The last of Hong Kong’s street food rebels

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Street food stall culture needs to be preserved. Modernize and clean up a bit, but retain it as part of the social fabric. Their function in society is so important.

I grew up with dai pai dongs and they are an essential part of Hong Kong's history and culture. It was truly a level playing ground where rich and poor would gather for all occasions to share a meal. I hope these stalls find ways to survive and continue the tradition.

It's so nostalgia for me after watching this, I used to live in Wong Tai Sin over the past 18 years, and seeing the dung gu ting I grow up with and the owner of it really just bought tears on my face. It's truly a unique historic building and represent the daily life of the locals. Just hope I'll be able to see them still exist no matter how long.

It's just a shame to eliminate these premises. I reside in Canada and left HK when I was 16. Yet I still remember the aroma of the cooking from a few blocks away. It is what makes HK different and something should be kept not getting rid of. The atmosphere is incredible and nothing can match the experience.

In malaysia and singapore this kind of culture is very much alive and still very common , glad to have those still around

It also used to be big here in manila, chinatown in the 80s. These places are always very full and noisy and smokey but food is cheap and very delicious with strong wok hei aroma. We also call them Dai Pai Dongs. Most of the stalls were run by former HK chefs who immigrated to the country and some from guangdong china. All of them became very rich people and most moved on. There are still a few left though right now

Thank you for filming this! Food looks awesome.

Dai Pai Dongs are crucial and integral part of Hong Kong in all essence across all industries.. HK society, commercial, music and movies need dai pai dongs

Yes!~ Finally a long video SCMP

They can't film all those triad films anymore without Dai pai dongs.

It's a beautiful bit of history. I hope it gets preserved.

I missed HONG KONG so much , I lived there for 4and half years. I wish i can take my holiday, The people are very friendly the streets foods are amazing.

Some advice: Please reconsider using white coloured fount for the translated words. The white is VERY DIFFICULT to read against white background. Recommendation: The white needs a black outline around the font or use a contrasting colour like amber yellow. Thank you for your heard work.

Was there in October with my cousins , was brilliant..❤

There used to be a lot of joints like these in Taiwan back in the days, eventually they either closed shop or moved indoors as the cities developed and modernized. A big incident in the '80s that propelled the new policy was a fire at a famous spot called "The Circle", a roundabout-like food center filled with stalls in a circle; a gas leak + exposed electric wires caused a huge fire that killed many people. This is inevitable as society progresses, lots of concerning factors come into play such as sanitation, safety, cleanliness and order. While Govt does have planned municipal centers for the stalls to move into, some owners refuse to move. But most will close up shop as their kids don't want to inheret the business.

Excellent film! Thank You!

This is the real meaning of street food, HK does it the best.

lived inn Hong Kong from 2001 till 2019.... jeez I miss the hawkers, amazing amazing amazing!!!! so sad to see them go

I've been living in Guangzhou for the better part of a decade. They don't have the same outdoor layout of restaurants like this in the city centre, but if you move outside, you can still find some places like this. And my wife's home town has a lot of these types of places. I've always enjoyed the food there, and even if my Mandarin/Cantonese is horrible, the people I've sat with have always been super friendly. I'm not a major foodie, but as someone who loves history, seeing things like this being moved on to make way for the same cookie-cutter restaurant chains, or new skyscrapers, is depressing.