Yesteryear of Yum: Top 5 retro Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong

It happens all too often: you discover a great restaurant, a little slice of culinary joy in Hong Kong’s overcrowded dining scene, only to return a week later and find it closed for good. Restaurants come and go like the smog here, but some have somehow defied the odds to stand the test of time.

Here we list our top five retro Chinese restaurants that have not only changed little throughout their decades-long histories, but have thrived despite the city’s continuously advancing climate.

Tai Ping Koon

Arguably the oldest restaurant on our list, Tai Ping Koon first opened its doors back in 1860 in Guangzhou, eventually expanding into Hong Kong by the 1930s. It was the first to push forward in what’s now quaintly known as “soy sauce cuisine” – an inspired blend of Chinese ingredients and Western-style recipes.

These days, the restaurant continues to chug along healthily, with four branches in Central, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and Jordan. Each is a self-contained time warp of bow-tied servers and 50s-styled brown leather booths.

The menu has also changed little in the past 80 years, with diners still greedily gobbling down such strangely appealing classics as Portuguese Baked Pork, Chicken Wings in “Swiss Sauce” and, of course, their famed Roasted Pigeon.

The four locations are listed here.
 


Luk Yu Tea House


Photo: David via Flickr

An old-school dim sum stalwart located smack-bang in the middle of high-end Central, the three-floored Luk Yu Teahouse can trace its history back to 1933, when it stood out as an upscale colonial-styled alternative to the city’s many downtrodden tea houses.

Gorgeous dark-wood panelling and overhead antique fans welcome large swathes of long-time customers, with the entire first floor permanently reserved for the cafe’s most loyal diners. In modern times, the restaurant is infamous for being the setting of a Godfather-style triad execution in 2002 – but don’t let that put you off.

The dishes here strike the ideal balance between classic and contemporary. They’re slightly pricier than neighbouring spots, but you’re paying for both quality and atmosphere. Don’t leave without sampling the comically large Jumbo-Size Chicken Bun.

Luk Yu Tea House, 24-26 Stanley Street, Central,(+852) 2523-5464.
 


 

Lin Heung Teahouse

If Luk Yu Teahouse is the ‘30s version of a tycoon’s canteen, then Lin Heung Teahouse is where the working man eats breakfast. The restaurant first opened its doors in 1926, moving to his current Stanley Street home in the mid-90s, but the teahouse is just as rowdy and riotous as it ever was.

Pull up a stool and try desperately to get a waiter’s attention, before quickly grabbing as many baskets as you can from the trolley. The food might not be as good as it once was, but fans attest that Lin Heung is really about the atmosphere – a throwback to the days when weekend brunch was more bao than Benedict.

Lin Heung Teahouse, 160-164 Wellington Street, (+852) 2544-4556.
 


 

Canton Room

Possibly the least prominent name on this list, Canton Room is nonetheless just as steeped in history as the above, if not more so. Its doors first opened back in 1933 when it was said to be the very first Chinese restaurant inside a Hong Kong hotel.

During World War II, Canton Room and its surrounding Luk Kwok Hotel became a Japanese military clubhouse, before the British seized control in 1946. Today, the restaurant has lost some of its original lustre, but there’s no doubting the menu, where traditional dishes are given equal space alongside more modern offerings.

And while it might be a little tough or even impossible for English-speakers to decipher the Chinese-only seasonal menu, such challenges just encourage the spirit of adventure that this little gem embodies.

Canton Room, 1/F, Luk Kwok Hotel, 72 Gloucester Road, (+852) 2821-8984.
 


 

Yung Kee

Photo: Chin, Singapore via Flickr

Its facade is impossible to miss, a towering five-floor restaurant located on Wellington Street in Central. But that wasn’t always the case, with Yung Kee’s humble beginnings stemming back to 1938, when founder Kam Shui-fai set up a tiny roast meat stall in Central.

Four years later, Kam expanded to a physical shop down the road, eventually moving to its banquet hall-styled permanent home by the mid-60s. After 70 years of plying its trade, Yung Kee has all but perfected the art of siu mei.

The famous roast goose is the obvious choice, but just as good is the wonderfully flavourful barbecued pork. And despite recent and highly publicised in-fighting among the Kam family, with members setting up their own rival roast meat shops, none match the historic quality of the original location.

Yung Kee, 32-40 Wellington Street, (+852) 2522-1624.

 

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