Dai Pai Dong Vendor Chan Chiu-wah
Street Talk Say hi to Chan Chiu-wah, aka “Sei Gor.” He's the second-generation owner of Chan Sei Kee, a dai pai dong on Stanley Street opened by his father 60 years ago. He talks about the benefits of cooking and eating in the heat.
HK Magazine: Does the hot weather affect your business?
Chan Chiu-wah: Actually, no. My clients evaluate how much heat they can stand before they step into the shop, so it’s perfectly fine. And also, the heat is part of the experience. There’s a certain dai pai dong taste that air-conditioned restaurants simply can’t mimic.
HK: A lot of places in Hong Kong are air-conditioned, especially in Central. You can walk from building to building without even stepping into the heat! What’s your take?
CC: That’s why a lot of people have bellies hanging out at the waist. But take me: I’ve always been 128 pounds and in good shape. You know, if you have your meals outdoors, you’ll automatically eat the right amount. It’s the best way of keeping fit.
HK: How hot is it cooking next to a fire, under the sun?
CC: Probably 40 to 50 degrees Celsius. But I’m used to it. I’ve been cooking here for 20 years.
HK: There have been reports saying that the rat problem in Central is getting worse. Do you have any firsthand experience of this?
CC: I love cleanliness and I’m the rare kind of dai pai dong owner who would hire a pest control company to take care of the problem. The government will come from time to time for pest control operations, too. But even though I keep my place tidy, there are other nooks and back alleys belonging to other restaurants that I can’t take care of. And the rats always try to sneak into my place because my food tastes better. Ha! But they’re scared of humans, so it’s very easy to scare them off.
HK: You graduated from business school in Canada. Why would you run a dai pai dong instead of becoming a businessman?
CC: I have four other brothers and sisters, so I don’t know why my father appointed me to take on this job. But it was my father’s call, so no objections from the son. I’ve always liked cooking and I've cooked for pleasure ever since I was a kid.
So even though I had never worked in the shop before I started, I didn’t have any problems.
HK: What’s the golden rule of running a business?
CC: The golden rule in running a business is that you’ve got to have business! But seriously, I would say that you have to use your heart to run everything. Take the catering business: never serve your customers something that you wouldn’t eat, and throw away things that your employees wouldn’t eat. That’s how I keep up the quality.