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Cha chaan teng culture and history

A look at Ho Yuen Cafe in Tze Wan Shan in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Photo: Conina Mui

A little bit of Hong Kong in Canada: the origin story of Ho Yuen Cafe

The journey of Ho Yuen, a cha chaan teng, or tea cafe, that began life in a Kowloon district, has gone from Hong Kong to Canada to Hong Kong – and back to Canada again. Its second-generation owner explains.

  • In Vancouver, Canada, a Hong Kong-style cafe offers former Hongkongers a taste of home – think barbecue pork, pineapple buns, instant noodles and egg tarts
  • Its owner has the DNA to run a cha chaan teng – her father opened one in Hong Kong in the 1960s and brought it to Canada in the 1980s. She continues his legacy

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

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Sydney cafe an ode to old Hong Kong with milk tea, fish balls and Cantopop

Not just about secret recipes: Hong Kong restaurant wins fans with a personal touch

Ngan Lung Cafe in Lei Yue Mun Fishing Village boasts signature local fare, and owner knows most by name, tailoring dishes to suit customers.

Lee Hoi-wu took over her family’s decades-old restaurant business in Hong Kong in 2014. Photo: Kong Yat-pang

‘Not just food, it’s feeling’: Sydney’s Hong Kong cafes offer taste of home

Hong Kong-style tea cafes in Australia, with their neon, shop signs, even a replica minibus and tram, and above all their food and drinks, offer comfort to homesick migrants – and something different for the locals.

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.

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It’s a love letter to Hong Kong: diner food and tea served in a London cafe

With its Hong Kong diner menu, including silky milk tea, and details such as orange wheat pattern takeaway cups, Hoko Cafe, in East London, is a place for exiles and others to connect with the Chinese city’s culture.

Hoko Cafe’s signatures include char siu and egg over rice and French toast. Photo: Hoko

The mystery of the takeaway paper cup that became a Hong Kong icon

If you order takeaway milk tea in Hong Kong, you will probably get it in the ubiquitous ‘wheat pattern’ paper cup. The design has inspired artists and homesick Hongkongers, but where did it originate?

‘Essential to the culture’: why Hong Kong’s cha chaan teng are worth saving

The cha chaan teng, or Hong Kong-style cafe, is a definitive food experience in the city. In the wake of the pandemic, we look at the cafes that didn’t make it, and others that are determined to keep on serving.

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‘I’ve been going there for 50 years’: where a hotelier eats in Hong Kong

Maria Lee, the founder of The Rosedale Hotel Group, shares her favourite Hong Kong restaurants – including a cha chaan teng she has frequented for 50 years and a place that serves her favourite congee.

Chiu Chow dishes at Shung Hing Chiu Chow Restaurant in Hong Kong. Photo: Instagram/@scrumptious.foodie

End of an era? 5 Hong Kong food and beverage icons that have bowed out

From Happy Cake Shop to Jumbo Floating Restaurant, a number of classic food outlets have buckled under pressure amid the pandemic.

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The Jumbo Floating Restaurant. Photo: Sam Tsang

Dismay at sudden closure of one of Hong Kong’s oldest traditional cafes

Mido Cafe, a 72-year-old cha chaan teng in Yau Ma Tei, announced the news in an ambiguous note posted outside its premises. Many shared their grief on social media at the loss of a ‘Hong Kong icon’.

The origins of Hong Kong’s cha chaan teng and where to find a good one

Born as a way to provide affordable Western food, cha chaan teng in Hong Kong have become a vital part of the city’s culture.

Steeped in history: how Hong Kong-style milk tea became a staple

Super strong, drawn through a silk stocking four times, served with a splash of evaporated milk, the traditional drink with colonial roots has been energising Hongkongers of all types since the second world war

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Hong Kong-style milk tea is served with evaporated milk. Photo: Dickson Lee
Cha chaan teng culture and history
Discover the unique history and culture of Hong Kong’s cha chaan tengs, local diners where delicious food and drinks with international influences thrive.  
last updated:
9 September, 2024
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