Just 20 years ago Tai Mei Tuk was a quiet rural backwater with just a handful of dai pai dongs. But with the construction of the first Tolo Harbour bicycle track in 1981 and subsequent extensions of the cycling path, the village soon became a destination for those wanting to get away from it all. Cycle shops opened, along with new places to eat.
Located at the northern end of the Plover Cove Reservoir dam, to the northeast of Tai Po, Tai Mei Tuk now draws visitors who make the trek up there specifically to enjoy relaxed, open-air dining.
During the week, lunch is the main attraction, with customers coming from the Chinese University, the Institute of Education, ATV's studios and the Tai Po Industrial Estate.
There's plenty of Thai cuisine, with about five outlets serving sumptuous traditional dishes. The Chung Shing Thai Restaurant is a popular pick and queues are not unusual during peak hours. Friendly rival Thai Thai opened two years ago and boasts a staff of Thai chefs cooking up authentic treats.
The Tai Mei Tuk strip is an amalgamation of different restaurant styles, with the Country Art Museum the obvious choice for art lovers. The three-storey village house, covered with images influenced by Picasso, Kandinsky, Matisse and Klimt, is the most strikingly artistic building in the area. Its in-house eatery, the Cafe de Country Art, boasts a chef formerly of the Ritz Carlton, and is the brainchild of owner Chung Kin-san, who used to be an officer in the tactical unit of the police force. Chung is passionate about bringing art to his customers.
'After experiencing what Barcelona had to offer, I wanted people to come to Tai Mei Tuk and experience art and food together,' says Chung, who first started painting at the age of three. 'My wife and I first opened the Country Art Museum to teach and promote art. Here, with the green mountains and blue waters of Tolo Harbour, it's a place for inspiration.'
The restaurant-cum-art museum opened about four years ago, and its patrons are a mix of curious walk-in visitors, old friends and villagers who stop by for a chat and a pint of beer with the staff. The place has a homey feel, with Chung's police honours on display and a wall with dozens of framed pictures of friends and family. Paintings, sculptures and china fill every nook and cranny, and the wooden furniture invites customers to pull up a chair and chow down.
