The 125-year-old Ser Wong Fun is a favourite of the Central crowd — from politicians and celebrities to tourists and the average person on the street. "We're very lucky to have accumulated a lot of wonderful clients who love us," says Gigi Ng, the fourth generation in the business.

"Originally, snake shops weren't restaurants. We sold snake meat, bones and medicinal products like balms. It was about healing, restoring and soothing the body; snake is known to chase away the winds and dampness in our bodies," adds Ng of snake's perceived benefits in traditional Chinese medicine.

Ser Wong Fun started out in the town of Dali, in the Nanhai district of Guangdong province. Ng's great grandfather tended the shop with her great grandmother, who was a practitioner of Chinese medicine. The business was passed down to Ng's grandfather and father, who brought the business to Hong Kong. The family opened a street stall on Gilman Street, in Central. "One of the chefs at the stall had been a cook at the residence of Jiang Taishi [believed to be the inventor of snake soup recipe], so he knew how to make snake soup," Ng says. From then on, they served food made of snake, plus other dishes. "They would open from 6pm, but sometimes by 9pm they'd be sold out."

They opened a restaurant in Stanley Street, and then moved to Cochrane Street in 1989.