A cup of soy milk may seem ordinary, but it has captured the taste buds of several generations. Wing Hing’s soy milk was known as “the famous food of Kwun Tong”, which is now back in Yue Man Lane. In the early morning of the reopening, the people in the neighborhood were rushing to tell each other about the comeback of this famous shop. Wing Hing has become one of the legends to the neighborhood. Many customers think Wing Hing’s soy milk is the most delicious among others, and they are always curious about its secret. The owner of Wing Hing, Lau Sai Wai, said the recipe is a business secret, and it will not pass to the outsiders. Therefore, he is only willing to reveal a little. “For all these years, we have only used Canadian soybeans. Although the cost is much higher, you will know the difference once you drink it.” In addition to the selection of soybeans, the ratio of water to soybeans, the method of grinding, and even the temperature of the water, all procedures must be precise. “It takes a lot of experience to get a good taste. You have to fail a lot before you succeed.” No wonder Mrs. Lau, Chan Chor Chen, said that her husband is a perfectionist.
This exquisite taste of soy milk has made the shop survived for 30 years. In the past, the shop had a red and white signboard and located in the narrow alley. It became a place for late-night supper, and the soy milk had comforted several generations of Kwun Tong residents.
In the 1980s, the couple only ran a hawker stall at the Kwun Tong pier when her daughter was just a month old. “That was a tough time. We had to flee from the Hawker Control Team always, but the goods and tools were too heavy. One day, when we passed by the Yue Man Square, we saw a shop for rent and thought we should have a regular shop so we wouldn’t have to work as hawkers anymore. Maybe the owner appreciated our honesty, so he suggested that we should buy the shop instead.” In this way, the two of them became the boss in a daze, and they have been operating it for three decades, witnessing the vicissitudes in Kwun Tong. “At that time, we also sublet the shop to a neighbor to sell chicken cakes in the daytime, and we opened our shop at night to sell soy milk, closing only at 4 am. We often went back to the shop early the next morning for preparation. That means we had worked for more than 10 hours a day.”
Now back to #Yue Man Lane, the shop still uses the red and white signage, but it has upgraded with an eye-catching lightbox and added a striking gold border on it. A most popular food award by a food website is hung on the prominent place as well, proving that Wing Hing Soy Milk has earned a good reputation over all these years. “Before the reopening, we tried to recruit female workers by posting the announcement at the door. Instead, we got calls from the regular customers, asking where we have moved to, and saying they miss our soy milk…” Mrs. Lau feels proud whenever people mention her homemade soy milk. “Some customers drove all the way from Yuen Long and Tuen Mun just to have a cup of our soy milk, which was very touching indeed. After the reopening, we have met many of our regular customers. Many of them were children before, but they are adults now. Some of them have graduated from university, or even married. We are very happy to hear that.”
Mrs. Lau confessed that the two of them planned to retire before, but her daughter and son-in-law did not want to let these famous foods be lost, so they decided to continue the business together with the whole family. The traditional concept that “women are to take care of the family while men are to work outside” is not applied to Wing Hing. Now Mrs. Lau and her daughter are responsible for greeting customers, while Lau Sai Wai and his Taiwanese son-in-law, Andy, grind beans and prepare food at the back. “The satisfaction from staunch support from customers makes us worth the effort.”
Address: 1B10, L1, YM², 33 Hip Wo Street, Kwun Tong, Kowloon
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