Peering down on Stanley Street from the Central–Mid-Levels Escalator, one can see rows of patio umbrellas, under which there are several “dai pai dongs” (open-air eateries). Among them is Sing Kee, a stall with more than seven decades of history that is renowned locally and globally for its stir-fried dishes full of “wok hei” (breath of the wok).

Shing, the owner, wears a white t-shirt as his chef’s whites. He stands in front of two large iron woks, stir-frying various nostalgic Hong Kong dishes with astonishing speed. Pork offal and fresh fish soup with rice are popular heat busters among Central construction workers; sweet and sour pork ribs and salt and pepper squid are Hongkongers’ favourite accompaniments to alcoholic beverages; while steamed seafood and claypot rice are must-orders for foodies from the mainland.

After the lunch service, Shing can finally take a break. Sipping his beer, he recounts the rise and fall of our city’s dai pai dongs.