When in Hong Kong, one should visit a “bing sutt” in Mong Kok or Yau Ma Tei to get a slice of old Hong Long. My top pick is Mido Cafe (click to browse my blog post in March), an old rustic place with more than 40 years in history. However, if your coffee addiction kicks in, go to Starbucks “Bing Sutt” at Duddell Street. It is the world’s first as Starbucks have collaborated with the groovy furniture shop G.O.D to create a concept coffee space. Let’s take a nostalgic walk down memory lane at Starbucks Bing Sutt Duddell Street in Hong Kong! If you want to sip a nice cuppa Starbucks coffee in a old style Hong Kong cafe style. Starbucks is an international chain but the branch outlet at historical and tucked away location Duddell Street in Hong Kong is the only one of it’s kind. What’s a Bing Sutt? The Cantonese terms translates literally as “Ice Room.” But as any old Hong Konger can tell you, it refers to the city’s 1950s and ’60s-era coffee houses - places with tiled walls and laminate booths where neighbors swapped gossip or watched TV while enjoying tea, coffee, pastries and Western refreshments like ice cream and soda pop. These inexpensive hangouts have largely disappeared amid rapid redevelopment, changing tastes and the rise of chains like Starbucks itself (which now has more than 100 shops in Hong Kong). Bing sutts exist to this day, though in lesser numbers, and have traditionally served Hong Kong versions of Western comfort food as well as iced drinks, coffee, and tea. On weekends the place is packed with people snapping away with their cameras! 香港中环的都爹利街, 有家很特别的星巴克, 这家店采用 60-70 年代香港传统冰室设计来呈现. 来到香港, 一直很期待能在这间怀旧复古的星巴克喝上一杯咖啡, 这间位于中环的星巴克是全球唯一设有冰室角落的店家. 早期 "冰室" 的意思.就是代表 "冷饮" 店在冰室角落可以见到六, 七零年代冷饮店的复古装潢格局, 就好像掉进时光隧道, 回到过去! You wouldn’t think much of the place looking from the outside with its dark coloured glass panel wooden door. However, after you open the door and stand at the entrance, you will see a modern and westernized decoration at the right side of the cafe with the rest of the place done up with the Bing Sutt theme. 单看外观, 其实看不出这家星巴克有什么不同. 不过我知道推开这道门后, 香港60-70 年代的冰室角落, 即将在我眼前呈现. Duddell Street in Central, Hong Kong is famous for its four gas-powered street lamps. These street lamps are still powered by town gas. And to get to Starbucks “Bong Sutt”, one has to climb those flight of stairs. Duddell Street Steps and Gas Lamps are declared monuments of Hong Kong. 来到都爹利街就不得不提这夜晚照亮街景的煤气灯, 这可是历史悠久的法定古蹟, 每晚六点到凌晨六点会自动点亮, 更添都爹利街的独特风情. 而这里也是许多电影, 港剧经常出现的拍摄场景, 下回走累了不妨来这饮杯咖啡, 享受一下浓厚的怀旧氛围, 说不定还有机会看到港星正在街头拍戏呢! The more familiar, modern Starbucks design and the other half of the store. The details are more in line with the Starbucks you know: plush seating, warm lighting. 