No trip to Hong Kong is complete without trying their street food. No doubt, there’s a lot of good food in Hong Kong, be it dim sum from the tea houses or roast goose and char siew at the Cantonese restaurants but for many of us, what characterises the cuisine of a place is its street food. It is eating what the locals eat that makes travelling to these places a truly remarkable experience. And Hong Kong is not short of good street food. Everywhere i went, it is always easy to pick up some local delights. My return to Hong Kong this year was to reprise the roadside dining experience at a Dai Pai Dong, something truly Hong Kong! Originally, dai pai dongs referred specifically to open-air food stalls in Hong Kong with registered licenses prominently displayed, hence dai pai, which means “big sign” (dong means “stall”). There are really only 28 of these left in Hong Kong, and since these licenses are no longer issued, naturally dai pai dong are a dying phenomenon. If you see a stall painted green with a sign prominently displayed, you’ll know that it’s an original. Otherwise, the term dai pai dong has come to refer to any sort of open-air food court, with street stalls and street-side seating. 如果你想充分地了解香港, 有香港感觉的话, 就该血拼覆盖整个香港最具特色的大街小巷, 体验大排档和流动摊床, 的确是必不可少的一环. 自古以来, 大排档与生活紧密相连, 无论男女老少都会光顾, 可以说是香港的第二厨房. 提起香港大排档, 大家第一时间会想到什么? 是精致味道如家常的小菜, 是自由随意肆无忌惮的聊天氛围, 还是联想起香港电影《古惑仔》中那种暗藏凶猛, 草根的生活气息? 毫无疑问, 香港是美食天堂, 不过在许多人的心目中大排档的食物可能不上档次, 不能落入法眼, 但在真正饕餮那里, 大排档简直如同非物质文化遗产般珍贵. 有香港美食家坦言, 香港的大排档, 能屹立不倒, 经营几十年的大多有几把刷子, 甚至有绝世秘方. 人气旺不旺, 能不能经营下去全靠好不好吃来支撑. 一碗云吞面, 一份肉片菜远碟头饭, 一锅煲仔饭, 几口炒牛河, 便清楚知道大排档的实力如何. Dai Pai Dongs embody the spirit of Hong Kong. I hope that people will read my blog post and realise that they are still around. If they like them, they should go and support them. The first Dai Pai Dong licences were issued after the second world war to relatives of civil servants who had been killed or disabled in the war, allowing them to open small restaurants on the street and make a living. Dai pai dong reached their peak in the 1950s. They were about more than just offering a quick, cheap meal; they were a place for working people to gather and talk. They earned the nickname "poor people's nightclub", not because there was music or dancing, but because they were a place to socialise. This was in the days before public housing. 塑料凳, 折叠桌, 一次性卫生筷, 大风扇, 汽水, 啤酒瓶, 煲仔饭, 海鲜泡沫箱, 开放式厨房, 扑面而来的香气. 对于香港人来说, 大排档的这些 “标配” 如烙印般印在心里. 我特地去到香港士丹利大排档一条街进行走访, 这里地处中环中心地带, 高楼大厦林立, 来往的行人大都是西装笔挺, 套装加持的白领精英, 在金融重要地段出现平民食街绝对是这个城市的一个奇异景观. Here was a relic: a union of three giant food stalls, all operating along the roadside with foldable tables and chairs and no air-conditioning. The sticky Hong Kong air clung to our skin as well as the space between the tabletops and their plastic covers. Middle-aged women with frizzy hair yelled out orders and tossed bundles of chopsticks onto patrons’ tables. One could share tables with utter strangers if there was a shortage of seating. It was obvious that anything could happen. 无论是中环白领还是工薪阶层, 大排档是城市生活调味料. 香港大排档就在临街, 不尝一下是不行的. 在这种开放的空间里, 空气里都飘着饭香, 并且还可以自带酒水, 在自由的气氛中尽享美食, 所以这里的顾客脸上都洋溢着笑容. It was around lunch time and the crowd was already settling in with a short queue waiting to be seated. Part and parcel of Hong Kong street food culture is the need to 搭台, i.e. share a table with other diners. Put simply, it is roadside dining à la al fresco style, often characterised by foldable tables and small stackable stools as well as flimsy canvas tentage over the heads. Comfort is the least of all priorities as one is here more to soak in the atmosphere and sample simple local food more than anything else. This is hardly the place for regular dining table chit chat or over-a-cuppa kind of gossip. Just as one is expected to order fast and finish their food fast, one should also expect curt service, frantic scribbling of order chits, loud bellowing of orders into the kitchen as well as the occasional “thumb that has gone a tad too far into one’s acrylic glass of chinese tea” kind of experience. Apparently the tea is not meant for drinking in the first place. It is for dipping cutlery and utensils in attempt to clean and sterilise them. 中午一点, 这里由几家大排档聚集而成的美食街已经被附近的白领们占领了, 你还可以在这里看到不少金融精英, 外国高管一边将领带往后放怕沾到饭菜里的酱汁, 一边吹着风扇不顾别人的目光正埋头大快朵颐. 