LNII Series: Stores of Yore

(This is the biggest paper tiger I have ever seen for the offering ceremony on one of the 24 traditional Chinese solar periods called "Gink Zug" [literally, Waking of Insects Day]. More on this in the post)

LNII stands for Lower Ngau Tau Kwok (II) Estate, the last resettlement estate to be redeveloped in Hong Kong. You may wish to read first three instalments of this series here, here and here. The photos presented in this series were taken by me with my GX200 during my two visits to the estate. This time let's walk around the neighbour together to check out some of the old shops still up and running after some 40 years.

Having weathered a history of 40 years, LNII is a monument to the old days nearly forgotten in this city. The moment I stepped into the estate on my two visits, it was like a click of fingers and "SNAP!" I was back in history. I walked past time-worn shops, seeing the old ways of life intact. Everything seemed having been a déjà vu frozen in time.

Around the corner on one of the labyrinthic walkways, there was a store selling paper offerings. Outside the store stood the biggest paper tiger I have ever seen which is for the day of Gink Zug in March every year. There are two important rituals on Guk Zuk. First, there is the Da Siu Yun or literally, to beat the bad guys. In Hong Kong, it is a rather popular tool of sentimental relief among the white collars falling victim to office politics. These victimised people usually head to Wanchai and pay the old ladies (taken to be the present-day sorceresses) easily found there around Gink Zuk to beat the bad guys, which works like this by using this to beat the figure on this.

The second ritual on Gink Zug is to worship the paper tiger, which is usually a figure of tiger on a piece of yellowish paper the size of a palm. So, I was immediately attracted to this huge paper tiger when I caught sight of it. Its mouth is not wide open for no reason. This is a practical need for the ritual.

The paper tiger represents the bad guys and bad luck. The traditional belief has it that worshipping a paper tiger can release the person from bad things. "How?" you may wonder. First, the person dip a piece of uncooked pork into a bowl of pig blood. Then, the pork is put into the mouth of the paper tiger as if it were fed. Lastly, an old lady acting as the sorceress wipes its mouth with the greasest piece of uncooked pork. Now, the tiger (i.e. the bad guys and bad luck) is fed full and doesn't want to hurt the person anymore. This is why the paper tiger is made with a wide open mouth.

(Some potted plants are placed outside the restaurant near the window seats, a sign of how meticulous the owner has tried to micmic the more agreeable setting of a classy restaurant)

On the other end of the walkway, there was the Phoenix Bing Suc (Ice Room) illegally occupying the common area which is typical of such an old style Chachangtan (Tea Meal House) in any resettlement estate in the past. Bing Suc is sort of an old term for such local eateries mimicking the then fashionable, classy western restaurants to sell, among other usual dishes, iced beverages and desserts.

(This view shows that the common area is occupied not only for doing business but also for working. There in the lower left corner is a lady doing the dish washing)

(A shot of the inside gives a view of the rusty metal wall and pillars. On the corrugated plastic sheets are two menus spelling out the set meals of which one is the "Cha Chang" [so the name Chachangtan]. The menu says that the Cha Chang offers the hungry eaters with a typical fulfilling meal including a piece of ham and a sunny side up, bread with butter and BBQ pork with spaghetti in soup)

"Hey, Come over this way! There is a barbershop the age of your old dad," a voice from behind led my eyes to a guy pointing to the other side of the resettlement block. When I turned round the block, some photographers came into sight outside the barbershop. They were busy taking photos of it. I pulled out my trusty GX200 and joined them at once. The shutter went clicking for some time before I felt really satisfied.

(The rusty sign says Hei Lin Beauty Parlour. "Beauty Parlour" is a very old fashioned way to address a barbershop. There will be a special post for it)

(This is a shot taken at the back door of Hei Lin. I wonder for how many years the senior barber has been working here)

So I waved goodbye to Hei Lin and soon after, I walked past a more (but not really very) modern beauty saloon which ran its business on the ground floor of a resettlement block. Its name? Au Mei, meaning "Europe and America". This is a very nostalgic name, I can tell ya. In the 1950s to 60s when Hong Kong started to soar economically, a lot of local small businesses took similar fashionable names. This name reminds me of a famous old Peking cuisine restaurant in Wanchai called The American Restaurant. That is a really old, nostalgic sort of place worthy of a visit and meal next time you come to Hong Kong.

(Au Mei Hairstyling House with its price tags for all kinds of services posted on the door)

(A big ad signboard reading "Au Mei Hairstyling House" was casually placed at the lobby of the residential block)

Some minutes later, an old lady somewhat hid behind the signboard to prepare food. "Curious," I thought to myself but got the answer when I looked farther away. The old lady worked in a Daipaidong (big row stall), which is a typical, open-air local eatery. Daipaidong is so called because it sets up tables in rows, to be sporadically extended over the place anytime when more eaters show up.

(The old lady hiding behind the Au Mei signboard)

(The Daipaidong is just some steps away)

(The Daipaidong seems to have occupied any space available in the lobby of the residential block. This is not the worst part for public hygiene. I will write another post for the Taipaidong about its eye-opening open kitchen)

Now I had walked away from the lobby and was ready to venture into another dark corridor on the ground floor. In fact, I had smelled something enticing.

(The gate at this end of the corridor is a common sight in LNII. On the wall is a signboard suspected to be illegally placed by "Chinese medicine partitioner, Ms TK Ho" which was written on it. I did write in a previous post that LNII has a liberal quality to it, didn't I? Some of us may miss this less rigid, more village-like way of life)

(The first shop through the gate is a Min Ka [the Chinese characters], or literally Noodle Speciality Restaurant)

(A man just finds the right seat to his liking, which is by the door; in fact, back door)

(On the upper residential floor, the corridor will be the long, dark central corridor. The premises of the shop measure almost the same size of a residential unit, except for the area covered by the canopy near its front part. To the residential unit, the canopy is actually a concrete slab extended outside the unit)

(Note the little hanging shrine on the left of the sliding gate of the noddle shop. It is the same we saw last time for the god of the earth outside a residential unit)

I didn't take any food at any of the eateries because they seemed to be on their own level of hygiene standards which may forbid me from going to work the next day, even though I could taste some Chinese herbal medicine afterwards to dispel any suspicious evilness taken in together with the food. What a coincidence that I went past a Chinese herbal medicine shop at this point.

(This is a larger photo so you can click it open to see the details inside the shop. The man is measuring some kind of herbs with a traditional scale. The desk in front of him is for a Chinese medicine practitioner to see the patients. Chinese medicine practitioners had not been legally recognized in Hong Kong until after 1997. Now they are officially registered)

Next, we will read some profiles of the more interesting shops. Before going, let's say goodbye to the paper tiger.

(A Lurking Tiger: There is a brutal version of the ceremony. In some Chinese cities, the so-called sorceress cuts the paper tiger's head off with a copper sword or even burns the whole paper tiger to end the ritual)

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