前半段有着早期咖啡厅般的装潢, 昏黄的灯光像是进入到另一个空间. As i pushed through the door to Starbucks, i was instantly attracted by the meticulous attention to details – the old school blinds, the dusty old fans, folding chairs, birdcages, small tiled floors, old radios, old-school electric switches, adapters and the likes. Every detail is meticulously attended to, ensure you are in a totally different environment. This is oldies theme. From antique-like fans to tables to chairs to walls to floor tiles to ceiling to old adaptors switches. You just stepped into a time machine and went back to mama's era. You will find old metal windows that open up to a make-believe Hong Kong street filled with giant signboards and old buildings, retro light switches, old school wooden booths, tiled floors and little knick knacks and reminders of the 1950s and 1960s. It is incredibly cool and is nostalgia at its best. 过了柜台后映入眼廉的又是另一种风情, 绿方桌搭配深色木椅, 黑白相交的小方格磁砖, 四週以深色窗稜装潢, 窗稜则是旧广告墙, 就像是不小心掉入七, 八零年代的香港冰室般. Minor details like the “scenery” if you look out from the “windows” also cannot be neglected. They were decorated to look like there were banners and flags hanging out from the window when there was some kind of big Chinese festival celebrations. 看到一些很复古的摆设, 这是香港一家自创家具品牌 G.O.D. 和星巴克合作的的设计, 地上的马赛克纸皮石, 桌上传统的餐单水牌, 还有茶餐厅卡位, 以至半掩白布的鸟笼等. 都让人好像走过时光隧道回到60-70年代的香港冰室一般. 假日来, 生意很好, 几乎没什么空位, 整间满满满的人. The attention to detail is quite impressive: it starts with the small folding chairs in the corner, standing on a typical checkered floor. 在旧香港, 冰室扮演着咖啡室的角色. 食客有的阅报, 有的谈, 同时享受咖啡或茶, 一派悠然写意. The look of the bing sutt is very reminiscent of a '60s greasy spoon diner in decor, but with the odd Chinese touch here and there, and of course, Chinese lettering instead of English. 冰室角落揉合了香港五十至七十年代冰室风格与现代艺术的触觉既充满怀旧色彩, 亦不失现代气息. Over the top décor, tiled floors, signatures in traditional Chinese writing, fake bird cages on the ceiling, old toys in the glass cabinet, retro movie posters, and wooden sitting booths like how a traditional Hong Kong café looks like. Except that it is all recreated. 手写的 Menu 挂在贴上磁砖的圆柱上. 另一旁绿色的墙上也挂有白底红字的塑胶 Menu, 左上方还有写在纸上的推荐菜单. 一进来的地方放了个立牌, 说明这冰室角落的来由, 对于香港人来说冰室绝对是记忆里无法抹去的一环, 拥有数十年历史的冰室文化, 影响了香港人饮食习惯, 就跟近几年台湾掀起的怀旧风一样, 香港开始越来越多怀旧小店, 无论在哪个城市, 当高楼越盖越多, 生活越来越便利, 那些因改变而需要被牺牲掉的过去, 其实都还是封存在你我的记忆里, 而这样的怀旧店舖, 就成了回到过去的时光机, 无论是否曾参与过那时代的人, 都能藉由装潢摆设窥视那再也回不去的时光. It’s a unique experience stepping back into the 1950s with a cup of Starbucks in your hand. It was interesting to see how they managed to infuse modern into the old and keep the place looking hip and retro at the same time.
Nostalgia is a bittersweet thing. On the one hand, people want to move forward and spend a lot of time thinking about the future. But on the other hand, we tend to reminisce in the old glory of the past and make so much of nostalgia. While i myself am on the path to consciously live in the now, my visit to the Starbucks' bing sutt corner in its Dudell Street branch was a welcome nostalgic step back to the past. 怀旧的老爷电风扇, 挂在墙上的手写餐牌, 旧式窗花百褶帘...在冰室角落, 你可以找到一种似曾相识的感觉, 那是属于很多人的旧时回忆. 香港的节奏很快, 在这座灯红酒绿声色犬马的都市里, 我们常常匆忙得来不及感动, 来不及思考, 来不及感谢, 来不及道别…甚至来不及停下来, 享受一杯咖啡的时光. 每次来香港, 我都会至少留出一天时间, 扔下背包, 放下相机, 喝杯咖啡, 发发呆. 好时光都该被珍藏, 好好感受待在港式茶餐厅里的时光. 如同享受这咖啡般, 入口前让人联想翩翩, 入口后虽稍带苦味, 但过后却又让人忍不住回味. 忍不住想念以前的冰室是一个让人们相约碰面聊天谈事情的地方, 扮演着很重要的角色和使命. Starbucks 特地让这样的冰室文化重现, 也提供了相当独特的氛围. 有到香港旅遊的朋友们, 千万不要错过这个怀旧风情的星巴克啰!
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