York Lo: Yan Chim Kee (甄沾記) – the Life, Death and Rebirth of the Century Old Coconut Candies & Ice Cream Maker The history of the confectionery industry in Hong Kong would not be complete without including the history of Yan Chim Kee, the prominent maker of coconut candies and ice cream. Founded in 1915, Yan Chim Kee has gone […]
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York Lo: The Three Kings of Biscuits – M.Y. San, M.P. San and Pacific In the history of the biscuit and confectionery industry in Hong Kong, M.Y. San, M.P. San and Pacific Biscuit & Confectionery were three prominent firms which shared a common root – they were all started by members of a Filipino Chinese family hailed from Zhongshan (formerly […]
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Homi Villa, a distinctive white building, was built by Jehangir Hormusjee Ruttonjee, 律敦治, as a convenient place from which to oversee the construction of the Hong Kong Brewers and Distillers Ltd Brewery at nearby Sham Tseng. It’s located on an attractive promontory at 401 Castle Peak Road overlooking the Ma Wan Channel. It was subsequently purchased by the Hong Kong Government […]
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Our article, Ping Shan Enterprise Co Ltd, disused factory, Yuen Long, notes that the company was co-founded by Wai Nam Chan and Lam Chok Fai. Here are some brief biographical details about Wai Nam Chan. Thanks to York Lo for informing us of the link to the HKU citation from which the following extract has been taken: “Mr Wai Nam Chan […]
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York Lo: In the 1950s and 1960s, Cosmos Aerated Water (大同汽水廠) was a major soft drinks manufacturer in Hong Kong. The Wong family, which founded and managed Cosmos in HK, was also the founder and owner of Cosmos Bottling, which was the first and second largest soft drink manufacturer in the Philippines. The Cosmos story began in 1918 when Wong […]
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HF: This newly posted article begins what I hope will become an expanding resource of employees of the well known Hong Kong company, Dairy Farm. Dairy Farm was set up in 1886 by Sir Patrick Manson, a Scottish surgeon, and five well known Hong Kong businessmen. They initially aimed to improve the health of Hong Kong people by providing them with non-contaminated cows’ […]
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IDJ has sent the following article, published in 1934, which though he doesn’t mention its source I think may come from an edition of the Hong Kong Naturalist. HF: I have retyped the original newspaper article to aid clarity and searches. Thanks to SCT for proofreading the retyped copy of the article and to Yannis Baritakis for enlarging the image […]
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Linda Kernan: The history of the soybean and its byproducts stretches back more than 3,000 years in China. The humble soybean was known as the “Cow of China” because it was the main source of protein for the Chinese people. It took a local man, however, to spot the potential of the little bean and transform it into the most […]
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A 19th Century Company Town in North Point, Hong Kong By Jennifer Field Lang In 1881, Butterfield and Swire (the Far Eastern branch of the British trading firm John Swire and Sons) established the Taikoo Sugar Refinery in Hong Kong. John Swire (1793-1847) the son of a Halifax cloth merchant founded the general merchant trading company in 1816 in Liverpool, […]
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Thanks to IDJ for sending the following newspaper article titled New Year Honours for H.K. Residents. Of particular interest is mention of U Tat-chee, “genial Ginger King and Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Manufacturers Union, who becomes an officer of the Order of the British Empire (Civil Division).” HF: I have retyped a further extract from the original article and […]
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