Hong Kong gourmet food brand Dashijie was the product of its founder’s retirement

Crowded house: I was born in 1949 in Hong Kong, the 11th of 13 children. My father had two wives and we all lived in a house on Rednaxela Terrace, in Mid-Levels. My mother was his second wife. My father worked at an auctioneer called Lammert Brothers, where Shanghai Tang used to be on Pedder Street. The economy was not good in the 1950s, but my father managed to find valuable items and sell them at higher prices. He was able to provide for us so that everyone ate two eggs for breakfast each day.

Because there were so many people at the table I learned early on to compete to eat – for birthdays or holidays there would be one chicken. We had two maids from Shunde (in Guangdong province) and one cooked very well, making inexpensive dishes like stir-fried bean sprouts with beef.

Shock departure: When I was eight years old, my father’s younger brother adopted me. My father’s brother had one son. I had no idea I was being adopted. My mother put my essentials in a basket and we took a tram from Central to North Point, where he lived. During that ride she told me from now on I would live with my uncle, aunt and cousin. It was a shock. My cousin was over 10 years older than me.

My uncle was a very tough teacher. If I didn’t study well he would punish me. I wanted to go home and play with my siblings and pets. My mother didn’t have time to watch us so we were more free. At my uncle’s it was just the four of us. I didn’t cry, but I was shocked, living in fear for 10 years.

Getting with the program: When I was 18 years old, I started working. In the 1960s, not many people studied in university. I applied to universities overseas to study, and was accepted, but my family couldn’t afford it.