William MacGregor Smith (Wahee, Smith & Co.) c1831- c1907

York Lo has sent the following information about William MacGregor Smith. He was the Smith in Wahee, Smith & Co which in turn became The China Sugar Refinery. Smith is buried in HK cemetery – the tombstone states he was 76 (and was erected in 1907) and was from Scotland. On page 50 of Carl Smith’s book Chinese Christians there is […]

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Makers of Preserved Fruits – Wong Wing Kee, Lee Wah Mui, Hing Ah, Lee Sin Kee, Heung Fat Wai Kee, Yam Hop Hing and Koon Wah

Makers Of Preserved Fruits Detail Image 5 York Lo

York Lo: Makers of Preserved Fruits – Wong Wing Kee, Lee Wah Mui, Hing Ah, Lee Sin Kee, Yam Hop Hing and Koon Wah I wrote an article earlier on the website about the “Five Treasures” of the HK sauce industry. Another traditional Chinese food product industry which is closely associated with sauce is preserved fruit (eg. Dried plums) as […]

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The Construction of Western Market (North Block), 1902-1906

Western Market AMO A

HF: The building that is now known as Western Market was originally the old Western Market (North Block), which was identified by Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) as one of the Declared Monuments in 1990. It is the oldest market building surviving in Hong Kong. Further information about the demolished South Block would be of great interest. As would images […]

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Asia Provisions (亞洲辦館) and Asia Cold Storage (亞洲凍房)

Asia Provisions And Asia Cold Storage Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: Asia Provisions (亞洲辦館) and Asia Cold Storage (亞洲凍房) The Asia Company’s ad in 1960 (HK Police Magazine)  Aside from Wang Kee and Wing Sang Cheong covered in earlier articles, The Asia Provisions Co Ltd (incorporated in 1970) and its predecessor The Asia Company (亞洲公司,1925-1970) has been a major player in the food provisions business in HK since its […]

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Po Chai Lemonin (普濟檸檬精)

Po Chai Lemonin Detail Image 4 York Lo

York Lo: Po Chai Lemonin (普濟檸檬精)   Left: “Lemon King” Chan Shiu-chuen; Right: Po Chai Lemonin ad Founded in Canton in the early 1920s by Chan Shiu-chuen (陳少泉, 1903-1968) and moved to HK in the late 1940s, Po Chai Drug Co (普濟藥行) was best known for its Lemonin – a popular pain killer medicine across China and Southeast Asia from […]

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Three of Hong Kong’s oldest restaurants, Part Three – the Gaylord

Gaylord Restaurant Circa 1980 In Tsim Sha Tsui Courtesy Gaylord SCMP

From Tai Ping Koon, which opened in 1860 and served Sun Yat-sen, to Gaylord Indian Restaurant, open since 1972, to the award-winning abalone served in Forum since 1977, these restaurants have stood the test of time. In a city where restaurants come and go with dizzying speed, those which have stood the test of time are few and far between. […]

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Wo Fat Hing Distillery, Lung Wo village…Part Two – photos of the plant functioning

Mike T: There’s a lengthy, quite detailed article for Chinese-language readers at the link below. (I can’t read it myself, so have to infer from a poor-quality Google translation.) The author seems to have gotten a tour of the factory in 2011, and provides photos inside and out. I found it quite interesting that their production was once significant enough to […]

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Three of Hong Kong’s oldest restaurants, Part One – Tai Ping Koon

Tai Ping Koon Restaurant In Guangzhou Courtesy Tai Ping Koon

From Tai Ping Koon, which opened in 1860 and served Sun Yat-sen, to Gaylord Indian Restaurant, open since 1972, to the award-winning abalone served in Forum since 1977, these restaurants have stood the test of time. In a city where restaurants come and go with dizzying speed, those which have stood the test of time are few and far between. […]

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Beer in Hong Kong – Part Seven – Carlsberg brewery, Tai Po – opened 1981

Carlsberg Brewery Image Tai Po 1999 Courtesy SCMP

Martyn Cornell has kindly given permission for extracts from his article, A Short History of Beer in Hong Kong, to be posted on our website. The article was published in the Journal of the Brewery History Society, Brewery History, Issue 156, 2012 Martyn has his own blog, Zythophile – Beer now and then, linked below. Despite its title the article is […]

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