Classic Hong Kong restaurants: Chan Kee, Sham Tseng
Chan Kee pulled out all the stops to become one of the city's best-known roast goose restaurants
Mention Sham Tseng and many people will think of roast goose, with stalwarts Chan Kee and Yue Kee dominating the scene. But it wasn't always that way.
"My father came to Hong Kong from Chiu Chow in 1949. He settled in Sham Tseng and started a dai pai dong selling tea," says Chan Wai-man, who now runs Chan Kee along with four siblings.
"In 1976, when Tuen Mun Road was being built, there were lots of workers in the area. Castle Peak Road was the only way in and out, and Sham Tseng was the only place where trucks could park. We started selling rice to the workers."
The ease of parking and proximity to beaches along Castle Peak Road meant that the area became popular with visitors on weekends, too.
Chan Kee started serving roast goose in 1978, when they saw that their neighbour Yue Kee, which specialises in roast geese, was always full of customers.
"We hired two sifu [masters], one for roasts and one for the kitchen, and put our ovens right outside for all to see. The geese were roasting in full view of passers-by, too," Chan says.