Ms Wu, Owner of Cheung Wing Café
Ms Wu remembers the smallest change here.
The restaurant welcomes guests with its green and white checkered mosaic floor showing signs of countless repairs, alongside the carefully preserved wooden booth seats that maintained their original charm. Ms Wu, the owner, laughed: “The only replacements we made were the glass pieces on the tabletops!” In 1962, Cheung Wing Café debuted in Kwun Tong Garden Estate. More than fifty years have passed, yet the restaurant’s layout remains the same, as do the friendly faces of long-time neighbours. Sometimes, locals would fondly recall past stories at the same tables, enjoying the familiar flavour of milk tea, and this Hong Kong-style tea restaurant continues to capture the laughter of the estate community after all these years.
Ms Wu is neither a family member nor a relative of Mr Hui, the founder of Cheung Wing Café. At first, she worked as a cashier at another place. In the stories she shares, her strong connection and familiarity with the long-time employees and neighbours make it hard to believe she only joined the restaurant in 2001. Mr Hui, the owner at the time, was looking for someone to help manage the business as he aged. Mrs Hui was introduced to Ms Wu by a mutual friend, and thus began a lasting friendship. Ms Wu recalls being struck by the familial atmosphere at Cheung Wing from the very beginning. “At the time, the veteran staff had been working in the restaurant for decades, and some even lived in Kwun Tong Garden Estate. No one wanted to leave because they loved how kind Mr Hui was.” Even when the business started facing losses, Mr Hui was reluctant to close it down due to concern for his employees’ livelihoods.
In the aftermath of the passing away of Mr Hui and his son’s inheritance, Ms Wu took on the responsibility of running Cheung Wing Café decades later. What she strives to preserve for the future is more than the restaurant itself with its intimate bonds like a big family, but also the customs of long-time neighbours coming for their milk tea and pineapple buns every day, rain or shine.
To attract a loyal following, Cheung Wing Café has done more than secure its convenient spot on the ground floor of the estate. Some come every night to enjoy the famous flavour-enhancer-free “soup of the day” which is slow-cooked for 5-6 hours, while others come for the signature dish, baked pork chop rice. In addition to the delicious food, the familiar atmosphere at Cheung Wing makes it a comfortable haven for residents. It is a place where they can relax, sip on a cup of milk tea and read newspapers, or even share their grievances after a family argument, venting their frustrations before returning home to be good wives and husbands.
Years passed and each day added more warmth and meaningful connections. Cheung Wing has witnessed the young woman who got married in Kwun Tong Garden Estate years ago returning for family reunions with multiple generations. Some older folks, who used to come in groups, saw their friends pass as they age. Yet those who remained would still visit Cheung Wing alone and chat with the people here. “I think he just came for the memories.” Ms Wu knows the faces of neighbours by heart, knows which block they live in and what they like to eat. The staff also treats regular customers like friends, or some even family. “Some elderly regulars who used to frequent the café now find it hard to visit as they age, and they occasionally call to order takeaway. Our staff goes the extra mile by delivering food to their doors and even spending some time with them and offer assistance before leaving.”
Looking back over the past two decades, Ms Wu takes pride in fulfilling Mr Hui’s original wish – to keep Cheung Wing Café running until the day it needs to be dismantled. To this day, Cheung Wing stands as one of the oldest establishments in Kwun Tong Garden Estate, serving as a nostalgic place for many residents who come back to reconnect after they have grown up. As redevelopment approaches, Ms Wu hopes to reopen Cheung Wing with the same team in the new Garden Estate. “I want to see all my old friends again,” she said. However, after years of hard work, everyone deserves to take a break. As the business will suspend soon, “colleagues and I have already made plans to go to Thailand together!” she added, with a cheerful smile.
Kwun Tong Garden Estate
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