When Macau baker Leong Chan- kuong opened Koi Kei Bakery in the shadow of the ruins of St Paul's 12years ago, among the first through the doors was a group of uninvited guests - angry triad gangsters determined to defend their turf against the newcomer.
Leong was forced to stand his ground, crossing swords with tattooed gangsters who repeatedly set fire to his shop front, initiated gang fights, blocked his shop with a truck, or did whatever they could to trample the newcomer in the Chinese bakery and snack market.
'A gangster happened to be my rival and feared my bakery would be a threat, so he commanded his mates to get rid of me and my business,' recalled Leong, who sells crunchy peanut and ginger candies, almond cookies and egg rolls to tourists as 'souvenirs of Macau'.
'They kept pestering me for some months until the government cracked down on triad activities before the handover [of Macau to the mainland in 1999].'
Leong had to fight a lonely battle for some months as his father strongly opposed his decision to expand from peddling Chinese candies on a cart to opening a proper bakery.
'My father did not think my business idea would work and deemed me a failure before I started,' said Leong, who fell out with his dad as a result of the business venture.
'Neither did my two brothers support me, so I sold my apartment and borrowed from friends the necessary HK$1.7 million and kicked off the business.'