Central Market Rendezvous by Nose in the Books

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打書釘呈獻

我們的中環街市 Central Market Rendezvous A Nose in the Books Project Supported By

Chinachem Group

國際書號 ISBN

978-988-75895-0-1

2021年夏香港 Published in summer 2021, Hong Kong

History in site is history in sight. ---Ackbar Abbas

If time is to be open then space must be open too. Conceptualising space as open, multiple and relational, unfinished and always becoming. ---Doreen Massey

目錄 Table of Contents 08 編者序 Editor’s preface

24 記憶 Memories

18 特殊辭彙 Glossary

26 38 50 62 78 88 96 106 116 128

歡樂天地新鮮豬肉牛肉的滋味剝蝦唯一的冰磚檔一麈不染木屐大龍躉買鷹鯧羊頸

The Wonderful World of Whimsy Fresh Pork The Taste of Beef Peeling Prawns The One and Only Ice Stall Spotlessly Clean The Clogs Giant Grouper Chinese Pomfrets Goat Neck

138

演變 Evolution

140

第二代街市建築

152 162

時間囊水族館

Second-generation Market Building Time Capsule Aquarium

176 待續 To be continued… 178

未來街市

A Lively Space

編者序

街市或許是其中一種最古老的社會發明。我們創造了市集，在特定的時間與地點碰面，交換食物、貨物和服務。我們是群體動物。我們互相依存。我們在市場上買賣、觀看、相會、相交。市場構成歷史種種。市場超越文化。

中環街市在早期主要以磚和木搭成，後來規模和形狀皆隨時代演變，一代比一代大。第二代長方形的街市建築在一八九五年五月開幕，奠定了延續至今時今日的街市邊界。也就是從那時起，街市被四條街道圍繞，確保空氣流通2。

一塊在這個城市首次土地拍賣中未能出售的地皮1，於一八四二年五月十六日皇后大道海濱開張營業，成為中環街市。臨海而建有利於直接在岸邊上落貨。這個街市跟香港成為城市的歲月相若。從《中國之友和香港憲報》(The Friend of China, and Hongkong Gazette)可見，早期的香港居民到中環街市購買肉品、蔬果、家禽、鹹魚和鮮魚，以及兌換貨幣。創業者也在那裏小試牛刀。

直到二○○三年停止營運前，期間除了清拆和重建，中環街市一直是一個活力充沛的公共空間，各行各業在此聚首，尋常人家也在其中自由發揮。攝影師何藩拍攝街市主樓梯的照片聞名遐邇，人來人往、孩子嬉戲等影像，皆呈現了中環街市的公共性和開放性。中環街市不只是個買賣食物的地方，也是個歡迎所有人的遊樂場。

Editor’s Preface Market is perhaps one of the most ancient social inventions. We created markets where we meet in a particular place and at a particular time to exchange food, goods and services. We are social creatures. We rely on each other to survive and thrive. In markets, people buy, sell, gaze, meet and mingle. Markets are part and parcel of history. Markets transcend cultures.

1842年中環地圖彷繪 Reproduction of a map of Central in the year 1842

A site left unsold in this city’s very first land auction1 was the place where the first version of Central Market was located. The market opened for business on 16 May 1842 at Queen’s Road harbourfront. It had access to the sea frontage where goods and foods were unloaded directly from the embankment. The market is as old as Hong Kong as a port city. From The Friend

中環街市經歷了各種變化，見證了這個城市的高低起伏。日復日，貨車運送最新鮮、最優質的食物給街市中的攤販。由昂貴餐廳的華麗菜式，到饕餮之徒餐桌上的日用飲食，中環街市是廚師為佳餚覓食材的地方。檔主、顧客與遊人的動靜、影像和聲音，讓街市成為重要的文化風景，展現了普通人的創意、堅毅和活力。隨著香港從小漁村蛻變成自由港、貿易中心以至現時的金融中心，街市見證了中環海岸線和天際線的轉變。要不是千禧年後冒起的古蹟保育運動，剎停了賣地計劃，這塊地皮大概已被私有化，聳立著一幢摩天大廈。《2009–10施政報告》將中環街市剔出勾地表，轉交市區重建局保育及活化。儘管這幢一九三九年落成的包浩斯風格街市建築不獲評為一級歷史建築，為保護它

