Capital Cafe
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Capital Cafe, also widely known as Wah Sing Bing Sutt (and as Chrisly Cafe in Macau), is a traditional café in Hong Kong. Bing sutts were very popular since the 1950s in Hong Kong. It mainly sold western drinks and light meals in Hong Kong style, like milk tea, red bean ice, French toast and instant noodles. [1]
History
Capital Cafe was first opened in 2010 in Wan Chai to give a salute to the former Capital Artists Music Limited, which was a record company in the 1970s and 1980s.[2] The second branch store is located in Shau Kei Wan since August 2011 and a third one was then set up in Mong Kok in March 2012.[3] In January 2014, the first non-local branch store was opened in Macau.
Capital Cafe was founded by Swadiq Khan who used to work for Capital Artists Music Limited. The café was set in order to memorize the splendid years of Capital Artists Music Limited.[4] The other shareholders are Eddie Pang[5] and Edmond Leung,[6] who are all singers in Hong Kong. Since all of the owners are from the entertainment business, the cafe was widely reported on newspapers and magazines once it was set up.
In 2011, Swadiq Khan started a partnership with capitalists from mainland and two branch stores were started in Guangzhou, but soon withdrew in the next year. The reason behind the breakup was the disagreements between Khan and the partners from mainland. Khan claimed that they had disputes in the matter of food quality and accommodations provided to the workers. After the failure of requesting the partners to withdraw their shares, Khan decided to withdraw his shares.[7]
Characteristics
Scrambled eggs and milk tea are famous dishes in Capital Café. The scrambled eggs are well known because 3.6 Hokkaido milk and butter are added while cooking.[8] There is also a dish called the "Principal's Toast", which is made with a toasted bread covered with cheese and black truffle. It is named like that because this kind of toast is tailor-made for the singer Alan Tam, whose nickname is "Principal".[9]
It is often said that the scrambled eggs in Capital Café are comparable to those in another well-known “cha chaan teng”, Australia Dairy Company. In fact, a few of the experienced chefs had worked in the Australia Dairy Company for years.[10]
The interior design of Capital Cafe is one of its unique characteristics. The ceiling fans, flooring tiles, wooden chairs and tables, are all in the style of 1970s Hong Kong. Moreover, since this cafe is founded by a former worker of Capital Artists Music Limited, there are many famous Hong Kong stars' posters posted inside the cafe. Capital Cafe has also enshrined a lot of precious old records and concert posters. As Capital Cafe is frequently visited by many pop stars, there is also a blackboard hung on the wall for the pop stars to sign on.[11]
Recent news
In July 2014, Capital Cafe's owner Swadiq Khan became the owner of YFCMD of Hong Kong First Division Football League. The logo of Capital Cafe was printed on the team player's training jersey.[12]
In October 2014, Capital Cafe joined the campaign Live in Levi's launched by Levi's Hong Kong. The campaign aims at integrating Levi's into the daily life of customers. Two companies worked collaboratively to make the Wan Chai branch become a pop up store. The whole store has been embellished with denim. The employees' uniforms have been changed to Levi's jeans, aprons and T-shirts. The chairs of the restaurants have also been covered by denim. In addition, Capital Cafe has exclusively introduced a new dish named Levi's Toast, using tomato and cheese to represent the color of the brand's logo. This combines the image of Levi's with the popular dish of Capital Cafe. Levi's Toast can be ordered in Capital Cafe.[13]
References
- ^ DeWolf, Christopher. "Hong Kong's best bing sutt: Guide to old-school diners". CNNTravel.
- ^ "華星冰室．老師傅美食坐鎮". Mingpao.
- ^ "華星冰室開分店 Eason誓享免費餐". headline daily. 12 March 2012.
- ^ "華星冰室．老師傅美食坐鎮". Mingpao.
- ^ Diana (20 June 2014). "澳門華星冰室" [Macau Huaxing Ice Room]. Zamag.
- ^ "華星冰室開分店 Eason誓享免費餐". headline daily. 12 March 2012.
- ^ 姜, 啟傑; 葉, 競科 (18 November 2012). "廣州店遭內地拍檔吞併". Appledaily.
- ^ "用心做炒蛋、奶茶 香港華星冰室沒賣冰照樣紅". ettoday.
- ^ connie (1 October 2013). "【太子】華星冰室·期待已久的校長多士". pixnet. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014.
- ^ "華星冰室．老師傅美食坐鎮". Mingpao.
- ^ 唐, 苓栩 (28 June 2013). "特色冰室明星助陣". Hong Kong Commercial Newspaper. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ "澳滌開操力捧新人". Takungpao. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ "Levi's ╳ 華星 牛仔冰室". Ulifestyle. U Magazine.
