2024/04/12

Even if our sleeves brush against each other as we pass each other, it is only because of a deep connection that we have a deep connection. (Extracted from the Wiktionary entry "Even if our sleeves brush against each other as we pass each other")

The neon sign of the former Jinhua Ice Factory

Spring, the season of meetings and partings, has arrived.

Although there are no graduation or entrance ceremonies at this time of year in Hong Kong, I think that for Japanese people living in the city, there are many opportunities to experience meetings and farewells, as they send someone off or welcome someone back.

It's been a little over 10 years since I came to Hong Kong this spring. Looking back, there have been many encounters and partings. One of the biggest encounters was discovering my favorite cha chaan teng, Kin Wah Bing Teng in Mong Kok.

Mongkok 47nd Street, XNUMXth Floor, Jinhua Ice Cream

Jin Hua Ice Teng, a super famous shop for "pineapple buns with butter" is a tea restaurant that is often featured in travel guides and is visited by many tourists. My first encounter with Jin Hua was when I came across a book called "Hong Kong Backstreet Gourmet" that introduced everyday Hong Kong restaurants.

In the 10 years since then, I have encountered countless dishes and consumed countless calories, and have visited the restaurant more than 800 times! My encounter with the countless specialties of Jinhua Bingteng, such as the spinach oil and egg tarts that attract tourists, as well as the addictive "Tai O fried rice" with its unique flavor made with shrimp paste, the "Ototo Mandarin Ducks" that I introduced in the previous column, and the "Western Style Fried Macaroni with Tomatoes" that is easy for children to eat, is the biggest reason why I became a cha chaan teng lover.

The menu at Jinhua Ice Cream Shop is so diverse you'll be tempted by everything

Food wasn't the only thing I encountered at Jin Hua Bing Teng. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the shared seating culture known as "ta tu" has once again become a common sight at cha chaan tengs. I often pop into Jin Hua Bing Teng on my own, and just recently I had the opportunity to make a new encounter at a ta tu.

I was feeling a little sentimental that day, sitting in a booth and drinking milk tea as usual, when a young Hong Kong man sitting across from me asked, "Aren't you the person in this video?" and showed me a video of me. I felt a little embarrassed, but we started talking, and before I knew it, we had been talking for about 15 minutes about the recommended cha chaan tengs, the menus he had when he was a child, and our jobs. One of the great things about Jin Hua Bing Teng is that conversations can start just by sitting across from each other at the same table.

The "box seats" at Jinhua Bingteng are always packed.

In addition to meeting new people, I have also experienced sad partings at Jinhua Ice Cream Shop.

One Saturday in January 2019, I headed to Jinhua Ice Cream Shop to have breakfast as usual, and found that they were just about to remove the city's iconic neon sign. Neon signs were being removed from the city at a tremendous pace, and now in 2024, Hong Kong's glittering streets seem like a lie. Around 2019, the sky over the main streets had already become much wider, and even the neon signs in the alleys were disappearing one by one.

The day the neon sign of Jinhua Ice Cream Shop disappeared

"But, who would have thought, even the neon sign of Jinhua...!"

With that feeling, I entered Jinhua and was about to sip my milk tea when I saw Chin Tai, the proprietress of the store. Chin Tai is usually cheerful and efficient in running the store, but on this day she was depressed and sad to say goodbye to the neon sign, saying "It's been with the store for decades..." Five years have passed since then, but I still can't forget the neon floating in the sky in front of the store.

The sight of "Flying Pinellia Bao" as baked bread flies around the store

Well, the famous "Flying Pineapple Buns" from my beloved Jin Hua Bing Teng, the scene of a shop assistant walking around holding up a freshly baked pineapple bun, is coming to Hong Kong in the form of a beautiful painting! A solo exhibition by illustrator Mitsuko Onodera, known for her love of Hong Kong and a "super Hong Kong fanatic," will be held at Zizi Kenkyusho, a bookstore in Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island, which has a wide selection of books about food.

To be honest, Mitsuko Onodera is also the illustrator for "Hong Kong Backstreet Gourmet," which was my introduction to Jinhua Bingteng. Perhaps due to a connection from a past life, I have now come to the exhibition many times. Why not go to the exhibition where you can experience the cha chaan teng scenes that make you hungry every time you see them, and discover the delicious food of Hong Kong?

Mitsuko Onodera's "Hong Kong Flavors Through Mitsuko's Eyes" Exhibition

Dates: April 4th (Sat) - May 13th (Sun)

Hours｜13:00-19:00 (Wednesday-Sunday), Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

Venue: “Jji Research Institute Word by Word Book Store”

1/F, Foo Tak Building, 365 Hennesy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

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.

instagram
@akiramujinahk
Twitter
@akiramujina