Survival of Bing Sutt in Modern Hong Kong

By Zhu Hanxi

At 7：10 in the morning，Chen came to Brother’s Court located in Shanghai Street，Mong Kok.Tidying up the kitchen，checking the cash book and preparing the fresh ingredients provided by the supplier，he started his day-to-day business.

Bing sutt（Ice room）is a type of traditional dinner started in Canton and refreshed in Hong Kong in the 1960s.It provides light meals and drinks and is neighborhood-oriented.Click on a search engine and look for “bing sutt” in Hong Kong.There are 2，916 results and Brother’s Court is one of them.

Brother’s Court is a small ice room with booths on either side and one table for a large group，fans cooling down the temperature a little overhead and the menu on the table under a layer of glass much in the style of a traditional Bing Sutt.The proprietor Mr.Chen proudly displays his collection of vintage collectibles on a wooden shelf，from chipped china saucer to old-fashioned typewriter，from toy train to hit record，infusing a sense of nostalgia into this quaint bing sutt.

Chen said that he was not a native and came to Hong Kong about ten years ago.He recalled that in his childhood，every day after school he would eat a bor lor bao（super-thick butter in the crunchy and sweet-flavored pineapple bun）at a bing sutt in his neighborhood.He could still remember the cold butter and the warm bun combined for a mouthful of different textures and temperatures，and then washed it down with a red bean ice with a large piece of ice on top.Perhaps his fate with bing sutt has been a great serendipity since then.

In 2018，Chen opened his own bing sutt and named it “Brother’s Court”.He hoped that his bing sutt would give people a sense of belonging-- when they are in a hurry to work，they can quickly fill their empty stomach here；when they do not want to cook at home，they can come here for a satisfying meal.Although Chen’s bing Sutt is not known by many people，it has drawn a few loyal customers dropping round for lunch every week.More often than not，Chen enjoys a little chat with them like old friends over their meal.

Chen is satisfied with his business.Nevertheless in the interview，he mentioned his concerns about the difficulties that bing sutts had been facing in this modern city.Indeed，most of the Hong Kong bing sutts are encountering the roaring rents of restaurants and the competition of fast growing cafes.Chen remarked，“Walking along this street，from old school to new wave，there are four or five bing sutts competing with us.Therefore we need to change to keep pace with the times.” To cater to customers，Chen considered to combine old with new.He showed us a new menu which he is going to use from next month.This exquisite menu features the French toast served with butter，and a juicy all-beef burger topped with melted cheese，pairing these with the elegant Yuanyang milk tea.Compared with the old one，it adds more western dishes and combos.Definitely，the price is twice higher than before.

Changing is a crucial matter not just for Brother’s Court.Almost all the bing sutts in Hong Kong are groping for their way to survive and are racking their brains to attract customers.Some lucky ones have the endorsement of celebrities.For example，a famous singer promoted Huaxing Bing Sutt on his social media，and then that bing sutt has become one of the most popular bing sutts in Hong Kong.Meanwhile，some ice rooms deliberately create a retro atmosphere by setting up black and white color tables，an old TV set or exhibitions of the past，trying to take advantage of the nostalgic psychology of the guests.Other ice rooms have been working hard on dishes.They imitate dishes from Japan，the United States，and other places to appeal to customers with the freshness of the fusion food.That is why you will see things like cheesy rice and seafood bakes，Swiss style chicken wings and pineapple buns wedged with thick slices of cold butter.

However，not everyone accepts their painstaking change.In our interview，a great number of people commented that even though some dinners were still called “bing sutt”，they were completely different from the past.One striking contrast is that in the past，people went to a nearby bing sutt to dine，as well as relax，but now they just rush there to eat and leave for their next journey.Just like Miss.Li，a customer of Brother’s Court lamented，“Tiled floors，hanging fans，folding chairs，and localized western snacks are a collective memory for Hongkongers，but it can't go back anymore.”

Fast-paced and practical style is more in line with the needs of modern Hong Kong.Today almost every bing sutt is changing more or less to survive and thrive.At the same time，however，they are losing the authentic Hong Kong taste.The original emotions carried by bing sutts are getting weaker or even disappearing.This is the inevitable result of social and economic development，but it can not be seen as a pity.Perhaps these enlightening classical styles can only be ignited in our memory.