Food is the basic need of human. It is also the most original cultural expression of a city. From the restaurants of a city, we can discover the culture of the city. To let you know the most local, most “Hong Kong” food culture, I went to Mido Cafe, the oldest existing Cha Chaan Teng (HK Style restaurant) in Hong Kong.
吃，是人類最基本的需要，也是一個城市最真實的文化體現，從一個地方的餐廳，我們能夠了解到當地的文化，為了讓大家了解香港最地道最港式的飲食文化，我今天去了香港現存最古老的茶餐廳 – 美都餐室。
Mido Café is located in Yau Ma Tei. It was opened in 1950, which is the oldest existing Cha Chaan Teng in Hong Kong. It keeps the decoration style of the HK 1950s. You can feel the mood of the old HK in Mido Café.
美都餐室位於油麻地，於1950年開業，是香港現今最古老的茶餐廳，見證著香港數十年的飲食史，而最難得的是，美都到今天仍然保持著50年代的裝修設計，讓大家得以懷緬當年的茶餐廳歲月。
Mido Café is now one of the landmark of Yau Ma Tei. It consists of 2 floors. The ground floor is the kitchen and part of the dining area. The 2nd floor is the Bar and the main dining area. The façade of the 2nd floor is surrounded by the curving windows. The natural light gives us a special mood of the café. It was also a common style in the old café to save electric power. The large neon vertical signage outside the 2nd floor is already the icon of the café.
美都餐室今天已是油麻地的地標之一，它樓高兩層，地下一層是廚房及部份座位，樓上則是水吧及主要用餐區。整個二樓都是孤形的窗戶，天然的採光讓餐室內的感覺特別不同，這也是舊時大部份餐廳的做法，以節省電力。另外二樓外的大型招牌，已是店舖的永久標記。
A view of the windows with guests
沒有客人時的樣子
(photo from Xuite)
I took the signage through the window
從窗外拍下招牌
Signage at night 晚上的招牌
(photo from hkmemory.org)
I arrived at the café at around 3pm. Lunch hour passed so there were not so many people. No people in the ground floor and I walked up to the 2nd floor. In the 2nd floor, there were around 6-7 tables seated and all were just beside the window. I sat beside the window also. All things recalled my old memories: the fan, the booth for 4 and the tiles. All these are what I can only see when I was very small. We can hardly see all these now.
這天我大約下午三時來到美都餐室，由於已過午飯時間，故人客不多，整個一樓都沒有人，我沿樓梯走上二樓，已有六七枱客人坐滿了大部份的窗邊座位，幸好還有一個窗邊座位供我坐下。眼前的事物充滿懷舊味道：吊扇、舊式卡位、地磚、還有一道道古舊的窗，這些都是我小時候在一些很舊的茶餐廳才能見到的東西，現在已很難看見了。
The Fan
The tiles
I ordered a lunch and took half hour in the café. In this half hour, there were around 4-5 groups of new guests and all they were tourists. Seems Mido Café is now very famous in travel guides book. Although the decoration was old style, the price of food wasn’t. I believed the boss spent lot of wotk to keep this café.
我隨便點了一個午餐，半小時的進食時間中，有四至五枱新的客人來到，全都是遊客，看來美都餐室已是各國旅遊書中的必到景點了。這裡的設計雖然懷舊，但食物的價錢絕不懷舊，都跟上了香港的生活水平，看來，要維持這古舊的餐廳，老闆都花了不少力氣。
Three pretty Korean girls in front of me ^^
前面是三位漂亮的韓國妹子 ^^
Cha Chaan Teng is the representative of HK food culture. The western food that incorporates HK characteristics shows us the fusion culture of the China and Western, the HK Style. Cha Chaan Teng is also the representatives of HK community. A Cha Chaan Teng provides meal from breakfast to dinner. Residents like to go to nearby Cha Chaan Teng, maybe eating, maybe chatting, or even just to kill time. Many residents may just know each other in Cha Chaan Teng. But, we can hardly see the scene again in HK nowadays.
茶餐廳是香港的飲食代表，中西搭配的茶式，見證香港中西融合的文化。茶餐廳也是香港的社區代表，一間餐廳提供了由早餐至晚餐的各種茶式，街坊們都愛到附近的茶餐廳，或吃飯，或閒聊，甚或打發時間，很多街坊之間都是在茶餐廳中認識的，不過在現今的香港社會，此情此境已很難遇到了。
Whole look of Mido Café, which is also the style of most old HK Cha Chaan Teng
美都餐室的側面圖，也是大部份古舊茶餐廳的風格
(photo from hkmemory.org)
I don know how long Mido Café will still be staying. If you have the chance, don’t miss it. Enjoy a meal in Mido Café.
我們不知道美都餐室還可以捱多久，有機會的話，不要錯過，來這裡品嘗一餐吧。
Mido Café 美都餐室
Address: 63, Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong
Operning Hour: 09:00 – 21:00 (closed on Wednesday)
地址：油麻地廟街63號
開放時間：早上九時至晚上九時 (星期三休息)
!steemitworldmap 22.3112476 lat 114.1696949 long d3scr
謝謝你能抽空閱讀這篇文章，我平日喜歡分享香港的故事，希望大家多多支持，我會繼續努力！
Thanks for spending your time to read my articles. I like to share stories of Hong Kong. I wish you may support me and I will keep going!