of China, and Hongkong Gazette we learnt that the early inhabitants of Hong Kong went to the market for meat, fruits and vegetables, poultry, salted fish, fresh fish and money exchange. Spirited, budding entrepreneurs tested their business ideas there. At first, the marketplace was made up largely of matshed consisting of bricks and wood. Over time, the size and shape of Central Market evolved, and each new version was bigger than its predecessor. The second-generation market building, which was on a grand scale and opened in May 1895, set the boundary of the present-day market. For ventilation concern2, the building occupies the corners of four streets with no building adjacent to it. Except during the intervals when there were construction works, and until the market ceased operation in 2003, Central Market was always a vibrant public space where people from all walks of

而付出的努力，亦非全然徒勞。二○二一年二月，華懋集團獲市建局選為中環街市活化後的主要營運商。中環街市將繼續是一個為大眾服務的廿一世紀市集。中環街市一直讓人聯想到創新與活力。自一八四二年起，中環街市就是一個讓預算有限的小商人考驗其商業頭腦的地方。在十九世紀末瘟疫蔓延時，決策者銳意以磚鐵結構重建街市。鐵結構易於清潔，也有利通風，卻是個大膽的嘗試，因這種建材不但所費不貲，對建造業界來說，也是陌生的新素材。新古典風格的第二代街市建築就是在如此的背景下面世。

life met, and a stage where tales of ordinary people unfolded. Some of the most famous images captured by photography master Ho Fan feature the grand staircase of the market and the human movements on and around it - people walking past and children playing around tellingly reveal the publicness and openness of the market. 13

至一九三九年五月，一幢包浩斯式現代建築誕生，也就是現時我們看到的中環街市。可是，這個現代建築當時屹立在新古典主義建築林立的城市景觀中，顯得格格不入。包浩斯的理念是藉著簡單的形式、物料和色彩，來展現日用之物的美，重視大眾的福祉和生活。香港崇尚速度和營利，在文物保育方面卻乏善可陳。舊建築盛載平凡人的故事、記憶和情感，在發展至上的巨輪威脅下，面臨殘酷的現實，突顯了保育工作意義深遠。眾志成城活化中環街市，同樣是其悠久歷史中另一次大膽嘗試。

Although it was a marketplace for selling and buying food, everyone was welcome. It was a playground for all. Central Market has weathered changes and witnessed the growth, the ups and downs of the city. Day in and day out, vehicles ferried in the freshest and best produce to vendors in the market. Central Market was where professional chefs, parents and domestic helpers sourced their ingredients. From fancy gourmet meals served in expensive restaurants to everyday family suppers enjoyed by ordinary folks with a fastidious palate, countless delicious meals had been cooked using ingredients from the market. The actions, sights and sounds of the vendors, shoppers and visitors made the market a significant cultural landscape exemplifying the creativity, resilience and vigour of the ordinary people.

As Hong Kong evolved from a fishing village to a free port, then to a trading hub and now a financial centre, Central Market has witnessed changes of the shoreline and skyline in Central. The site would probably have housed a skyscraper and been privatised, had a plan to auction off the land not been halted by the city’s bourgeoning heritage conservation movement. In the 2009-10 Policy Address, the site was removed from the land application list and handed over to the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) for conservation and revitalisation. Even though the Bauhausstyle market building, completed in 1939, was not given a Grade I historic building status, efforts to protect the market building were not in vain. In February 2021, Chinachem Group was chosen by the URA as the main operator of the revitalised Central Market. Central

