TOPIC

Cantonese culture, slang and customs

Cantonese opera singer and nurse Iris Kwan (right) performs at the Sunbeam Theatre with her partner. Photo: SCMP

Curtain call for private Cantonese opera venue in Hong Kong as lease set to expire

Sunbeam Theatre to close its doors next year after hosting fans for more than five decades, with church to take over site on King’s Road.

Sunbeam Theatre to close its doors next year after hosting fans for more than five decades, with church to take over site on King’s Road

Opinion | We get it – family dinners are tricky to navigate for non-Chinese partners

Opinion | Why Hong Kong needs to embrace failure to succeed

videocam

Opinion | Believe it or not, Hong Kong’s culture and nature are the tourist draw

No amount of promotion abroad, free air tickets or mega events will work if Hong Kong does not go big on local arts, culture and ecotourism.

videocam
7
Illustration: Craig Stephens

Explainer | Revealed: quirky secrets which make China’s Dragon Boat Festival special

China’s Dragon Boat Festival has a history stretching back centuries. Here, the Post takes a look at some of the event’s lesser-known customs.

Dragon Boat Festival: 10 Hong Kong restaurants for creative rice dumplings

Sticky rice dumplings are a Dragon Boat Festival staple. This year Hong Kong restaurants are serving dumplings with an Omnipork filling, dumplings made with quinoa, and one suited to the keto diet.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement

Opinion | How learning Cantonese allowed me to fall in love with Hong Kong

Learning Cantonese has helped me to surrender my ego, sense of entitlement and expectations of how Hong Kong is ‘supposed to be’.

videocam
5
Pedestrians in Central on January 18. Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong challenges expatriates to move beyond their gilded, English-speaking cages. Photo: Eugene Lee

Profile | Fired 3 times, Grace Choy found her vocation as chef of her own restaurant

Chef and cookbook author Grace Choy tells Kate Whitehead about her ‘simple’ childhood above the family’s mahjong shop in Hong Kong and how itchy feet have led her to Tokyo.

6

Opinion | 3 ways Hong Kong can easily and quickly up its tourism game

Hong Kong has all the ingredients it needs, from its East-meets-West cultural history, free port tax-free status and vast natural attractions.

Opinion | Greater Bay Area standards are no recipe for saving Hong Kong food culture

The threat to the Hong Kong food scene stems from complex factors, which the Greater Bay Area guidelines do not address. Young culinary graduates are not working for old-school restaurants, and legacy skills are not being passed down.

videocam
Dim sum, as it was served in Lin Heung Tea House before it closed in 2022. The Greater Bay Area has published guidelines intended to preserve Cantonese food heritage, but do not address the real challenges that put this heritage at risk. Photo: Jonathan Wong

‘All ethnic groups matter’: Chinese textbook spells out integration policies

Analysts expect affirmative action for ethnic minority groups will be further rolled back as Beijing backs down from emphasising their distinctive qualities.

videocam
39
Deputies from ethnic minority groups arrive for the NPC opening session on March 5, 2024. Photo: AFP

Are Greater Bay Area guides on classic foods causing a stir for Hong Kong chefs?

Guidelines aim to preserve region’s food heritage, but some say they stifle chefs’ creativity, innovation.

Then & Now | All you need to know about soybeans – including their lesbian link

Healthy and full of protein, soybeans have been a popular foodstuff in China for centuries. Here’s how they’re processed, made into products like soy sauce – and used in Cantonese to refer to lesbians.

Opinion | How to boost Hong Kong tourism: vouchers now, and a vision for the long term

The industry needs reforms and a radical overhaul but, for now, vouchers to reward tourists for spending locally – say, HK$100 for every HK$1,000 spent – would be a quick boost. Beyond that, Hong Kong must prioritise quality, distinctiveness and originality while leveraging its culture, diversity and heritage.

videocam
Illustration: Craig Stephens

Exhibition marking 20th anniversary of Hong Kong diva Anita Mui’s death opens

Hong Kong Heritage Museum opens the nine-month exhibition, titled ‘Timeless Diva: Anita Mui’, with 70 items on show.

videocam
The Anita Mui exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum includes record covers, stage costumes, movie posters and film stills. Photo: Dickson Lee

Kung Food: Inside TikTok star Jon Kung’s ‘third-culture cooking’ recipe book

US-based, Hong Kong-raised chef Jon Kung went TikTok viral with his deeply personal approach to food – new cookbook Kung Food: Chinese-American Recipes from a Third Culture Kitchen collects his greatest hits

Cantonese or Mandarin? A debate in Hong Kong education since 2008

Advertisement
Advertisement

Hong Kong’s love affair with Cantonese

11:48

Then & Now | Proud Chinese people’s cultured tastes help revive furniture making craft

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Cantonese furniture was the benchmark of Chinese craftsmanship for the outside world, and renewed domestic demand for high-quality items is seeing traditional skill sets revived.

An exorcist tells us how to avoid spirits during Hong Kong’s most haunted month

Hong Kong Fringe Club says it will fight to retain landmark Old Dairy Farm Depot

Top arts and performance venue says it will bid to retain distinctive Old Dairy Farm Depot home after government puts the space up for tender.

The distinctive Old Dairy Farm Depot in Central, home to the Fringe Club for almost 40 years. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Opinion | To boost nightlife tourism, why not promote Hong Kong’s dai pai dong?

In a city that never sleeps, instead of looking to organise new nightlife attractions, it makes more sense to highlight the ones that already exist as recognisable parts of local culture.

videocam
8
Dai pai dong cooks in Sham Shui Po on May 1. Increasingly, tourists prefer grit to glitter, turning away from modern, large-scale, planned events to seek out small, colourful, organic pockets of local history and culture. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Hong Kong puts hi-tech spin on Hungry Ghost Festival to give new life to traditions

Organisers announce first Yu Lan Cultural Festival since end of pandemic as city’s Chiu Chow community prepares to mark traditional period for appeasing spirits.

Inside Hong Kong Cantopop star Kayan9896’s luxury bag obsession

The city’s rising pop sensation has mastered the art of pairing street style looks with luxury handbags – channelling diva vibes in chunky platforms and monochrome ensembles

Ina Chan launches twin-track effort to widen Cantonese opera’s appeal

Macau-born businesswoman and philanthropist who was casino magnate Stanley Ho’s third wife launches a Cantonese opera troupe in Hong Kong and a centre to research the art form, hoping to widen its appeal.

A Cantonese opera performance in Hong Kong. Photo: Getty Images

Opinion | Legal action won’t tackle roots of anti-mainland sentiment in Hong Kong

Legal measures will merely provide temporary relief as they are only useful when both parties recognise what represents wrongdoing. The government must look deeper into the causes of anti-mainland sentiment in Hong Kong and take seriously the difficulties faced by tourism sector workers.

videocam
22
A group of tourists from the mainland queues outside a jewellery shop in To Kwa Wan on May 17. Allegations of Cathay Pacific flight crew discriminating against mainlanders are just the latest example of tensions that have a long history in Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang

Women finalists of Hong Kong’s bun-scrambling race revel in event’s return

Janet Kung, winner in 2019, and five-time champion Angel Wong say they have been preparing mentally and physically for race after three-year hiatus from pandemic

videocam

Builder vows to keep making bamboo bun towers for future Cheung Chau festivals

Only contractor with skills to construct bamboo towers pledges to continue the tradition after festival forced to use shorter steel structures this year.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Cantonese culture, slang and customs
Latest news and updates on all things Cantonese, including its slang terms and the culture and customs of the millions of people who speak the southern Chinese dialect in Hong Kong, Guangdong and around the world.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement