In terms of heritage value today, cha chaan tengs arguable steal traditional Cantonese cuisine’s crown. These ‘tea restaurants’ emerged during Hong Kong’s post-war manufacturing boom, catering for factory workers with short breaks but enough loose change to want to experiment a little with western dishes.
In December 2007, the Hong Kong legislator Choy So Yuk suggested putting the cha chaan tengs on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list to help preserve them.
He argued that they embody Hong Kong’s contemporary society and pointed to a survey saying 7 out of 10 people wanted them listed.
However some locals have questioned whether the restaurants really have this value.
“Heritage is such a strong word...If we have to preserve cha chaan teng do we have to preserve Kowloon Bus,” said Enoch Cheng.
row 1, cell 2
Ho Yin Lee, a conservation architect at Hong Kong University, argues that the cha chaan tengs have unique role in the formation of Hong Kong post-handover identity and should be preserved.
“After the handover, a lot of people began to see Hong Kong as home, as where they belong, and you can sense this identity developing,” he said. “You can see like very simple ordinary things like the cha chaan teng, the local cafe, suddenly become very fashionable, a pride of the Hong Kongers.”
Professor Ho Yin Lee, conservation architect at HongKong University, strongly advocates the heritage status of ‘cha chaan tengs’. He argues for changing Heritage criteria to recognise the buildings 'social value’ of buildings like these.
(Listen to Ho Yin's argument - 1m30s)
Lee believes that the criteria used to measure heritage value in Hong Kong need to be changed so that the significance of cha chaan teng are recognised (see 'Measuring heritage'.
The value Lee gives to cha chaan teng is echoed by Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Donald Tsang, who mentioned cha chaan teng in his open letter to Hong Kong Public.
"Over the past decade, people in Hong Kong have really developed a greater sense of belonging” he said.
“We have been thinking more about those things that are uniquely Hong Kong, that are part of our local culture, that make us who we are. I like nothing more than popping into a “cha chaan teng” for a steaming bowl of “ ngau laam fan ” and a cup of “laai cha”.
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