2022/11/12

Closing up: To close a store and cease trading. To shut down. (From Oxford Languages)

On October 10st, a cha chaan teng on Keelung Street in Prince Edward Island closed its doors after more than 31 years of business.

The name of the shop is Yuen Fat Cafe.

To be honest, Genpatsu is a neighborhood restaurant within walking distance of my house. It wasn't open at night, but it was a place I could pop in when I felt like, "I don't feel like going to the office, so I'll have a sandwich before going to work," or, "I'm tired, so I'll have a cup of iced lemon tea here!" on my way home on the weekend.

The walls are decorated with tiles in chic colors that are slightly different from other cha chaan tengs, and a paper cutout of the zodiac animal that changes every year is prominently displayed inside the lovely restaurant, which is always bustling with locals. At dusk, as closing time draws near, a white cat gracefully appears and attracts the attention of the people. The signature dish, "Fried Egg Rice with Pork and Onions," is a simple dish of pork chops topped with a fried egg, but the generous amount of green onion sauce brings out the juiciness of the pork, making it so delicious that the large amount of rice disappears in an instant. My recommendation is the pork liver rice noodle soup "Chinese Coriander Tang Rice," which is filled with coriander! It may seem surprising, but it's an addictive combination, and I often ate it while fogging up my glasses.

For me, the highlight of Genpatsu is their iced lemon tea, which is thick and has a lot of slices!

I'm of the opinion that "the deliciousness of frozen lemon tea is determined by the thickness of the lemon," and it makes me weep over the state of Hong Kong's iced lemon tea, where it is said that the lemons are getting thinner and fewer every year, but I can't help but be captivated by this thickness and number of lemons, which completely ignores such worldly circumstances! Especially during the hot summer months, when you try this frozen lemon tea, where you smash the lemon with a spoon and straw like you're mortal enemy, you'll want to shout, "It's smooth! It's refreshing! It's delicious!" just like in a beer commercial.

The closure of Genpatsu was announced at the beginning of October this year.

I saw information circulating online that "It seems to be closing down," so I went to Genhatsu in disbelief, but the shop assistant calmly told me, "It will be open until the end of this month." Then, on Wednesday, October 10th, the following notice announcing the closure was posted outside the shop.

The closing greeting, written in Chinese, English, and even Japanese, not only expressed their pride in having overcome various hardships and their regret at being forced to close unexpectedly, but also their gratitude to their customers, which was evident in every word. It was a pride and gratitude that came from a restaurant that was loved by so many people, including local residents, customers who just happened to drop by, and us Japanese people. There is no sadder farewell than this, but I'm sure everyone was glad to have met Genfa and this cha chaan teng.

At the end of this month (November 11th), it was announced that "Chinese Pepper Yuen Restaurant" (also known as "Chinese Pepper Yuen Cha Chaan Teng") in Kennedy Town, west of Hong Kong Island, will close. The mezzanine-level seating, called the "pavilion," and the bread and egg tarts baked in-house are the characteristics of "Chinese Pepper Yuen" and of long-established cha chaan tengs, but these features are now in danger of disappearing. In addition to "Yuan Fa" and "Chinese Pepper Yuen," in the past two or three years, famous restaurants with a history of around half a century, such as China Bing House in Mong Kok, Pai Hao Coffee & Pastry in Sai Wan Ho, and Hai An Coffee House in Sheung Wan, have disappeared one after another from Hong Kong. As someone who loves these cha chaan tengs, I have begun to wonder what the point of being in Hong Kong is.

As a "port," Hong Kong is not just a place where people come and go; the shops, the food, the time spent there, the conversations exchanged - everything seems to come and go like waves.

Familiar stores disappear, and new stores appear in greater numbers, and then disappear again.

Amidst the constant ebb and flow of the tides, the few establishments that have miraculously managed to remain on the shore for as long as possible have managed to survive. Why not visit one of these long-established cha chaan tengs that are still hanging on today, hoping to survive for as long as possible?

Akiramujina

A Japanese person based in Kowloon calls himself a "cha chaan teng enthusiast" and visits cha chaan tengs and ice cream shops almost every day.
My hobbies are traveling and visiting cha chaan tengs. Now that I can't travel due to the COVID-100 pandemic, I aim to visit more than 300 cha chaan tengs and drink more than XNUMX cups of Hong Kong-style milk tea a year.
He prides himself on being agile and able to go anywhere, but he worries about his weight because he eats everywhere he goes.
I also talk a lot about food on Twitter and Instagram.

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