Saengwong said she “wanted to have a dim sum event for the last two or three years.” She said she was “challenged to try something different” but mostly, she “wanted it to be fun.” She knew the layout of the restaurant wouldn’t allow her to serve the food from steam carts, so she set up food stations diners served themselves buffet-style going from station to station. Along with tea, these fully cooked dishes are passed from steam carts wheeled from table to table diners sample a variety of dishes without leaving their seats. Like a cross between the Spanish small-plate eating known as tapas and an English tea time, dim sum is a morning meal consisting of bite-sized portions served in steamer baskets or small serving dishes. the doors opened and the dim sum buffet began.ĭim sum is a traditional Chinese style of eating. "People probably come here again because they feel a sense of belonging," he said.Promptly at 9 a.m. But here, we share tables with people we don't know," said 20-year-old mainland Chinese visitor Wu Yutung.īrazilian tourist Marcelo Garcia, 47, who said he had never before eaten dim sum, described Lin Heung as "an environment with a huge amount of energy". "We usually sit with family or friends in China. Tourists visiting the tea house said they appreciated the restaurant's traditional approach - a rarity now in Hong Kong. "Some of these old traditions are often lost in our fast-paced society," he added. "Going to 'yum cha' is not just a cultural habit where people consume food, but also a way of life that shapes our identity," said Fok. He describes the atmosphere inside restaurants like Lin Heung as a "piece of history". Local food writer Wilson Fok said the evolution of "yum cha" culture was intertwined with Hong Kong's history as numerous mainland dim sum chefs fled to the former British colony in the 1950s after civil war ravaged China. "It represents the hardship of our ancestors." It embodies the legacy of the past," Lam told AFP. Restaurant spokesman Terence Lam said the current lease would end in March 2019 and he hoped the restaurant would not have to close. The Central venue on Wellington Street is its main restaurant and has been in the same spot for 22 years. It now has three outlets in Hong Kong and has moved its restaurants around over the decades. Lin Heung is one of the city's oldest Cantonese restaurant businesses and is run by the Ngan family, who arrived from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong and set it up in 1926. The selling off of older buildings, as well as spiralling rents, has spelled the end for a number of family-run neighbourhood favourites across Hong Kong. The city's housing market was crowned the most expensive in the world in 2017 - the most recent figures available - according to US-based Demographia and developers clamour for prime real estate. The tea is special and the people too," Yip told AFP. "It's my habit to sip a cup of Chinese tea and greet everyone here every week. Retiree Mr Yip, 80, says he is coming more often to enjoy his favourite dish of pork liver siu mai - a kind of dumpling - and freshly made tea.ĭim sum is often paired with a cup of Chinese tea in a tradition known as "yum cha", literally "drink tea". Lin Heung's possible demise has been widely reported by local media and worried regulars say they are visiting as much as they can in case it closes. The building's landlord, CSI Properties, told AFP it could not comment on the case. That has sparked fears that Lin Heung will be the latest Hong Kong culinary treasure to fall foul of the city's thirst for redevelopment. But the restaurant says the building's new owner has not yet contacted them about renewing their lease, despite it expiring early next year, and they feel in the dark about the landlord's intentions.
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