而对于一些在等位的公司职员, 他们也没闲着, 就站在其他食客的后面, 三三两两地在聊股市, 金价, 期货还有市场传闻. The Hong Kong government has been systematically shutting Dai Pai Dongs down, often to the outrage of those looking to preserve local culture. But their popularity led to noise and traffic complaints, and in 1950s, the government stopped issuing new licences, and prohibited the transfer of existing ones. The Hong Kong government later began to buy back licences, offering up to a few million dollars for each one to speed up the process of getting them off the street. As licences couldn't be transferred, many elderly dai pai dong owners chose the cash option and numbers dropped sharply in the 1980s. Some districts lost all their old street side eateries. The numbers have been shrinking elsewhere ever since. You'll realise soon that you weren’t the only “foodies” around as the fellas from the adjacent table took a few quickly shots once their orders were served. The “table turning” rate here is phenomenal. On average, fifteen minutes for most and sometimes even less. But like what I’d said, that is only to be expected. 价格便宜与地道好吃一直是香港大排档最吸引人的地方, 在这条小小的街上, 有差不多 10 家大排档在经营着, 每家都会有自己的特色, 有的以即炒捻手小菜作为卖点, 有的以丰富的家常饭菜揽客, 有的甚至不用吆喝, 熟悉的味道一出, 自然就有顾客围上来. 这些好吃又便宜的食物已经成为附近食客们美好的记忆. 到了上世纪七八十年代, 香港经济起飞, 大排档也在东南亚国家中声名鹊起, 上环, 中环, 旺角, 深水埗, 北角等地方的大排档已经成规模, 有的店铺已经非常出名, 每到下班的时候总是人满为患. 这时大排档的经营开始出现分层, 因为大排档虽然出产新鲜热辣, 美味无比的食物, 但卫生较差, 火灾隐患, 占道经营, 硬件简陋, 没空调没上盖等软肋也渐渐成为大家讨论的重点. Colorful fresh ingredients lined up near the hot stoves, layers of bright green awnings and plastic shields formed bricolage and the round and square tables set randomly alfresco in the dark alley in Stanley Street together compose a picturesque scene of the traditional, yet contemporary Hong Kong. Sizzling sounds emanate from the hot woks, customers have heated chats and the waiters' loud message to the chefs orchestrate an energetic and authentic dai pai dong experience that is slowly being extinguished in this ever-changing city. 不过近年来, 大排档这个行业在香港这个城市渐渐被边缘化, 有些区域甚至已经没有了它的踪影, 这让不少喜欢大排档文化的市民大惑不解. 香港露天大排档, 在香港已经濒临绝迹. 港府为抢救大排档, 决心放宽大排档牌照转让资格, 最终让港岛中西区 9 个大排档小贩牌照成功转让, 抢救大排档暂告成功. Hong Kong cuisine owes a lot of its characteristics to dai pai dong culture. Many Cantonese dishes are cooked in a wok, which is the main cooking vessel in a dai pai dong. The Cantonese often speak of a dish having wok hei, or the “breath of a wok” that ever-elusive quality to a dish cooked at high heat in a wok over an open flame. The “breath” is the same word as 'qi' in Mandarin - energy, life force. And indeed, imparting wok hei into a dish requires the skill, deftness, and expertise of a master. A dish with wok hei has a slightly charred taste but is never burnt. The high heat immediately vaporizes moisture, so the food has just the barest crisp edge to it. And it’s not supposed to be greasy. I imagine a dish with wok hei tastes like it’s been cooked by a dragon. The quality is that mythical. I really hope that Hong Kong's tourism will help preserve Dai Pai Dong in the future. These Dai Pai Dong cooks are the unsung heroes of the dai psi dong. They aren't in it to get rich or famous. It's a way of life, and a part of Hong Kong tradition that is slipping away. Dai pai dong can be found almost anywhere in the city. Side streets and lanes are the most likely place to spot them. You can find ones that are decades old near the the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator in Central on Hong Kong Island and in the neighbourhood of Sham Shui Po in Kowloon. 价格便宜与地道好吃一直是香港大排档最吸引人的地方, 在这条小小的街上, 有差不多 10 家大排档在经营着, 每家都会有自己的特色, 有的以即炒捻手小菜作为卖点, 有的以丰富的家常饭菜揽客, 有的甚至不用吆喝, 熟悉的味道一出, 自然就有顾客围上来. 这些好吃又便宜的食物已经成为附近食客们美好的记忆. 由于这里大排档的老板们彼此之间都非常熟悉, 所以可以容忍食客在这里“左右逢源”, 坐在陈泗记尽情享受这些食物. 保留三十多年传统老味道的盛记是硕果仅存的大排档其中一家. 我在好奇之下访问了盛记老板, 他说: "人一世物一世, 辛苦揾埋自在食, 不用管这么多界限, 吃得开心就好.” Eating at a dai pai dong 大排檔 is truly Hong Kong experience as you will probably end up sharing a table with strangers during busy hours, can cross order from different vendors and are free to watch the local street life. Just as in the '50s, the attraction of dai pai dong is more than just cheap food. The fun of sitting on the street, watching the world go by, is a big part of it.
Dai pai dongs used to be synonymous with good cheap eats in Hong Kong, but the no frills eateries have been an increasingly rare sight on our streets in recent years. Given the fact that Hong Kong government is not renewing any dai pai dong licenses, it’s a decline that seems destined to continue. But grandfather laws are keeping them alive, and as long as this generation is passing down their licence to the next we’ll still be able to enjoy a slice of old Hong Kong. If anyone asks me what they should do to understand Hong Kong culture, I always say go to a dai pai dong. Nothing captures the spirit of Hong Kong like sitting at the table having a big meal surrounded by people. You're sitting outside, too, between all the buildings, so it's the real Hong Kong. 现代化餐厅常碍于人事成本, 在烹调上不愿意付出原有应该遵循制作的流程及时间, 为了加快烹调速度或掩人耳目令食材看来更鲜美, 添加过多的香精化学药剂令烹调可以变得快速又美味, 这样的技术充其量只能说是玩一场料理魔术秀, 而没有热度, 没有感情的料理, 无论表面再怎么华丽, 都难抵挡真材实料用温暖手臂炖煮, 翻炒出来的美味, 那是一种无法取代的珍贵, 也是难以继承的传统, 在香港, 是即将消失的大排挡. 最能体现港味的地道大排档, 是香港市井百姓的陈年记忆.
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