Lin Heung Tea House () is a two-storey Chinese restaurant located within the Tsang Chiu Ho Building () at 160–164 Wellington Street, at the corner of

Aberdeen Street Aberdeen Street ( zh, t=鴨巴甸街) is a border street dividing Sheung Wan and Central, Hong Kong, Central on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It ascends from Queen's Road Central to Caine Road in Mid-Levels. The street is named after Geor ...

, in Central,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. The 100-year-old institution closed its doors on 9 August 2022 and reopened in its original location in April 2024.

History

In 1889, Lin Heung Tea House was first founded in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, China. At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a proliferation of tea houses in China. In 1926, two branches were opened in Hong Kong: one in

Mong Kok Mong Kok (Chinese language, Chinese: 旺角), also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK, is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward, Hong Kong, Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok. As one of the major sho ...

, Kowloon and another in Central, Hong Kong Island. In 1980, Lin Heung Tea House moved to the current location and has been located there ever since. Lin Heung Tea House is famous for its authentic and traditional Chinese

dim sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cu ...

, attracting international newspapers coverage including features from CNN and TIME magazine. Lin Heung Tea House has been featured in several films, including ''

The Longest Summer ''The Longest Summer'' () is Hong Kong independent director Fruit Chan's second feature in the "1997 trilogy", first released in 1998. The first film in the trilogy is '' Made in Hong Kong''. The movie details the problem faced by a group of ...

'' (1998) and ''

In the Mood for Love ''In the Mood for Love'' () is a 2000 romantic drama film written, directed, and produced by Wong Kar-wai. A co-production between Hong Kong and France, the film follows a man ( Tony Leung) and a woman ( Maggie Cheung) in 1962 who discover tha ...

'' (2000). On August 8, 2022, Lin Heung Tea House announced its closure via its Facebook page, reported by local media. Lin Heung Tea House allegedly owed employees four months' wage. In April 2024, it reopened in its original location, under new ownership.

Naming

Lin Heung (lit. "fragrant lotus") Tea House is named after the

lotus seed paste Lotus seed paste is a Chinese dessert ingredient made from dried lotus seeds. It is traditionally considered a luxurious ingredient. Production The process for making the paste is similar to that of smooth red bean paste. First, the dried seeds ...

, an essential ingredient found in Steamed Lotus-seed-paste Bun,

mooncake A mooncake () is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節). The festival is primarily about the harvest while a legend connects it to moon watching, and mooncakes are regarded as a delicacy. ...

and the Double-lotus Pie. The lotuses used in Lin Heung House are called Xiang-lians () and they are imported from

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

, China. The brown red Xiang-lians are said to give a smooth flavour. After a

Hanlin Academy The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution of higher learning founded in the 8th century Tang China by Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an. It has also been translated as "College of Literature" and "Academy of the Forest of Pen ...

member called Chan Yu Yue () visited the Tea House, he really appreciated their lotus paste. As a result, he took the Chinese word of lotus into the Tea House's name.

Interior design

Lin Heung Tea House occupies two floors in a

tenement building A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

. While on the ground floor is the Lin Heung Bakery, on the first floor is a Chinese restaurant that serves traditional Chinese dim sum. Traditional Chinese calligraphy and landscape paintings are framed and pinned to the walls. In 2024, the restaurant was in new ownership. They changed the bakery into a tea shop (LIN HEUNG TEA)

Services

It has 50 tables and can serve up to 300 patrons. Since there is no host to serve diners in the restaurant, they are required to stand around the tables and get seats for themselves. Waiters will serve diners with cups, a basin for rinsing cutlery and offer them a tally card when they successfully get a seat. Moreover, due to the popularity of the restaurant, diners are expected to share a table.

Tea

Lin Heung Tea House provides a variety of Chinese tea, such as

Oolong tea Oolong or Wulong (, ; ; , "black dragon" tea) is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea (''Camellia sinensis)'' produced through a process that includes withering the leaves under strong sun and allowing some oxidation to occur before curling ...

Pu'er tea ''Pu'er'' or ''pu-erh'' is a variety of fermented tea traditionally produced in Yunnan Province, China. Pu- erh tea is made from the leaves of the Yunnan tea plant ''Camellia sinensis var. assamica'', which is a specific variety of tea plant t ...

Jasmine tea Jasmine tea ( or ) is tea scented with the aroma of jasmine blossoms. Jasmine tea can have any base as the tea base; however, green, white tea and black tea are regularly used. The resulting flavour of jasmine tea is subtly sweet and highly f ...

and

Shoumei tea Shoumei (; Standard Chinese pronunciation ) is a white tea that is produced from naturally withered upper leaf and tips, with a stronger flavor reminiscent of lighter oolong teas. It is mostly grown in Fujian Province and Guangxi Province in C ...

. The server provides two teacups for each diner: the bigger one for tea making, and the smaller one for drinking. Patrons need to steep tea in the larger cup and pour it into the smaller one. Water refilling service is provided when the customers open the lid of the larger teacup as an indication that they would like to have their cups refilled. The staff will soon bring along a huge traditional water kettle and pour the hot water.

Traditional trolleys

The dim sum supply is limited and it is served on traditional trolleys. No pre-ordering service is provided. If diners want to get dim sum, they need to follow the trolleys with the tally card. The server will chop a stamp on it after passing the diners their chosen food.

Featured food

Aside from the Lotus-seed-paste Bun, the Tea House offers over 30 kinds of dim sum, including

har gow Har gow ( zh, c=蝦餃, p=xiājiǎo, j=haa1 gaau2, l=shrimp jiao), also anglicized as ha gow, hau kau, or ha kao, is a traditional Cantonese dumpling served as dim sum.Hsiung, Deh-Ta. Simonds, Nina. Lowe, Jason. 005(2005). The food of China: a ...

shumai ''Shumai'' ( zh, s=烧卖, t=燒賣, p=shāomài, cy=sīu-máai, poj=sio-māi) is a type of traditional Chinese dumpling made of ground pork. In Cantonese cuisine, it is usually served as a dim sum snack. In addition to accompanying the Chin ...

cha siu bao ''Cha siu bao'' () is a Cantonese '' baozi'' (bun) filled with barbecue-flavored ''cha siu'' pork.Hsiung, Deh-Ta. Simonds, Nina. Lowe, Jason. 005 ''The Food of China: A Journey for Food Lovers''. Bay Books. . p. 24. They are served as a ty ...

. Besides the traditional dim sum where one find in most Chinese restaurants, there are numerous special dishes that can be found only in Lin Heung Tea House. For example, Steamed Chicken Bun (), Shumai Made with Liver (), Whole Winter Melon Soup (), Pa Wong Duck () and eight treasures duck ()

References

Lin Heung Tea House Website
* Lee Lai Lai,(2013)〈一盅兩件〉, Retrieved from http://linheung.com.hk/lin_heung_tea_house/index2.php * Newspaper, (2013)〈蓮香樓踏入第八十個年頭〉, Retrieved from http://linheung.com.hk/uploadfile/news/20130402200151-6.jpg * Mijune, (2012), HONG KONG – LIN HEUNG TEA HOUSE 蓮香樓 (DIM SUM), Retrieved from http://www.followmefoodie.com/2012/10/hong-kong-lin-heung-tea-house-%E8%93%AE%E9%A6%99%E6%A8%93/ * CNN News, (2009), Lin Heung Tea House: Dim sum elder, Retrieved from http://travel.cnn.com/hong-kong/eat/lin-heung-679607

External links

* {{coord, 22.284294, 114.153446, display=title Central, Hong Kong Restaurants in Hong Kong