Tea House & Chinese Restaurant 茶樓及酒樓

Last Sunday morning, I had dim sum at a Chinese restaurant with my family. We talked about the changes to Chinese restaurants, such as the disappearance of the dim sum cart. "You can't find a traditional tea house in Hong Kong!" my Dad said.

What's the difference between "Tea House" & "Chinese Restaurant"?

Tea houses were the place for tea and dim sum while Chinese restaurants were for banquets where guests were treated. Tea houses served morning tea and lunch only. They held no evening banquets and provided merely tea and a few kinds of dim sum.

Ko Sing Tea House, 1958

In order to boost income, many Chinese restaurants extended their business to include serving lunch and morning tea since 1960s. After the 1990s, many Chinese restaurants even provided afternoon tea. The distinction between tea houses and Chinese restaurants has become blurred. 

In the 1990s, the closure of Dor Nam and Sheung Hei Lau marked the end of an era for traditional tea houses. However, Hong Kong-style Chinese restaurants have not only become part of Hong Kong culture, but have also impacted the world globally, including in the United States, Canada, Mainland China, Taiwan, and Japan.

Samantha Leung