What was Hong Kong really like back in the day? By Winnie Chau.

Despite our obsession with the shiny and new, Hong Kongers have a strong sense of nostalgia. Whether you’re looking back and reminiscing, or you’re new to the city, here’s our take on Hong Kong through the decades – and where you can go to experience the era.

1950s: Hard Times

The 50s were a time of hardship. The city was recovering from the Japanese occupation during World War II, and the civil war in China caused a huge influx of refugees to the city. But it was these immigrants who gave Hong Kong the potential to bloom into a metropolitan city. Capitalists brought money with them and started businesses in Hong Kong, and with the growing population, there was an abundant source of cheap labor. With the government’s plan to develop Hong Kong into an industrial center taking off, people were more prosperous and started to look for more entertainment. That’s when Shaw Brother’s Studio was set up, producing the first martial art movies. The sword-fighting scenes (known as wee-wung-wung for its sound effect) deeply influenced the kung fu movies that came along in the 60s, such as “Rulaishenjiang” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=kns0Dcn7_ac).

Experience the 50s at:
Lin Heung Tea House
If you think you’ve had an authentic yum cha experience and you’ve never been to Lin Heung, you’d better get a table there now. Located at the corner of Wellington and Aberdeen Streets in Central, this is arguably the oldest existing establishment that still insists on doing it the right way (complete with the occasional elbowing). Ancient waiters who look as though they’ve been there as long as the restaurant fill up your old fashioned kung fu teapot while you stroll around the carts, choosing your own dim sum. Keeping with the 1950s style, Lin Heung is as authentic as it gets when it comes to old-school glamour.
160-164 Wellington St., Central, 2544-4556.

Cart Noodles
There are now more than 10,000 restaurants in Hong Kong, but back in the 50s, ordinary people simply couldn’t afford to eat out.To feed the many Chinese immigrants, hawkers started to cook noodles on their carts, together with a few ingredients. Today, cart noodles are still an everyday workhorse dish—a staple of Hong Kong cuisine and a testimony of our history. Try the best cart noodles at Wing Nin Store.

My 50s
“Uncle Ray” Cordeiro, host of long-lived radio “All the Way with Ray”
Ray Cordeiro is a veteran disc jockey, having hosted radio shows since 1949. And now at age 83, he’s still going strong, hosting his midnight music program every week night. Young Uncle Ray would hang out in the bar area in Jaffe Road back in the 50s. At that time, he explains, the atmosphere of society was very innocent: “People liked clean-cut music. No matter if they went to a bar or a club, the most important thing was the music. There were no drug problems, as we still remembered the lessons we’d learned from The Opium War.” He feels sorry that the Big Band, the most significant musical style of the 50s, died out so that nightclubs could earn bigger profits with smaller bands. In general, he says, people at that time were very hard-working, and a lot of listeners liked his show because they wanted to improve their English.

1960s: The People’s Liberation

The 60s was an era of passion, suppression and, ultimately, rebellion. The 1967 riots symbolized a growing sense of dissatisfaction with the establishment, and were a significant turning point in the power of youth. With living standards still low and the youth’s high spirits uncontained, the decade witnessed the birth of legendary grassroots big-screen heroes and heroines. Among the most notable were Lui Kay, Chou Tat-wah, Suet Nay (dubbed the “female James Bond”) and Connie Chan Po-chu. Girl power was evident as more women joined the workforce and hemlines rose. While preserving the Chinese sense of diligence, Hong Kong was seduced by glamorous Western culture. The Beatles’ visit to the city in 1964 created yet another (thankfully harmless) uproar among the youth.

Ever wonder why memories of the 60s are so vividly colorful, despite the prevalence of black-and-white film and photography? “Everything seemed plastic and full of color,” recalls Winnie Fu, curator of the “An Emerging Modernity: Looking Back on the Cinema of the 1960s” exhibition. “The flashy colors on advertising posters were believed to be a selling point to attract business—after all, many were living in a black-and-white world; they went to work in a white shirt and black trousers,” says Fu. Here are a few more of her memories:

• Thanks to the water shortage in 1963, the red or blue “Red A” buckets were a household necessity. They became so popular that the made-in-Hong-Kong brand has become the largest local plastic manufacturer.

