On the Menu | Hong Kong food heroes TamJai and Chicken Egg Boy the stars of Clockenflap’s eating options
Including budget-friendly soup noodle specialists TamJai in the food line-up in particular was a brilliant move by Clockenflap organisers
This year’s Clockenflap music festival took place just over a week after the tragic fire in Tai Po and, understandably, there were mixed emotions.
Many artists paid tribute to the lives lost before starting their sets, while festival organisers themselves made a number of changes: 100 per cent of profits from official merchandise were donated to Tai Po relief funds operated by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and Mind HK, and certain stage effects and sounds were adjusted.
Two things can be true at once: we can grieve and feel the full force of emotions that come following such a tragedy, and we can also commit ourselves to living life as fully as we can, while we can. For many, I think the festival offered an opportunity to heal through music while having a positive collective experience.
While feedback on Clockenflap has been a mixed bag over the years, I could not help but notice an uptick in glowing reviews this time among the local community.
Through my very unofficial research on social media, it appears that the biggest hit – foodwise – this year was the prominent presence of a local sponsor: TamJai, the Hong Kong-born noodle shop that has spawned brands including TamJai Yunnan Mixian, TamJai SamGor Mixian, and TamJai Mixian.
I thought it was brilliant – a local festival should centre on local heroes, after all, and this year’s TamJai Avenue proved a success, providing hungry music lovers with bowls of piping hot and spicy soup noodles as well as chilli-laced cocktails in collaboration with Perfume Trees Gin. Proceeds from the three days of sales were also donated to Tung Wah’s relief fund.