A vanishing place in Hong Kong — Dai Pai Dong
Hong Kong, as a Gourmet Paradise, gathers a sort of restaurant with dishes from all around the world. One of the most representative food stores would be Dai Pai Dong(DPD), located in narrow alleys with poor-hygiene conditions and a unique dining environment. However, these stores are vanishing. This video essay will investigate deeply into this disappearing place, Dai Pai Dong.
Research
Every time when I am on my way back home, I walk pass a DPD called Bing Gee Cha Dong. There are always long queues, and the tables are full. Waiters rush around, with left hand holding two bowls of HK-style Luncheon Meat & Egg Noodles, and the right hand holding two cups of hot yuanyang. Unlike other posh having nice ambiance and good services, DPD still gains high popularity among Hong Kongers and even tourists. What are the reasons behind this? The history? The decor? The human touch? My hypothesis about DPD is that its existence is necessary for the city. This project documents the investigation of the disappearance and the importance of DPD in this society, from the view of the aforementioned aspects.
History
To do research on the history of DPD, I read a journal article called Nostalgic Cuisines and food memoirs, which states that DPD is a popular sidewalk food stall in Hong Kong during the 50s and 60s(Ng, 2012). During this period, the city was in economic hardship and social unrest. Owing to the characteristics of low-price meals, it gained high popularity among the lower class. DPD was not an official food store with a license, it was transformed from an illegal store owing by street hawkers. Since take-off in 90s, due to the change in the economic status of the city, the quality of life of citizens has improved. More people are affordable in dining at high-end restaurants, and the number of DPDs has gradually decreased, until now, remaining only twenty-five of them.
Decor
To observe deeply the decor in DPD, I went on a field trip to Bing Kee Cha Dong. Same with other DPDs, It locates in a narrow alley, far away from the main streets. Sanding directly across the store, I can already see the four red calligraphic-style Chinese characters of the shop name. The food store has simple decor and minimal furniture: round plastic chairs, brown-colored folding tables with cylinder-shaped containers holding chopsticks placed on them, rusty electric fans, and a large menu board sticking on the wall with dishes name handwritten on it. The sanitation is poor, I saw cockroaches appearing at the corner.Large blue buckets collecting used utensils are put outside. There are also trolleys for transporting the used bowls to the back alley for cleaning.
Human Touch
Many people are queuing for having a meal in DPD. Surprisingly, people queuing are families going out of their way to eat and professionals wearing suits. I interviewed one of the customers about his reason for eating at DPD, and he said, “I miss the taste here.” DPD brings back ppl to old Hong Kong. Being a metonym of old Hong Kong, DPD relishes memories of the old days by satisfying the tastes today. Everything has changed, except the taste and the human touch. Waiters there were busy, but still, friendly to customers. It gives customers a sense of familiarity and affability and brings customers back to old Hong Kong. I guess, that’s the reason for the necessity of its existence in the city.
Video Production: filming and editing
Filming
Several cinematography skills are practiced in the video. This video brings the audience to the food store, walking away from the noisy main street, to the quiet narrow alley. Between different videos, since the location of the Bing Kee is quite concealed, I inserted some photos of the street name sign for the audience to know the exact location, at the same time emphasizing its location. Throughout the whole video, I mainly use camera movements like panning and wide shots, medium shots, and long shots. Besides filming the appearance of Bing Kee, I took a lot of pictures of it, and close up the types of furniture for example electric fan, round plastic chairs, and menus inside the food store.
Editing
I add background music to it, which is the instrumental music of a Local singer, MC’s song “A Gentleman’s guide to old-fashioned dating”, the song is chosen because its soft and slow melody brings out the theme of “old HK”. The original audio (with 70% demonized) is kept to let the audience share the same feel with the director, providing an immersive auditory presentation to them.
References
Ng, D. S. Y. (2012). Nostalgic cuisines and food memoirs. Journal of Oriental Studies, 45(1/2), 107-119. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43498207
SL Music, “A gentleman’s guide to old-fashioned dating – MC Cheung Tin Fu (instrumental) [with lyrics]”, 23 Jan. 2023
Messywitchen. “Bing Kee Dai Pai Dong.” Messywitchen, Messywitchen, 12 Nov. 2018, https://messywitchen.com/dining/hong-kong/tai-hang/bing-kee-dai-pai-dong/.
Ip Yuen Yi 3036064313
Documenting Dai Pai Dong is an interesting topic to illustrate the history of HK. I wish more of your content in your written text can be reflected through your video. Currently the video seems like purely documenting the neighbourhood and the Dai Pai Dong but not really telling the story that you included in your text. You may look into your journal ‘Nostalgic Cuisines and Food Memoirs’ and extend your research into the space of Dai Pai Dong – how the stall was designed and how it occupies the public streets. That would enrich your content on the spatial analysis.