Nostalgia on a plate

Loyal Dining conjures up Hong Kong's past with a retro ambience and dishes your parents enjoyed while they were dating. Rebecca Lo steps back in time to find out more.

There is a Cantonese expression that any Hong Kong native over the age of 30 would know. When referring to an imported product, the slang is that it is loi lo or coming from old friends. At a time when the cost of international travel was prohibitive for most people, products from Europe or North America were prized and flaunted to display their owners' impeccably worldly taste.

That goes for dining, too. Dishes such as beef Wellington, Swiss chicken wings and Portuguese baked rice were decidedly Hong Kong twists on Western staples. Young couples in the '60s and '70s would seek out restaurants that serve these dishes, partly to rebel against the unrelenting Cantonese fare they had at home. Holding hands while sipping "black cows" (Coke float with chocolate ice cream) or "snow whites" (7UP float with vanilla ice cream), they wooed contentedly.