Hong Kong teahouses cherish their dim sum trolleys, but how long can they last?
Emblems of tradition and nostalgia, classic dim sum restaurants face economic pressures and retirement of older generation of chefs
02:24
Hong Kong’s beloved dim sum carts on the verge of disappearing
As a cloud of steam billows from the kitchen of Hoi Lin Restaurant, Chung King-pui, 56, places a large bamboo steamer stacked with colourful and fragrant dim sum on her silver trolley.
“Pretty girls and boys, har gow and siu mai are out!” Chung, who has worked as a waiter in the traditional Chinese teahouse for 13 years, shouts as she pushes the trolley around the tables.
Dim sum trolleys are a decades-old tradition and hallmark at Chinese restaurants where servers move around with carts laden with freshly made dishes, allowing customers to select and enjoy their food right away.
But they have become a rare sight in recent years as many restaurants have abandoned the practice to save costs or have switched to QR code ordering.
Hoi Lin Restaurant in Tsuen Wan remains one of the few traditional restaurants in Hong Kong that still serves dim sum in a trolley from 5am to 2.30pm every day.
It was opened by Choi Sai-kwai, now 93, on the outskirts of Kowloon Walled City in 1959, and eventually moved to the current premises in Fuk Loi Estate in 1992.