Mak Ping-Kuen

HK Magazine: Tell me about the history of Ngau Kee.
Mak Ping-keung: Ngau Kee first opened its doors on Staunton Street in 1951, and then it relocated to Gough Street in 2005 due to the government’s urban renewal projects. I took over the business 17 years ago as the fourth owner, and the restaurant mainly rose to fame in the past two decades.

HK: What was Ngau Kee’s most famous dish?
MPK: Ngau Kee’s most famous dishes were “Rose Queen Chicken” and “Daikon brisket broth”—a beef brisket brewed in a clear stock and served in a traditional clay pot. Spicy salted crispy squid, steamed egg, and Chiu Chow pan-fried eggplant were also our best-sellers. I can proudly tell you that we were the only local eatery who could present eight well-known dishes during interviews.

HK: Why did Ngau Kee close?
MPK: Our landlord simply did not appreciate Ngau Kee’s unique vibe and claimed that we didn’t have any character. They didn’t want to rent the shop to a cha chaan teng, but Ngau Kee is just a business like any other. I personally felt a little discriminated against when they implied that a small eatery wouldn’t be able to afford the rent. When the business first relocated to Gough Street, the street was dead, without basic street lamps. In 2006, fellow residents and I started the “Gough Street Village” and each year we held a “Gough Street Festival” in collaboration with the Tourism Board. The festival brought in huge crowds and landlords saw it as an opportunity to increase our rent from just over $10,000 in 2005 to over $100,000 a month.

HK: What are the biggest problems that small local eateries face?
MPK: Rent is one of the fundamental problems. Small local eateries such as Ngau Kee cannot afford the huge price inflation, and they have been gradually closing down these couple of years. At Ngau Kee, a cold beverage costs just over $10—but eateries who can afford the rent are selling drinks for up to three to four times the price.

HK: What can the government do to help?
MPK: I think the government should implement a rent control policy. Currently, property developers have been increasing our rents at an unacceptable rate. A rent control policy will regulate the increase at a certain percentage.  Nowadays, no one wants to invest in businesses, simply because the money we make probably won’t even cover the rent—let alone make profit.

HK: What’s next for Ngau Kee?
MPK: We have plans to open an old Cantonese-style tea house in Kennedy Town. The area is in need of a place for old folks to gather. We will try to offer a more authentic local yumcha experience and atmosphere to help the community to reminiscence about the past. Currently, we have found a suitable location but we are still waiting for the bank’s approval of our Small and Medium Enterprises Loan application.