Man behind Mister Softee ice cream vans in Hong Kong dies aged 98
Ho King-yuen leaves behind sweet legacy after bringing first ice cream truck to city in 1970, as residents recall fond ‘childhood memories’
Hongkonger Ho King-yuen, who brought the first ice cream van to the city, has died aged 98, leaving behind a sweet legacy for generations of residents and tourists.
Ho and two friends introduced the first Mister Softee ice cream truck to Hong Kong in 1970 and the well-known vehicles have since become a beloved staple and popular tourist attraction in the city.
More than 20 people queued at one of the ice cream vans on Tuesday afternoon under the Hong Kong Observation Wheel. Most were tourists who had heard about the trucks on mainland Chinese social media platforms, while some residents described the vans as being part of their “childhood memories”.
“With his experience at Dairy Farm, he imported the first soft ice cream van to Hong Kong from overseas with his friends and founded Mister Softee [here], which brought many precious sweet memories to many generations of Hongkongers and has become a renowned brand in the city,” an obituary published in a local newspaper on Tuesday said.
“He retired at an old age and transferred the business to another company. He then moved to Perth in Western Australia with his family.”
Mister Softee was founded by William and James Conway in 1956 in Philadelphia. It is one of the largest franchisers of soft ice cream in the United States.
