Mui Kee specialises in congee based around fish broth
Dai pai dong's flavours change with the times
Mui Mak set up a dai pai dong on Hak Po Street in Mong Kok in 1979, where she made congee, a skill she had learned from working at other congee stalls. She named it Mui Kee, after herself.
"We specialise in congee that's based around fish broth. My grandma's originally from Shunde [known for its fish dishes], but I don't think it had much to do with it," says Pierre Choi, Mak's grandson, who now takes care of the stall.
Mui Kee has changed locations a couple of times and was once "somewhere around Macpherson Playground", says Choi, but it has always been in Mong Kok. In 1991, it moved to its current location on the top floor of Fa Yuen Street Market.
Choi joined the family business in 2004, and in 2007 they tried to expand and open a branch in Sheung Wan, but it didn't last.
Choi says, "The hardest and most important thing is to keep the quality high and make food in the style that people want to eat. Our menu hasn't changed much throughout the years, but people's preferences have. Customers used to like stronger flavours from MSG, but it has to be much lighter now."
The congee base takes about five hours to make, and is done in a massive 1.5-metre-tall pot. The food stall opens at 7am so the staff start at around 11pm, and work through the night.
"We have a good mix of regulars and tourists these days, says Choi. "We don't advertise, so it's all word of mouth. It's all about the quality."