《我們的中環街市》團隊由衷感謝每一位讓中環街市重現文化活力，並讓活化計劃付諸實行的人。《我們的中環街市》的面世，全賴華懋集團的信任與支持，謝謝！

黎穎詩寫於二○二一年夏銅鑼灣

Market will remain a marketplace for all. Somehow many people and things related to Central Market had a spirited nature about them. Since 1842, it had been a place where energetic entrepreneurs with a small budget tested their business ideas. In the late 19th century, when infectious diseases were rampant in Hong Kong, government architects decided to rebuild the market into a brick and iron structure, as iron is easier to clean and better for ventilation. That was a bold idea - in those days, iron as a building material was expensive, new and alien to the construction sector. Such was the background of the second-generation neoclassical market building. This version, however, was later replaced by a third version. In May 1939, a modernist Bauhaus-style architecture was born, which is the one we see today. At the

time, the modernist structure was out of place in an urban landscape dominated by neoclassical architecture. Bauhaus was about everyday objects. It achieved beauty through simple forms, materials and colours, with an underlying philosophy that aimed at bringing happiness and life to many. A city that prizes speed and profit, Hong Kong has a poor record when it comes to heritage conservation. Given the harsh reality facing old architecture, the revitalisation of a vernacular building that contains so many tales, memories and emotions of ordinary people is all the more significant. The collective efforts that led to the revitalisation of Central Market is another spirited attempt in the long history of the marketplace. The Central Market Rendezvous team

would like to offer our heartfelt thank you to everyone who made the market a vibrant cultural landscape, as well as those who made the revitalisation a reality. Central Market Rendezvous would not have happened without the trust and support of Chinachem Group.

Chloe LAI Summer, 2021 Causeway Bay

參考資料 Reference Info 1 Evans, Dafydd Emrys, 1972. “The Original of Hong Kong’s Central Market and the Tarrant Affair” in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, V 12 (1972). 2 蘇陽彪、鍾宏亮：〈潔淨中環街市〉，《香港建築師學報》，第76期（2020），頁120-122。 So, Bill & Chung, Thomas, “Sanitising Central Market: An Early History” in HKIA Journal. Issue 76 (2020).

特殊辭彙 Glossary

中央街市

Chung Yeung Gai Si

二戰時期日軍佔領香港，曾將中環街市易名「中央市場」，而不少人習慣說廣東話的「街市」，於是結合成非官方名稱「中央街市」。街市停止營運前，泛黃燈箱上紅字的「中央市場」，一直掛在皇后大道中出入口「中環街市」大字招牌下。

When Hong Kong was occupied by Japanese troops during World War II, the market was renamed as “Chung Yeung Si Cheung” (中央市場, translated as “market in the centre”). Gai si and si cheung both mean “market”, but gai si is more commonly used among Cantonese speakers. So shoppers of the older generation combined chung yeung with gai si, hence the unofficial name Chung Yeung Gai Si. Until the market closed down, there was a yellow light box at the Queen’s Road Central entrance. It bore the red characters “中央市場” and was hung below a bigger signboard reading “中環街市”.

Ban Kwun

辦館超級市場當道前，香港人通常在士多或辦館採購糧油雜貨。這類小店舖通常在住宅區鄰近學校和公園的地方開業，售賣牛奶、麵包和汽水等日常食品。辦館跟士多的分別在於前者賣酒，而後者沒有。在昔日，酒是奢侈品，因此經營辦館所需的成本也較多。

Before supermarket chains dominated the grocery sector, there were two types of grocery stores in Hong Kong: si dor and ban kwun. Usually located in residential areas, near schools or parks, these small shops sold daily necessities such as milk, bread and soft drinks. The main thing that set ban kwun apart from si dor (derived from the English word “store”) was that ban kwun also retailed alcohol. In those days, alcohol was a luxury and so it took more capital to invest in a ban kwun.

Amah

媽姐粵音讀作「馬姐」，上世紀在外籍家傭出現前，富裕人家常聘請來自大陸的女子打理家務和照顧小孩。典型打扮是長辮、白衫和黑褲，拿著藤籃。大多數為終身不嫁的自梳女。

Decades ago, most domestic helpers in Hong Kong were amahs, or ma tse in Cantonese, who came from the Mainland and worked in wealthy households. They were the predecessors of the city’s foreign domestic helpers of today. The typical ma tse look was a waist-length pigtail, a white top, black trousers and a rattan basket on the arm. Many of them were sworn spinsters.

