Not just about secret recipes: traditional Hong Kong family-run restaurant wins customers with a personal touch and quality food
- Ngan Lung Cafe in Lei Yue Mun Fishing Village boasts signature local fare, and owner knows most by name, tailoring dishes to suit customers
- Restaurant is a Culture category finalist in this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards
Lee Hoi-wu took over her family’s decades-old restaurant business in Hong Kong in 2014, and within years, worked out the secret recipes that ensured customers would keep coming back.
Ngan Lung Cafe, a Hong Kong-style restaurant, was opened in 1968 on a small street in Lei Yue Mun Fishing Village.
The cha chaan teng is known for mouth-watering signature dishes such as Hong Kong-style French toast with egg white and fermented bean curd, as well as abalones steamed with sake.
“We pay great attention to the ingredients we use. Our abalone dish is prepared by steaming, ensuring that alcohol is evaporated. This allows kids to enjoy the dish as well,” she said.
Lee also won the 2017 Milk Tea King Competition with a secret milk tea recipe passed down from her father.
For her efforts and the popularity of her restaurant, Lee is a finalist in the Culture category of the Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, an annual event co-organised by the South China Morning Post and property developer Sino Group that honours the achievements of remarkable individuals whose endeavours may otherwise go unnoticed.
Prior to Lee taking over the business, her father, the proprietor, had passed it down to her younger brother, who died suddenly after fainting while at work in 2014.
