York Lo: Yakult (益力多): 50 Years in Hong Kong Left: glass bottle of Yakult before 1971; Middle: the original Yakult HK plant at 161 Wai Yip Street in Kwun Tong (Yakult HK website); Right: plastic bottle of Yakult today In the late 1960s around the same time when Japanese instant noodle (see our article on Winner Food and Doll noodles) […]
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York Lo: King of Kings (皇上皇) – Ice Cream and Dried Sausages King of Kings (biggest blue sign) next to Chung Yuen Electrical (red sign under the blue Sony sign) on Des Voeux Road Central in the 1960s. Earlier on the website we have covered several prominent ice cream manufacturers from the past such as On Lok Yuen, Finland […]
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York Lo: The “Five Treasures” of the HK Sauce Industry While many industries and its players in HK have come and gone, the sauce industry is one where the players have particularly strong staying power and within the sauce industry, five firms – Pun Chun, Mee Chun, Tung Chun, Koon Chun and Pat Chun- collectively known as “Five Treasures” (as […]
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In 1965 Mary Esther Parker bought a sterling silver “hops shovel” at an antique shop in Fort Walton, Florida. On the back is inscribed: Hongkong Brewers & Distillers Ltd First Lager Brew 27.6.1934 This Hop Shovel with which she put the first hops into the brew is presented with grateful thanks to Lady Southorn The front, scooping side: Mary […]
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York Lo: Hongkong Food Products Manufacturing HK Food Products’ new flour mill in Kwun Tong in 1966 (Kung Sheung Daily News, 1966-11-30) As mentioned in the article about David Sung and HK Flour Mills (HKFM), HKFM acquired the Kwun Tong mill of HK Food Products (the mill was known as “Kellogg Flour Milling Co” 康樂麵粉廠 in Chinese) in 1976 and […]
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York Lo: Kowloon Flour Mills (九龍麵粉廠) Aerial view of Kowloon Flour Mills. Kowloon Flour Mills (hereafter referred to as “KFM”) at 161 Hoi Bun Road in Kwun Tong is the only surviving flour mill in Hong Kong and received a lot of attention in 2011 when the then Secretary for Development Carrie Lam cited the mill as an example of […]
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According to HK company records the Nam Wah Preserved Ginger Company Ltd was incorporated on 27th October 1954 as a private company and is apparently still operating. However this 1928 company advert appears to show it with a factory in Sham Shui Po and office in Central. Can anyone confirm the company dates and/or supply further information/images about the Nam […]
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Tymon Mellor: Following the Second World War, in 1949 the Royal Air Force established a permanent airfield at Shatin,with a 350m long concrete runway, coordinates 05/23 and a small control tower, along with building and hangars made of corrugated steel. With the growing tension in China, during the 1950’s the British Army Air Corps operated Auster AOP.9 spotter planes from the […]
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HF: Vincent Seymour sent me an email on 2nd November 2023 saying he had tried to send a comment attached to this article, but had been unable to do so. This is the first time this has happened so I thought I would include a paragraph Vincent included in his message which provides both information and queries about other companies […]
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HF: Taikoo Sugar Refinery started producing refined sugar in Hong Kong in 1884 and did not cease operation till 1972. During this period of almost a century, it produced some of the world’s highest quality refined sugar widely consumed in many parts of Asia, Australia and North America. Its history illustrates important aspects of Hong Kong’s industrial development.(1) Taikoo Sugar […]
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