York Lo: The Kwan Family – Theatre Owners and Movie Producers From the 1930s to the 1970s, the families of Kuan Ka-pak and his brother Kuan Ka-yue (the next generation used the English spelling of Kwan instead for their surname) played an important role in the HK movie industry as the owners/operators of at least a dozen movie theaters known […]
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York Lo: Francis Hung of Loyal Garment and Jonny Hung of Casella Far East Hong Kong in the 1980s was full of opportunities with the opening of China and the booming local consumer market and two brothers achieved tremendous success separately in two different fields during the decade – Francis Hung in garments through his Loyal Garment group which had […]
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York Lo: King of Entertainment: Wong Kow (黃球) and his Mayflower (五月花) group of restaurants and nightclubs Left: Wong Kow; Right: Matchbox for the Mayflower Restaurant group in the 1960s which list the phone numbers for all four of its restaurants and Oriental Ballroom. Wong Kow (1921-2017) was a major figure in the HK restaurant and entertainment industry in the […]
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York Lo: Asia Photo Supply (愛雪影音) Asia Photo Supply ad in 1960 promoting its color photofinishing service, specifically Kodak films. The tagline reads everyone can enjoy the fun of color photography. (WKYP, 1960-5-12) Aside from Stereo Ltd., Asia Photo Supply was another pioneer and leader in the photo-finishing business in HK and a leading dealer of photographic equipment from the […]
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York Lo: HK China Products and Cheung Wing Kee – Makers of Shrimp Noodles Earlier on the website, we covered several noodle manufacturers such as Hing Wah, Pak Kut, Tin Kee and Winner (maker of Doll instant noodles). Below are two other noodle manufacturers known for their shrimp noodles (蝦子麵), made from combining shrimp roe and flour. Hong Kong China […]
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York Lo: Luks Industrial (陸氏實業) – Maker of Etron TV Left: Luks founder Luk King-tin (Capital, 1990); Right: logo of Etron TV from a 1988 TV ad in HK listing Luks as its manufacturer and Yin Kin Ltd as its distributors and being available in the Sheung Wan, Yaumatei and Mongkok branch of Wing On (VCRBase) A history of television […]
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York Lo: Kapok(紅棉)and Golden Gate (金門) – HK Bakery Chains from the 50s and 60s and the family behind them Left: Kapok Bakery in Wanchai in the 1960s with its lighting decorations promoting its Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes; Right: Golden Gate Bakery’s sign (blue and red) on Jordan Road circa 1968. Before the rise of the bakery chains such as Maxim’s, St […]
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York Lo: Kwong Luen Tai Garment (廣聯泰) Left: Kwong Luen Tai Garment founder Lee Cheung; right: contract signing ceremony between the Enping local government and Kwong Luen Tai for the establishment of the JV between the two in the early 1980s Kwong Luen Tai Garment Factory was one of the largest garment manufacturers in Hong Kong and was briefly mentioned […]
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York Lo: Singnam Choy (蔡星南) – Founder of the HK Chinese Godown Association Left: Singnam Choy (right) with Lam Hau-tak (see Lam Yuen Fong article) and Chau Cham-kwong as heads of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals in 1948 (WKYP, 1948- 6-19); Right: notice issued by The Ching Hua Co in 1947 to clarify that it had no relations with […]
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York Lo: The Rise and Fall of the HK Ivory Industry and some of its key players Catalog of Man Hing Ivory Factory (Memoires of a Travelholic, 2014) While many industries in Hong Kong went away due to rising production costs and soaring property values, ivory was one industry that was shut down by a worldwide ban enacted in 1989 […]
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