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How can you not go to Dai Pai Dong when visiting Hong Kong? Dai Pai Dong are “open air food stalls” without air conditioning. Traditional Dai Pai Dong uses green metal plates to wrap their kitchen while setting up foldable tables and plastic stools next to the kitchen on the side of the streets. The dishes are low priced and you can even order a tailor-made dish if they have the ingredients. Want a dish from another stall but you are already seated? No worries - almost all Dai Pai Dong stalls allows you order dishes from another stall.
Dai Pai Dong is a collective memory of the Hong Kong people. Dai Pai Dong means large licence plates. It got it’s name because it has a larger license than other street vendors. The history of Dai Pai Dong can be traced back to the late 19th century. During the late 19th century, there were many unlicensed food stalls that sold food on the streets, the government decided to issue licenses to injured soldiers to serve food on the streets so they can have a new life. This is the beginning of Dai Pai Dong.
Dai Pai Dong was at it’s peak in the 60’s and 70’s. At that time, most of the population could not afford to dine at high-end restaurants, thus cheap dishes from Dai Pai Dong was very popular. Unfortunately, at 1983 the government began buying back licenses because the food stalls were causing traffic congestion and a lot of hygiene issues were brought up. After that, the number of Dai Pai Dong stalls decreased rapidly. Also, more and more people could afford more expensive foods, speeding up it's process of extinction. There are only 28 legal stalls left and they are mostly in Central and Sham Shui Po. Many stalls who want to keep their business going have renovated their stalls so there is air-conditioning while at the same time still keeping their original stall.
Dai Pai Dong was at it’s peak in the 60’s and 70’s. At that time, most of the population could not afford to dine at high-end restaurants, thus cheap dishes from Dai Pai Dong was very popular. Unfortunately, at 1983 the government began buying back licenses because the food stalls were causing traffic congestion and a lot of hygiene issues were brought up. After that, the number of Dai Pai Dong stalls decreased rapidly. Also, more and more people could afford more expensive foods, speeding up it's process of extinction. There are only 28 legal stalls left and they are mostly in Central and Sham Shui Po. Many stalls who want to keep their business going have renovated their stalls so there is air-conditioning while at the same time still keeping their original stall.
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One example would be Lan Fong Yuen. Lan Fong Yuen has branches in malls which provides air-conditioning and a more hygienic environment to meet the needs of the younger generation. But, they still keep the original stall in Central just the way it was to preserve history and culture. Lan Fong Yuen is famous for their hot milk tea and instant noodles. They use instant noodles and fries them with ingredients like chicken, pork and etc. I ordered their famous chicken instant noodles (picture on the right) and hot milk tea. They soak the noodles in a special soy sauce before cooking it to give it more flavor. Their milk tea is also very smooth and rich.
Lan Fong Yuen:
Original Stall:
2 Gage Street, Central
Branch:
Woodhouse, Chung King Mansion, 36-44 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Original Stall:
2 Gage Street, Central
Branch:
Woodhouse, Chung King Mansion, 36-44 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui