Fung Moon Kee

A time-honoured plaque of the shop, Fung Moon Kee. For people savvy in the local history, the calligraphic characters from right to left on a wooden plaque readily tells of its old age of a good many decades.

There are old shops galore in Hong Kong giving glimpses into the lives during the days of yore, if you know where to go. In case you need a tip, head to Shanghai Street which was where I went with the GF-1 and stumbled upon an old-style bedding shop.

An old photo in the shop shows the long array of shops, one of which was Fung Moon Kee, along Shanghai Street in the 1930s.

Actually, Fung Moon Kee is what the locals call an embroidery-works shop or "sau-jong" in Cantonese. With a history of over 100 years, the shop is originated from Singapore. A sau-jong served in the old days as what a bedding shop does today.

The old-timer is working behind the glass display cabinet with all sorts of bedsheets tossing out smiles in motley colours in the background.

Uncle Lam in his late 70s has been working in the shop as Manager for over 60 years. According to the old-timer, embroidery needleworks made big sales in the old days. As time wears on, so does the trade. This has lots to do with technological advances and changes in social values. What does the sau-jong sell actually?

A rattan bedroll

Hong Kong has a subtropical weather, with hot, humid and sultry summer days stretching from June to early October. Such inconvenient months can make people growl for the many sleepless nights because of the stuffy air. While the modern men and women resort to air-conditioners, people in the old days sought help from rattan bedrolls which have the quality of cooling down the body heat a bit. Rattan bedrolls sold like, well, hot cakes at Fung Moon Kee then.

Fung Moon Kee also sold and is still selling their special oriental verisons of the do-it-all Ricqles Peppermint Cure Drops, as evidenced in the above photo of an old-style flimsy order form of the shop listing out all of its merchandise.

To go with the rattan bedroll, the rattan or wooden pillow (shown above) was a handy solution to cool down the head. I have no information about the origins of these rock-hard pillows. But they could be seen in some pictures about China in the imperial days.

Lastly but most importantly, a sau-jong is meant to sell at least one thing -- the Chinese traditional ceremonial gown or "kwan gwa" in Cantonese. Kwan gwa used to be a must-have in every family. Whenever a birthday celebration was thrown for an elder in the family, kwan gwa would be the only proper attire for all female relatives. Look at the above picture and image what a sight that was!

Kwan gwu also served as the wedding gown. Although few brides buy tailor-made kwan gwas nowadays, some would still rent one to dress in on their wedding days to show respect to the elders in the family. Sadly, the liberation of women's rights does not especially favours such a "discriminatory" tradition. That "some would still rent" is actually few and far between.

If you have a chance to visit Hong Kong and fancy a visit to Fung Moon Kee, its adress is No. 203, Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei.