25+ restaurants: Sammy's Kitchen
Restaurant's legacy burns as bright as its neon cow, writes Doug Meigs
The neon cow sign at Sammy's Kitchen was an advert for Angus beef. Now, it's a controversial landmark. When founder Sammy Yip installed his neon cow in 1979, he said locals hadn't heard of the breed of cattle, and Westerners were a rarity in the mostly Chinese neighbourhood of Sai Ying Pun. Yip boasts that his restaurant was the first Western-style restaurant in Western district.
Although officially retired, the 83-year-old still monitors food preparation. During the lunchtime rush, he manages bookkeeping at a booth overlooking the crowded tables.
Customers enjoy a mix of fancy foreign dishes and local canteen-style fare. Some chow down on Hong Kong-style fried noodles; others carve into Angus sirloin steaks topped with foie gras.
Dim lighting and chequered tablecloths lend an old-fashioned ambience. The back room opens for candlelit dinners.
Yip has operated Sammy's Kitchen since 1969. The restaurant was originally on Centre Street. He moved to the current location in 1979.
Yip is thin, with wispy, combed hair and thick eyebrows. He began working in Hong Kong restaurants by chance, after fleeing Huizhou as a teenager in the wake of the second world war.
At the age of 15, while working at a hotel in Repulse Bay, he developed "Sammy's special sauce", a tangy gravy made with port, Cointreau, tomatoes, onions, herbs and spices.