Shui Po Biscuits, cow’s ear biscuits, iced gem biscuits, fermented bean curd biscuits… The “King of Chicken Cake” at Yue Man Lane was replete with Chinese-style pastries and nostalgic snacks. On Saturday afternoon, some mothers seemed more excited than their children when they saw the signature chicken cakes are serving them.
At that moment, the owner, Leung Yue Hung, appeared at the shop, and all of his loyal customers craned their necks to see the “King”. “I didn’t dare to call myself a king at first, but my peers said I worth the title. I sold 1,000 pounds of chicken cakes a day, which should be the number one in terms of quantity sold among the markets.” Leung Yue Hung showed his charisma while speaking, but there was a bitter hawker story behind it.
Leung Yue Hung came to Hong Kong in the 1970s. He was in his twenties and poor while residing in a cage home. After working in different jobs at junior level, he finally chose to work as an unlicensed hawker, pursuing the attitude of selling anything that he could find until he met his destiny - the chicken cakes.
“Once I asked a bakery to get some chicken cakes to sell, surprisingly the chicken cakes were all sold out. I had earned 2 dollars from a pound of chicken cakes, with very lucrative profit margin at that time.” Therefore, Leung Yue Hung decided to set up his own factory resolutely, targeting to make it a one-stop factory, so that he could manage the cost and revenue from production to retailing. “I didn’t know how to make the chicken cake, so I asked an experienced baker for help. I had also bought and tasted all the chicken cakes in Hong Kong to see if there was any room for improvement.” After numerous failures, Leung Yue Hung has created chicken cakes that are crispy on the outside and soft inside, and his chicken cakes can also last for two months without adding preservatives. His perseverance and grit over the decades paid off.
Restrospectively, he did not have a shop and had to mobilize his wooden cart with the chicken cakes around Tsun Yip Lane in Kwun Tong for selling. He still feels pathetic when looking back at those days. “Being sued of street obstruction was common. I had been caught for over 60 times, and the Hawker Control Team would really chase you for a few blocks…” In the late 1980s, when the government wanted to ban unlicensed hawkers, Leung was caught even more frequently. Therefore, he had to change his strategy and rented a temporary stall around the former Yue Man Square, and had to set up and dismantle the stall every day.
“Renting a temporary stall was flexible, but it was tough to do the set-up every day, and the chicken cakes were too fragile to be moved around,” Leung continued. “There is a lot of staff who have been working with me for over two decades, and they are starting to get older like me, and want to settle down.” It is no wonder that when the “King of Chicken Cakes” debuted first shop at Yue Man Lane, Leung Yue Hung has spent a lot of money on the shop renovation. “This is my flagship store! It’s the first and the only one for the time being,” said the “King” excitedly.
“I’ve been waiting for two years for the renewal, and it’s been worth waiting. The past two years have been difficult because of various factors and the pandemic. Now that the pandemic is more stable, it is very gratifying to see that customers are coming out to spend money again.” The “King” believed that the new public transport interchange in Yue Man Square is a rendezvous, and he is also exhilarating to see there are lots of customers at the mall. “We are just trying to survive in our small business, and everything we do is just to earn a living,” he said. The good turnover has never changed the “King”, who is still very pragmatic.
Address: 1B6, L1, YM², 33 Hip Wo Street, Kwun Tong, Kowloon
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