‘It doesn’t matter where, it’s about the people’: Tung Po Kitchen is reported to be reopening at a new Hong Kong location, and this loyal customer is delighted
- After Tung Po Kitchen was forced to shut down in North Point for breaching its tenancy agreement, its owner has said he plans to reopen in a new location
- ‘It’s going to create really good vibes for Hong Kong,’ says chef Charmaine Cheung, a regular at the restaurant known for a raucous atmosphere and beer in bowls
Tung Po Kitchen, the raucous Hong Kong restaurant known for its hearty Cantonese dai pai dong fare, beers served in “battle bowls” and the antics of owner Robby Cheung, is getting a second lease of life.
Cheung is reported to have told Hong Kong news website HK01 that he intends to reopen his restaurant in November, on the second floor of a yet-to-be-disclosed location on Jaffe Road in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, paying higher rent than he did at the original location in North Point.
It is welcome news to many of Tung Po Kitchen’s loyal regulars, including chef Charmaine Cheung – who was with Robby Cheung when he originally identified the North Point cooked food market as a potential spot for a restaurant more than three decades ago.
“I was there from the beginning,” she says. “Robby brought me up to this market, which had nothing. And he told me ‘I’m going to make something happen here’. I was like, ‘What are you talking about, are you crazy?’”
She says that the reopening of Tung Po Kitchen is a win, and that it will bring back what in Cantonese is called yan ching mei, or the human touch – something that Robby Cheung’s venue had in spades.
“When you go to Tung Po, you’re not just like having a meal. You’re having a meal with everyone around you,” says Cheung, who also dined at the restaurant on its final night on September 1.