Jo Jo Mess served up a host of colonial memories Late on November 10 or early the next day, staff at Jo Jo Mess Club in Wan Chai will lock the doors for the last time on another little part of Hong Kong that is quickly fading into memory. The restaurant, once a favourite of expatriate judges and police officers, is about to become a victim of urban redevelopment. The judges used to play a game of tennis on Wednesdays and then head to Jo Jo's for a North Indian curry, but that stopped about a year ago. Expat police officers had a similar tradition - for Friday lunch. Their numbers have dwindled, and those left rarely make the journey, while the civil servants stopped coming years ago. Most have retired and have returned to Britain, probably enjoying a curry elsewhere, but perhaps longing for the homely decor and rattle of the trams outside. The restaurant, which celebrated its 20th year in August, is to be pulled down, along with the rest of 86 Johnston Road. Built in its place will be another anonymous 'air-conditioned greenhouse', says owner Kuldip Singh Uppal. Mr Uppal's father, Tarsem Singh, an ex-army police officer who started the restaurant for his two sons, is returning from India to mark its closure. The family is not concerned financially, as they have expanded and own three more restaurants in the city, with another due to open in Lockhart Road. Instead, they worry for Hong Kong: for a future without any past to look back on. 'Why doesn't the government want to save some of the history, some of the special buildings that make Hong Kong unique?' Mr Uppal asked. He wonders about the top officials responsible for authorising the destruction of Hong Kong's old buildings - and of its heritage. 'We really have enough air-conditioned greenhouses and they all look the same. Look at the character around here. Everything works fine, it just needs to be repaired.' Mr Uppal will be sad about the chapter of his life that is to become just a memory. He fears the regulars who brought their families along may now stay away from the new restaurant on Lockhart Road because of the 'girlie bars' nearby. And he reminisces about rowdy nights with a big screen beaming India versus Pakistan Test cricket and the banter echoing into the street. The new location has no satellite feed. 'We asked to come back to this spot, but they don't know what they are going to build here yet,' he said. 'No plans won't stop them demolishing the building - amazing.' Demolished, but never forgotten - the British passion for a good curry will see to that. 'We still cater to the British consulate,' Mr Uppal said. 'That is not going to change.'