• The introduction of the first “over-the-air” commercial television in 1967 did not upset Hong Kong’s sense of community. “Few households could afford a TV, but there was always a shop downstairs that would be happy to share theirs with us,” says Fu, who grew up in the 60s.

• To pacify the angry youth in post-riot Hong Kong, the government organized a ball at the former Blake Pier in 1968. Pop stars Teddy Robin and Chan Po-chu were present, dancing with the younger people.

Experience the 60s at:
Western Market
Ready-made clothes were simply unaffordable. Most women would make clothes for the whole family. Cloth shops used to line the streets in Central, but these days you can find them housed in the air-conditioned Western Market in Sheung Wan.

Kwan Kee Store
Chinese cakes and puddings that are fast vanishing in our city have miraculously survived in this little shop in Sham Shui Po. Remember the red bean pudding, black sesame cakes, white sugar cake, and the bowl pudding? Get them at Kwan Kee. And feel free to go nuts because they’re cheap too.
Shop 10, 115-117 Fuk Wah St., Sham Shui Po, 2360-0328.

Kung Wo Dou Bun Chong
Alternatively, go over to Pei Ho Street for another Chinese dessert—tofu pudding. Kung Wo is the famous old tofu factory, and its tofu pudding is one of the best. The shop itself is worth a visit because the owners have kept it just the same as it was in the 60s. 
118 Pei Ho St., Sham Shui Po, 2386-6871.

Yuk Yip Desserts
Located on the corner of Elgin Street in Central, Yuk Yip is a dai pai dong dessert shop that’s been housed in a green tin stall for almost 100 years. Selling Chinese staples like red and green bean sweet soup, which are cooked from two stoves and served onto the folding wooden tables on the slope, Yuk Yip follows an old recipe: a light, slightly sweet soup to be enjoyed after a meal down on the street corner. 
2 Elgin St., Central, 2544-3795.

My 60s
Lee Wai-chun, comic artist  of “13-dot”
Lee created 13-dot-a cartoon girl with a penchant for fashion-back in 1966. Growing up in the 60s, Lee’s been drawing “13-dot” along with others girl comics ever since. According to Lee, people in the 60s took fashion very seriously. From sleek and sexy hairdos to their polished shoes, men and women invested time and effort into their looks. “Everyone was immaculate. Shoes were either high-heeled (for women) or leather (for men). No one wore sneakers, though students would appear in cotton-white slip-ons,” says Lee. “Men gelled their hair like Elvis did and women liked to wear their hair with a special undercut to create volume.” While tai tais and housewives stuck to the more conservative qi pao, young girls were more experimental and preferred something more Western. “Girls were encouraged to make their own clothes. Many would buy extra yards of cloth to make a matching handbag,” says Lee. “There were more cloth sellers than boutiques back then.”

1970s: The Age of Transformation

Sustaining the spirit of the last decade, Hong Kong in the 70s was a period of transition. With soaring land prices, Hong Kong’s manufacturing industry was gradually replaced by the emergence of retail businesses. The launch of the MTR in 1979 was the keystone of the new era. With Cantonese opera and foreign films co-existing, theater-going was a favorite pastime. Big theaters, such as the former Lee Theatre and Tai Ping Theater had facilities for both. “Going to the cinema was a major event; it was a collective activity,” says cultural critic Mathias Woo. “The big theaters were architecturally interesting and had an immense social impact.” The theater-going experience wasn’t complete without a stroll along the nearby street market for snacks. “It used to be an experience which could be enjoyed by every class. Today, lower income groups are deprived of the chance to go to the cinema in the mall,” adds Woo.

Experience the 70s at:
Kung Fung
Kung Fung in Kowloon City is a great reminder of the snacks and sweets we used to enjoy, especially as movie snacks before the days of popcorn. The snacks mostly preserved fruits and pickles, but try the melon jelly candy there—it’s made by Smith’s, Hong Kong’s last existing candy factory.
132-134 Nga Tsin Wai Rd., Kowloon City, 2382-2468.

