York Lo: King Kong: Kong Tak-yan (江德仁), tycoon in the 1950s-80s and the original developer of Lan Kwai Fong Left: IPO notice of Keng Fong Sin Kee in 1972; Right: Kong Tak-yan in 1974 (KSEN, 1974-3-24) While many credit Allan Zeman for turning Lan Kwai Fong into the entertainment hub it is today with the launch of his California Bar […]
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York Lo: Seasonal Fruit Company (時新鮮菓公司) Seasonal Fruit Company’ store on Des Voeux Road (The red sign on the left is Chung Yuen Electrical, see article) From the 1950s to 1970s, Seasonal Fruit Company was a leading importer and retailer of fresh fruit in Hong Kong and its advertisements could often be found in newspapers from that era. The original […]
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Jennifer Field Lang: Aerial Ropeway circa 1911 at the gap on Mount Parker looking down the valley towards the Taikoo Sugar Refinery and Aldrich Bay (Source: Historic Photographs of China, G. Warren Swire Collection, University of Bristol, Image # 20390). In 1891, a 2.3-kilometer long aerial ropeway was constructed from a location near the Taikoo Sugar Refinery (approximately located at […]
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HF: Any further information about this company or others involved in producing alcohol in HK, especially Chinese ones, would be welcomed. (see links below) While walking down Clear Water Bay Road on 21st Feb 2015 I glanced down a rather rough side road, saw a small, industrial looking building and decided to investigate. At the start of the road was a […]
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York Lo: From Tea to Real Estate and Soy Milk and back to Tea – the six-generation saga of the family of Kwan Fan-fat Group picture of the Kwan family at the wedding of Kwan Fan-fat’s youngest son Kwan Kam-pui at the Kam Ling restaurant in Kennedy Town in 1949 (WKYP, 1949-7-10) Earlier on our website, we covered real estate […]
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HF with thanks to IDJ for the image: “An industry only recently, started in Hongkong is that carried on — under the general management of Messrs. Barretto & Co. — by the Imperial Brewing Company, Ltd., which was formed in 1905, and commenced operations in December, 1907, as soon as the necessary plant had been erected. The premises are situated in the Wongneichung Road, and […]
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York Lo: Oriental Engineering (華捷洋行) Representatives of Oriental Engineering welcoming L.A. Jull, chairman of LEC Refrigeration at the Kai Tak Airport in 1961 (KSDN, 1965-3-31) Founded in 1910 in Foochow, Oriental Engineering Co Ltd (incorporated in HK in 1964) is one of the oldest and largest distributors of refrigeration and kitchen equipment in HK and remains under the management of […]
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York Lo has found this extract from the Carl Smith book linked below. One of the early business enterprises in which Tong Mow-chee and his brother, Tong King-sing, were interested was the first sugar refinery built in Hong Kong. The sugar company grew out of a business parnership between Tong King-sing, William McGregor Smith and a Mr Dahlbeck. When the […]
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York Lo: Connaught Aerated Water Co (安樂汽水) Connaught Aerated Water on the left next to the bus on Queen’s Road East in the 1950s Originally founded in 1907, revived in 1921 and active until the early 1960s, Connaught Aerated Water Co (“On Lok” in Chinese) was the first (and for many years before the War the only) Chinese-owned aerated water […]
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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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