For the past 60 years, Chui Hoi has risen in the early hours of the morning to prepare bite-size steamed morsels for his small but popular dimsum restaurant in Hong Kong.
For the past 60 years, Chui Hoi has risen in the early hours of the morning to prepare bite-size steamed morsels for his small but popular dimsum restaurant in Hong Kong.
“Sun Hing” opens its doors at 3 am, seven days a week, with a loyal clientele from students to the elderly filling the 60-seat restaurant in the western district of Kennedy Town.
At 85 years old, Chui is committed to handmaking his dimsum — parcels of meat, seafood and sweet fillings served in stacks of bamboo baskets — saying that freshness is key to their success. But many in the industry fear the traditional art of making dimsum is dying as restaurants choose factory-made versions to save money and meet demand.
“Fresh handmade foods are beautiful after they are steamed, but many are made in factories now,” says Chui.
Younger chefs are less interested in the hard graft it takes to prepare dimsum, he adds — it is usually eaten in the morning, so cooks must get up in the night to prepare.
“Young people think being in this industry means no freedom because you have to get up early and the hours are long,” he said.
At Maxim’s Palace in the harbourfront City Hall building — a favourite with locals and tourists — chandeliers sparkle over dimsum diners in the buzzing banqueting hall.
But, like Chui, Maxim’s supervising chef Tang Leung-hung says there is a dearth of young talent to produce its handmade fare.
“The problem with the industry is the manpower. Young people are not willing to join us,” he said.
“Many of them have turned to hotels’ western restaurants and sushi restaurants for jobs instead of Chinese ones,” says Tang, with younger people seeing them as more fashionable and with better hours.
Dimsum — which means “touching the heart” — is a Cantonese-style cuisine from southern China, often served with pots of tea.
Typical dishes vary from parcels of ground pork and shrimp “siu mai” to sweet treats including custard buns and “ma lai go” steamed sponge cake.
Once mainly part of a leisurely weekend ritual which could take hours, many dimsum joints in Hong Kong now have a quickfire approach.
