sliced ham and egg and corned beef sandwiches at the city’s cha chaan teng, or tea houses. With smoked mirrors, vintage ceiling fans producing moving silhouettes and booth-style tables, you might have felt you were on the sets of Days of Being Wild, In the Mood for Love or 2046 by Hong Kong film director Wong Kar-wai.
But this iconic Cantonese cafe culture has been gradually fading out, with many establishments closing. Typical of this trend is the shuttering of Man Wah Cafe and Bakery in Mong Kok at the end of last year after serving food lovers in Hong Kong for more than 40 years.
The restaurant, with vintage-style interiors, was frequented by many well-known stars such as actor Sean Lau Ching-wan and Canto-pop superstar Sam Hui Koon-kit.
The city now has a wide selection of restaurants, leaving cha chaan tengs well behind. Young Hongkongers more often than not nowadays largely enjoy breakfast or tea at Western chains such as Starbucks and Pacific Coffee, or fast-food chains such as Maxim’s, McDonald’s or Cafe de Coral.
The tea house is not the only sunset business in an ever-changing retail scene.
