Restaurant Owner Ming Gor on Feeding Hong Kong's Homeless and Why He'll Never Turn a Profit

I started working in the restaurant field after leaving primary school in mainland China in 1969. I came to Hong Kong as a stowaway in 1979. Less than 10 days after my arrival, I started working at a kitchen in Sham Shui Po, and I’ve been here ever since.

I started working at Pei Ho Barbecue Restaurant in 1983. In ‘97, my then-boss retired and emigrated, passing the restaurant on to eight staff members, including me. After 8 years, I was the only one left. Maybe because I wasn’t good at managing people, I lost more than $200,000 that year. 

In 2008, we got together with the Society for Community Organization (SoCO) to create meal coupons for the poor. Each meal was priced at $22: They got a big company to sponsor $15, we sponsored $2, and we sold the meals in Sham Shui Po for $5. It started as a way of bringing in more business. But it turned out to be so much more.

Everyone who opens a restaurant wants to make a lot of money. But over the past 10 years or so as a restaurant owner, I’ve never made much. At the beginning, I didn’t know why. But then I realized I was too soft-hearted. I just wanted to help people in the neighborhood and offer them lower prices. I’ll never make a profit. But what I do now is perfect for me. I can use my strength to help people. My heart has to be put into the soil of charity to bloom. 

We were facing great pressure in 2011 when the minimum wage law was introduced. We thought about giving up, but we refused to. So I decided to take only $5,000 per month in salary to get through it. Later that year, the government began Scheme $6,000, where they gave out rebates of $6,000 to each adult in Hong Kong. Some young people thought this was an unfair policy: “What’s the point in giving out money to the rich?” they asked. Around 20 people donated their handouts to us to help the poor. With the support of these young people we started giving out meals to the homeless.