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| January 2000 Specialty shops Aura of traditions Photo and text by Wong Po Kwan and Wong
Sze Man When people shops in modern halls, they may not notice the specialty shops surrounding the malls on small side streets. Traditional groceries, key making stalls and tea shops are difficult to find in modern shopping malls. Mnay of these traditional shops were established in the '60s. With the re-development of many of the old districts of Hong Kong, a lot of these specialty shops have had to shut down. Those specialty shops that have not yet shut down are concentrated mainly in old districts like Shek Kip Mei, Sham Shui Po and Choi Hung, although people can still found some of them in the side street of some modern districts like Causeway Bay. Some of these shops provide services that are unavailable in contemporary shops. For example, traditional groceries provide services like delivery of rice and seasonings to the neighbourhood. Although these specialty shops add a great deal of color to Hong Kong street life, with the construction of new shopping malls, such shops face an uncertain future. As new towns keep developing, it is not known when these shops will be elminated, but one thing is certain: They will not be with us forever.
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 The shopkeeper of the tea shop scoops tea leaves into paper bag prior to measuring their weight. (Wong Po Kwan) |
 In traditional tea shops, old fashioned balance and cylindrical weights are used to weigh tea leaves. (Wong Po Kwan) |
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