Red tape is slowly killing Hong Kong’s renowned street food stalls

Despite their popularity, the Hong Kong street food stalls known as dai pai dong have become scarce. - The Straits Times/ANN

HONG KONG, Jan 21 (Bloomberg): At a street-side stall in a working-class neighbourhood in Hong Kong, a husband-and-wife team churns out orders of fried rice, toasted egg and spam sandwiches and milk tea against the roaring sound of an open-fire stove. Groups of diners hover around the stall’s seven tables, eager for something to warm their bodies on a cool fall day.

Despite their popularity, the eateries known as dai pai dong have become scarce. Only 21 remain, down from as many as 40 in the 1950s and 32 in 2004, according to official data.