| Dai pai dong | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Man Yuen Noodles, a former dai pai dong on Elgin Street, Central. The Democratic Party banner calls for preservation of the stall. | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 大牌檔 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 大牌档 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Big Plate Stalls | ||||||||||
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| Cooked-food stalls | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 大排檔 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 大排档 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | large-row stalls | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Dai pai dong (traditional Chinese: 大牌檔; simplified Chinese: 大牌档; Jyutping: daai6 paai4 dong3; pinyin: dàpáidàng) is a type of open-air food stall. The term originates from Hong Kong[1] but has been adopted outside Hong Kong as well.[2][3] The official government name for these establishments is "cooked-food stalls". The more common name of dai pai dong literally means 'big licence stall' in Cantonese, referring to the stalls' license plates, which are larger than those of other licensed street vendors.[4]
Founded after the Second World War, dai pai dong are tucked next to buildings, on streets, and in alleys. For instance, the dai pai dong in the Central and Western District are regard as "terrace type" dai pai dong[5] since most of the streets are sloped, meaning the stalls occupy different terraces. In the late 20th century, the Hong Kong government decided to restrict the operation and license of dai pai dong in order to remove them from public streets. Some were relocated into indoor cooked food markets built by the government.[6] After the decline of dai pai dong from the 1970s, most of them no longer operate within the family but through sole proprietorship or partnership instead.[7]
According to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, only 17 dai pai dong remained in Hong Kong as of July 2024[update],[8] down from the 25 in 2014.[9] As a valuable touchstone of Hong Kong heritage and culture, the word dai pai dong was recognized by the Oxford English Dictionary in March 2016.[10]
- ^ Patrick J. Cummings; Hans-Georg Wolf (2011). A Dictionary of Hong Kong English: Words from the Fragrant Harbor. Hong Kong University Press. p. 46. ISBN 9789888083305.
- ^ "人物专访："南京大牌档"创办人赵一飞".
- ^ "Night owl street treats". 21 May 2009.
- ^ Lai, Lawrence Wai-chung (2003). Town Planning in Hong Kong: A Review of Planning Appeal Decisions, 1997–2001. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press; London: Eurospan. ISBN 962-209-660-3.
- ^ Hong kong Memory,spatial type of Dai Pai Dong.Retrieved from http://www.hkmemory.org/open-rice-city/type02-1_en.html
- ^ Hong Kong Memory,Spatial type of Tai Pai Dong.Retrieved from http://www.hkmemory.org/open-rice-city/type03-1_en.html
- ^ Hong Yuen,Y. (2011), From Dai Pai Dong to cooked food market.[Audio] Retrieved from https://www.hkmemory.hk/collections/oral_history/All_Items_OH/oha_74/highlight/index.html
- ^ Hamlett, Tim (20 July 2024). "Hong Kong's traditional street food stalls – popular with residents and tourists, less so with officials". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ Whitehead, Kate (21 July 2014). "Dai pai dong an endangered species in Hong Kong". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ^ New Hong Kong English Words,Oxford English Dictionary,March 2016