Street Talk: Feelhappyhk
If you grew up in Hong Kong, you can’t help but be charmed by the nostalgic roadside candy stall, Feelhappyhk, which sells nostalgic and hard-to-find candies and toys from Hong Kong’s past.
HK Magazine: How did this stall come to be?
Vincent A.Y.: My partner Bobo and I have known each other for a long time. I study design and I’ve held many exhibitions and collected many things about old Hong Kong for over 10 years. Then I realized that these nostalgic things could actually help people recall happy feelings and memories.
HK: So you’ve kept these candies for over a decade?
VAY: Haha, of course not. I have to search for them in places like China, Taiwan and Thailand. When customers ask for our help to find specific sweets, Bobo will give them a wish card to write down what they want and we’ll try to find them.
HK: What’s the most satisfying thing about your business?
VAY: To me it’s more like a place to collect Hong Kong histories and communicate with people. We don’t have to make a very hard sell—many passersby are surprised to find their childhood stuff here and get so excited that they just keep on chattering away. I want to install a pinhole camera to record their reactions. When you see the joyful looks on their faces, you feel happy too. Even youngsters are interested in our colorful products and unique packages—we wrap some of the products ourselves to give them a better look, such as by providing a net for the “watermelon ball.” I’m just sharing some of my collection, not trying to earn big money.
HK: What do you think about modern candies?
VAY: Their design has become much more conservative these days. Three decades ago, there may be 10 different colors for a product but now there’re only three to four and they all look so similar. There used to be some really creative designs, like a small fan embedded on the end of a torch—but it’s so rare now.
HK: Any particularly memorable customers?
Bo Bo Poon: I remembered one time a pair of sisters who were over 50 years old walked past our stall and were inspired and began squabbling with each other about the best way to get money out of a red piggy bank. The bank didn’t have any openings except for a small gap for you to put coins in. Fifty years ago, as they were quarreling whether to use a ruler or simply shake out the coins, their mom found them out and beat them with a rattan cane. I think they were having a great time recalling their wonderful childhood.
HK: What’s the most special thing about running a roadside candy stall?
BBP: The Hong Kong government really likes to dig around on this street—it digs three to four times a month, which means I can’t open my stall sometimes. It’s really annoying. After the government is the lighting company, then the cable company and the water supplies department. I don’t get a cent in compensation. They said they would be digging right next to my stall next Monday. Another problem is that cars always go upslope but the street is obviously not wide enough for both people and cars. So whenever they drive past, our customers have to dodge and it’s very dangerous. After they get to the top, they have to drive backward since there is no other way to go. They can’t see very clearly from the mirrors and sometimes they’ve hit the protruding eaves of our stall a few times.