How a new Hong Kong indie film uses tea to bridge the city’s ethnic minority divide
Brian Hung’s Let’s Have a Cup of Doodh Patti Chai looks at Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities and how tea brings together people of many cultures
According to the 2021 population census, Hong Kong is home to 619,568 people from ethnic minorities, making up 8.4 per cent of the population (the figure is 301,344, or roughly 4.1 per cent, excluding foreign domestic workers). About 13,000 to 15,000 asylum seekers also live in the city.
One of the closest-knit outposts of non-Chinese communities in Hong Kong is Kam Tin in Yuen Long district, in the New Territories.
“In Chinese culture, we always drink tea,” Hung says. “Actually, it’s the same in India and other cultures, but obviously the tea is different as it usually comes with milk as a default.”
He notes how the traditional drink is a unifier that transcends cultures while retaining distinct quirks, making it a fitting metaphor for the film.
