Toby To Yan Choi quit his accounting career in California eight years ago to assist his family manage their Hong Kong wet market food stand.
Toby To Yan Choi quit his accounting career in California to assist his father manage a food shop in Hong Kong.
His hours got longer and more demanding, but he began earning more than twice his former pay.
Dai pai dongs, Hong Kong’s open-air booths that serve meals with no frills, are vanishing.
Choi, who holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, had been working 40 hours per week at his desk job, sometimes hooked to a computer screen. He was in his twenties and had spent much of his youth and early adulthood in the United States.
Choi felt obligated to assist his father at Dai Lee Dai Pai Dong, which Time Out named one of Hong Kong’s best 12 dai pai dongs in February. “My dad wasn’t the type of person to ask for help, so him asking me to return to Hong Kong meant a lot,” he stated to Business Insider. “I felt that dad had worked his entire life for us, and I should repay the
When Choi returned to Hong Kong, his work hours changed and expanded. He started working from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week.He often worked 90-hour weeks.
Since returning to Hong Kong, Choi has taken on a variety of tasks in the family business, from slinging woks in the kitchen and serving tables to handling marketing with his wife.
While he finds the work tough, he claims he now makes more than double what he did as an accountant in the United States. He’s also excited about the opportunity to support his family’s company and contribute to the preservation of Hong Kong’s heritage.
“Being a part of Hong Kong’s dai pai dong tradition, I realize we can definitely raise awareness of vanishing establishments like us,” said Choi.
Dai pai dongs, considered as one of Hong Kong’s distinctive culinary practices, are food carts equipped with sizzling woks, known as “wok hei,” in an outdoor setting for cooking and dining.
However, the dai pai dong experience, like Hong Kong’s neon signs, dim sum carts, and hand-painted mahjong tiles, is another cultural landmark on the verge of extinction.
Following World War II, the Hong Kong government began issuing licenses to the families of deceased or incapacitated governmental personnel, allowing them to run tiny street-side restaurants for a living. However, concerns about noise, traffic, and cleanliness persuaded the government to cease giving new permits in 1956. The first prepared food facility, which opened in 1975, introduced a more regulated and