Kwong Sing Café
Dining out was a much simpler process in 1960s. Either you couldn’t afford it, or you were posh enough to head down to the local diner, known as Bing Sut in Cantonese for a cup of shaved ice with red bean and a pineapple bun (pictured right) to listen to the radio and while away a few hours. But with an influx of food choices in the past few decades, Bing Sut has become a rarity and Kwong Sing is one of the last ones standing. This Sheung Shui café is proud to be the only one that still shaves the ice by hand, and has made only a limited number of dishes for the past 40 years. Those in the know keep coming back for the food because it’s simple and good. And new clientele has surfaced lately—people who are looking for a retro touch, just like us.
10 San Sing Rd., Sheung Shui, 2670-4501.

My 70s
Cho Man-wai, collector and antique shop-owner
A journalist by trade, Cho is an avid collector of anything related to local history. He is especially knowledgeable in Hong Kong’s erotic history and even published a book on the subject covering the period from pre-war time to the end of the 90s. Growing up in the 70s, Cho has been collecting paraphernalia since the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed. “People in Hong Kong don’t know how to cherish things. Nowadays, it’s hard to buy back the newspaper that came out yesterday,” says Cho. He feels that museums run by the government haven’t dedicated enough energy to curating and preserving local non-mainstream history, such as erotic history, which he now collects himself. “To distract the post-riot crowd, the government in the 60s and 70s had a open attitude towards pornography,” says Cho who published “Hong Kong Erotic History” in 2004. “It wasn’t until the 80s when ordinances were set up to control the rampant explicit scenes in films and publications.” Flipping through Cho’s book, you realize how conservative our society has become now. Back then, there was nothing “indecent” about a nude woman on the main page of any newspaper. Check out Cho’s collection at Shop 345, 169-173 Portland St., Mong Kok (opens on Sat 6-8pm only).

1980s: The Entertainment Boom

Remember the 80s saying: “Hong Kong streets are full of gold”? Hong Kong was considered a goldmine at the time because of the booming economy. The entertainment business was in its golden age as well. In music, records were selling by the thousand. Cantopop was reaching its peak and budding superstars like Alan Tam, Lesley Cheung and Anita Mui were on the rise. The average box office release would make more than $1 million in revenue, and Jackie Chan shocked the world with his life-threatening stunts that made Hong Kong movies the best in Asia.

Experience the 1980s at:
Orchid Restaurant
The Orchid is your classic restaurant that survived the 80s intact—darkly lit with an open-window kitchen, tiny booths that fit four when squeezed and Christmas lights all year round. While a recent widescreen TV has taken away from its classic vibe, they still keep in tune with a wide variety of wholesome dishes. Among them are timeless meals like the classic soup and sandwich (club, BLT, tuna) combo, all served with a hot coca-cola. Go with someone special and share a baked soufflé or the flaming Baked Alaska.
6-8 Tin Lok Lane, Wan Chai, 2572-3036.

Ap Liu Street
This is the ultimate destination for cool 80s gadgets. Remember your first fat Walkman, your first point-and-shoot and the first Nintendo console (Famicom/NES)? Here, you can still get them dirt cheap, and chances are they still work. Good luck finding the games though.
Ap Liu St., Sham Shui Po.

My 80s
Comic Artist Siu Hak
The most vivid memories of the 80s for comic artist Siu Hak were the tastes of Wan Chai, where he spent his childhood enjoying cha siu, dai pai dongs and Hong Kong-style western meals. “Every shop was unique,” says Siu. “There were less fast food chains than today.” Like most teenagers, Siu Hak grew up listening to Alan Tam’s pop songs, playing with Nintendo consoles and a Casio calculator with a game installed. “It was too expensive to go to the cinema when a ticket cost $15. Lunch was only $10,” he says. “We played football instead. But if I had to choose one thing to bring back from the 80s, it’d be the slang.”