Thomas Cheung and his wife, Emily Chan, left Hong Kong and moved to Taiwan in 2021. They left their well-paid jobs as an aircraft engineer and bank worker, planning to develop and operate a mobile food truck and make a major change in their lives. They started to investigate this possibility after the troubles in Hong Kong in 2019 and after attending a lecture on immigration to Taiwan in 2018.
“My wife used to drink Yuanyang (Hong Kong-style beverage of mixed milk tea and coffee) when working in Hong Kong,“ Mr. Cheung told The Epoch Times. ”She first came to Taiwan to apply for permanent residence and found that the Yuanyang found in Hong Kong-style restaurants in Taiwan was comparatively less tasty than that offered in Hong Kong. She missed the sort of Yuanyang in Hong Kong. For that reason, I started to learn the trade...”
Mr. Cheung, an aircraft engineer, started a course with a culinary expert before moving to Taiwan so that his wife could enjoy a cup of authentic Hong Kong-style Yuanyang. He started with the sole intention of bringing familiar delicacies to his family, but it ended up as his flagship product on offer in Taiwan.
If living in Taiwan, you may not come across their food vehicle. Like its freedom-loving owners, they operate this mobile food truck at irregular business hours, in many different locations, such as parks at various scenic spots in Taichung and other parts of Taiwan. For them, the motto of life is “Although making money is important, freedom is even more precious.” They left their high-paying jobs in Hong Kong and came to Taiwan to find new pastures.
An immigration seminar in 2018 changed the trajectory of their lives. “A Hong Kong citizen who moved to Taiwan on an investment visa gave a lecture (in Hong Kong),“ Mr. Cheung said. ”We attended primarily out of curiosity. But after the talk, we thought it was all feasible, and we should give it a try, so we started collecting information in preparation.”
After 2019, with the political and economic environment in Hong Kong becoming even less optimistic, the two of them were determined to leave. In 2020, Ms. Chan came to Taiwan to apply for migration under the investment program, while Mr. Cheung remained in Hong Kong. During the pandemic, with the airport in a virtual state of complete standstill, Mr. Cheung’s work was not as busy as before, so he had time to learn new skills, such as making Hong Kong-style milk tea and dim sum, among others. He considered these skills would be helpful for the future after migrating overseas. It was against this backdrop that the idea of operating a “tea stall” was born.
Disappearing Hong Kong Style ‘Tea Stall’ Seen in Taiwan
Hong Kong implemented a mobile hawker licensing system in 1847, and it was most popular in the 1950s and 60s. The small green stalls were emblematic of local Hong Kong hawkers. When they were open for business, the tops of the green boxes were covered with protruding canopies as a shield against heat, wind, and rain.They also provided customers with cheap necessities, such as daily consumables, clothing, parts and accessories, and Chinese and Western-style snacks. These stalls provided the lifeblood for many of the “new immigrants” who came to Hong Kong as refugees and became a place for grassroots people to spend their money.
“Tea stalls” were mobile stalls before the widespread emergence of “tea restaurants.” These licensed hawkers served milk tea, toast, cakes, sweetheart cakes, and other simple meals. Small “tea stalls” gradually developed into “Dai Pai Dong (food stalls)” serving different exotic menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, ranging from porridge to noodles, rice, roast meat, stir-fries, and desserts.
The Hong Kong government stopped issuing new hawker licenses in the early 1970s, and the number of hawkers has plummeted. Food stalls have also moved from roadside locations to continue their business in shops inside buildings with the changes of times. Eventually, “tea stalls” and “food stalls” became part of the collective memories of the people of Hong Kong.
After moving to Taiwan, Mr. Cheung and Ms. Chan found professionals to inspect and modify it. They then applied for a business license, registered with the Department of Health, researched recipes, and conducted food tests. After all this hard work, their “tea stall” was born.
Ms. Chan said, “Many Taiwanese people are curious about the name ‘Tea Stall’ and often ask what it means. We always explain to them the history. Mr Cheung pointed out that they also hope to carry Hong Kong’s culture overseas and use today’s mobile food truck in Taiwan to rejuvenate Hong Kong’s “tea stall” culture, which has gradually disappeared from people’s eyes.”
Mr. Cheung believes that running a food truck offers more freedom than running a physical shop. At least they do not have to worry about rent and the volume of business required. Now that they are a “husband and wife team,” it is also much easier to work together. If they were to run a physical shop, they would have to hire people, with the added expenses and management fees that come with that.
What makes them the happiest is that they can explore new and interesting places in Taiwan while doing business, make friends with more Taiwanese people, and integrate into local life. Time flies, and it has now been three years since they opened a “tea stall” here. Taichung is their “home base,” and they have also been to Nantou, Taoyuan, and Changhua, where they have participated in different bazaars and night markets.
Ms. Chan also has a lot of fun interacting with Taiwanese customers. For example, the “Horlicks” that Hong Kong people often drink is a novel thing in the eyes of Taiwanese people. They also display some Cantonese cards at the stall, which stirs the customers’ interest, with phrases such as “What do you eat? How much is it? Thanks a lot. Thank you.” “They know every individual character, but when they are put together, the customers are at a loss! In that case, I explain the meaning to them and teach them the Cantonese.” Ms. Chan said.
Rewarded with Unexpected Surprises in Taiwan
Ms. Chan used to work in a bank and never imagined that she would be willing to work in an environment with no air-conditioning or chairs to sit on. Coming to Taiwan to run a food truck was a big change for her. “At first, I was wondering whether I could stand it. It is certainly hard, but I can deal with it. It is not as bad as I imagined it would be.”Ms. Chan and Mr. Cheung have their work finely divided. Ms. Chan is responsible for greeting guests at the front desk, taking orders, and managing payments, while Mr. Cheung stays inside the kitchen making drinks and preparing snacks. The signature drink, Hong Kong-style silk-stocking milk tea, attracts many Taiwanese. With the curry sauce specially made by Mr. Cheung, the curry fish ball and Three Treasures (pork rinds, squid, and radish) are the most popular snacks.
For the two, opening a food truck is not about making a lot of money, but about experiencing a new way of life. Ms. Chan has traveled to Taiwan many times in the past, but now driving a food truck has given her more fun than she could ever experience in visiting: “After living in Hong Kong for so long, if it weren’t for driving the food truck, I wouldn’t have known that there is a different way of life, such as going to campgrounds, Bamboo Mountain (an urban township in southwest Nantou famous for its bamboo plantation), and Divecube (indoor diving site in Taichung), which are really beautiful places that allow us to know more about Taiwan.”
Bamboo Mountain, or Zhushan, is an urban township in the southwest of Nantou, famous for its bamboo plantation. Mr. Cheung and Ms. Chan discovered that the bamboo produced in this small town is very famous. They also learned that local young people, in an effort to revitalize their hometown, often organize small weekend bazaars where they sell bamboo handicrafts to attract customers and learn about the culture of Zhushan. “I feel very touched. It shows that there are still such enthusiastic people in Taiwan who are willing to help revitalize their hometowns.” Mr. Cheung said.
Talking about his attitude towards life, Mr. Cheung smiled and said: “Our goal is to make a living. Of course, it can never compare to what we were earning in Hong Kong. When we came to Taiwan, our mentality was, “As long as we have enough to balance our daily expenses, we should be satisfied,” as the Chinese saying goes, “Happiness comes from knowing what is enough.”
