History

Everyone have an impression that Lan Kwai Fong is a place that represents nightlife, fun and enjoyment. Many people hang out here after work with friends. Yet, what it looks now is actually very different from the past.

The street was opened up since 1840. ‘Lan Kwai Fong’, named by a merchant who started to develop the street, has the meaning of having prosperous descendant(蘭桂騰芳). For some time, the street was also called ‘Mui Yan Hong’(媒人巷) since there are many mui yan (marriage intermediaries) clustered together in this street. Before and during the war period, the place became famous for prostitution. The name, ‘爛鬼坊’ (meaning that there are many foreigners who were obscene always hang out here) was also called due to this reason. The place was back to peace and developed into residential area with some shops afterwards.

The area started to shape when a gay bar “DiscoDisco” was opened in 1978 due to the trend of disco culture.

Dramatic change happened since Allan Zeman, also known as ‘Father of Lan Kwai Fong’, opened his restaurant named ‘California’ in 1983. He introduced a new catering concept to the place and it was a great hit at that time.

Followed by the tremendous success, Allan Zeman expanded his business there. He brought many nearby properties and started more variety of businesses to flourish the area. Then more and more bars and restaurants see the achievement as role model and start moving into the area.

Even though it is a place full of joy, tragedy happened in 1 January 1993, that there was stampede causing death of 21 people and 48 injuries.

I think it is the many of the past events that contribute to nowadays prosperous and famous Lan Kwai Fong.

Photos sources:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hongkongphotographic/5508430708/
http://travel.cnn.com/hong-kong/drink/lan-kwai-fong-used-to-be-more-fun-262656

Story

“Happy Halloween!” there was a terrifying voice behind me. When I looked back, instead of a normal human face, a horrifying monster face came into my view. I startled and stepped back immediately. It took a few seconds for me to calm down until I discovered that the monster face was only a mask. Actually, I should not be too shocked because it was a place that we could see different kinds of “monsters” or “ghosts”– Lan Kwai Fong!

        Lan Kwai Fong is one of the hot spots for celebrating Halloween. Every year, a Halloween street party is held here and hence would attract over 150,000 people to join. Why it is so popular? One possibility maybe that it gives you a valuable chance to put on your favorite custom or make-up to become what you want to be. Apart from dressing up like scary goblins or ghosts, you can also get a taste of becoming some cute cartoon characters like Mario or even a princess. Moreover, if you like crowd, it is absolutely a right place for you. You may find that it is hard to make any movement, as the whole street is usually filled up with people. Nonetheless, you can imagine how great the atmosphere is when the street is crowded with skeletons, ghosts and monsters at Halloween night.

        To me, it was quite challenging and threatening to be in Lan Kwai Fong at Halloween. Frankly, I am scared of ghosts and that’s why I have never celebrated any Halloween before. Actually, after my first visit, except the moment that the black monster’s face that made me frightened, I did enjoy observing people with different dressing and make-up. I had so much fun, especially when I urgently needed some entertainments aside from my busy work! Overall, it was a wonderful experience to join the Halloween Street Party 2012. So, let’s join the party together next year!

Drinks

Though Lan Kwai Fong is the place where mostly white collars go to, it’s not that expensive to enjoy a night there. A cocktail is only twenty to thirty Hong Kong dollars; vodka with ice is only about fifty Hong Kong dollars; and a 355 ml Carlsberg is only fifteen Hong Kong dollars at some bars at some periods. However, to drink in Hong Kong, is different from China. You have to pay immediately every time you order a drink, and usually together with some tips to the waiter.

Regarding our trip, we entered HongKong Brew House  The menu was undoubtedly written in English. Frankly speaking, I didn’t familiar with 90% of the names on the menu. I ordered a Hoegaarden as usual. Hoegaarden is a beer from Belgium, a wheat beer. It has a fragrance of orange peel.  It’s different from many beers. It is light and not bitter flavour. If you hate the bitter flavour of beers, you should try Hoegaarden. It’s very acceptable. Comparing to a little white wine or cocktail, it is much bigger in terms of volume. That’s why I prefer Hoegaarden. I can drink slowly, and talk with friends while drinking without the need of frequent re-order or occupying the desk with full of little goblets. However, it has a shortcoming. It is carbonated. If you drink too much, you will keep belching.

By the way, you may wonder why were there full of peanut hulls. It was because peanuts are free! You can get peanuts as much as possible. (Of course you need to order at least a drink to enjoy that) Therefore, we kept eating peanuts while drinking. In fact, not just desk, even the ground was covered by peanut hulls.

I’m also used to drink Stella, which is also a Belgium beer. It has a fragrance of wheat and a little bit sweet. As to make sure we can finish our trip, we stopped drinking after 2 rounds of Hoegaarden. Maybe we will try Stella and others next time.

Food: Yung Kee Restaurant

Yung Kee Restaurant


When it comes to nightlife, everyone in Hong Kong must think of Lan Kwai Fong. Apart from drinking and clubbing, Lan Kwai Fong also is a nice place for dining. There is a list of restaurants locating in the area, from Oriental to Western including French and Italian fine dining, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese cuisine and more. A well-known and award winning local restaurant, Yung Kee Restaurant, is one of them.

Yung Kee Restaurant has a long history in Hong Kong. About half a century ago, its founder, Mr. Kam Shui Fai started the business from a novice in a small food stall and to now become the owner of Yung Kee Restaurant and Yung Kee Building. What makes Mr. Kam so successful? The Roasted Goose. Mr. Kam was renowned for his specialty roasted goose and Yung Kee acquired fame from it. This attracts local people as well as tourists around the world.

Roasted goose, then becomes the “must” pick item in Yung Kee. After tasting the roasted goose, nearly every diner would give a “like” to it. Most diners describe the goose as meaty, juicy and tender. The skin of the goose is very crispy but you would never feel greasy. The taste of the roasted goose is enhanced after coated with the sweet-and-sour plum sauce. What’s more, Yung Kee is still using charcoal instead of gas for roasting, in order to bring out the original taste and fragrance of the goose.
It is interesting to know that Yung Kee offers roasted “jet” goose for foreigners to carry home as souvenir and share it with their family and friends. For that, Yung Kee’s roasted goose also called the “Flying Roasted Goose”.
Thanks to the fame and high quality of food serving in Yung Kee, every year it becomes the winner of many different local and international awards, such as the Mic
helin Guide Hong Kong & Macau and the Top 20 Asia’s Finest Restaurants of the Miele Guide.

Address: 32-40 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong

Contribution

The Historian: Jenny
The Narrator: Wing
The Drink Researcher: Roy
The Food Researcher: Bonnie