鹹水草

Malacca Galingale

莎草的一種，細而長，莖呈三角形，常見於鹹淡水交界濕地。曬乾後的鹹水草柔韌有力，在膠袋成為主流前，在街市中常常用來綑綁或包紮食物。

Malacca Galingale, a species of thin long sedge grass, is commonly found in brackish marshes in Hong Kong. Its stalk is triangular in shape. The dried stalks of Malacca Galingale were widely used for tying produces in wet markets before the days of plastic bags.

嘩啦嘩啦

Walla walla

一種小型摩打船，運載人們橫渡維多利亞港，也用於接載遠洋海員往返貨輪與碼頭。嘩啦嘩啦是重要的海上交通工具，尤其在深夜渡輪停止服務之時。嘩啦嘩啦因其嘈吵的引擎聲而命名，每艘不超過六米長，最多載客二十人。一九七二年，連接銅鑼灣和紅磡的海底隧道通車，嘩啦嘩啦也停運了。

A walla walla was a kind of small motorboat that carried people across Victoria Harbour or conveyed seafarers of ocean-going vessels to piers. They were an important means of sea transportation especially late at night when local ferry service stopped. Walla walla was so named because of its noisy engine. The length of each boat was capped at six metres; the maximum carrying capacity was around 20 people. They went out of business after the opening in 1972 of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel that connects Causeway Bay and Hung Hom.

記憶

Memories

歡樂 THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF WHIMSY

天地

王偉樑六歲就到街市幫手開檔。事緣老師向偉樑的爸爸投訴，這小孩只愛踢波，不愛上課，敦促家長好好管教。爸爸管教的方式，就是罰王偉樑到阿爺在中環街市的雞檔，給他一隻剛宰的鴨、一支鋼鉗，著他為鴨子拔毛，試圖以苦差嚇怕幼小的兒子，讓他乖乖坐定定讀書。

At the tender age of six, Ivan Wong started to help out at his grandfather’s chicken stall in Central Market. It was a form of punishment imposed by his father - Wong’s teacher complained that the boy only loved to play football and did not care much about studying and therefore had to be reined in properly at home. So his father made him work in the wet market. His job was to pluck ducks with a pair of steel tweezers. The idea was to intimidate the boy with a tough chore, so that he would calm down and focus on his studies.

「阿爸叫我唔好鉗爛隻鴨吖嘛，我咪慢慢鉗，逐條毛鉗，咁就鉗咗成朝；啲師傅五分鐘就搞掂！」王偉樑笑言，當時不但沒有嚇怕，反而樂在其中，更自此愛上街市：「直頭好似去咗歡樂天地！又有得玩，又多嘢睇！」初時，他最喜歡到劏雞房看熱鬧。看著手瓜起𦟌的伙計一手捉實五隻雞的腳，倒吊、割頸、放血，偶有雞隻死不斷氣，掙扎暴走，伙計荒失失捉雞，雞毛滿天飛，對年幼的王偉樑而言，這比雜耍表演更精彩。

“Dad told me not to break the ducks with the tweezers. So I went slowly and pulled the feathers one by one. That would take me a whole morning while other masters could go through one duck in five minutes!” Wong recalls with a smile. As it turned out, the job did not scare him off. He actually relished it and fell in love with the wet market. “It was like going to the Wonderful World of Whimsy! I could play there and there were interesting things to see!” In the early days, Wong liked visiting the chicken slaughter room, where workers with a muscular build grabbed about five chickens in one hand, hung them upside down, slashed their throats and drained out the blood. Occasionally some chickens managed to survive and tried to flee, sending the workers running around to try to capture the fugitives. During the chaos, chicken feathers flew around in the air. For the young Wong, all that was more exciting than an acrobatic show.

劏雞房位於街市地下樓梯對開，亦即是何藩攝影作品中，最常出現那道水磨石樓梯。王偉樑解釋，那些照片捕捉的光影之美，固然是拍攝者技巧高超，但也跟鄰近劏雞房有關，「掹雞毛前要浸幾分鐘七十度熱水，所以劏雞房長期都蒸氣騰騰，咁樓梯口咪又煙霧彌漫，加埋個採光窗冇遮冇掩，逆光影咪特別靚囉。」「仲有，知唔知點解何藩影來影去都淨係影樓梯？」他說，中環街市內的通道雖然十分寬闊，但每個攤檔都向走廊擴張，在檔口放置大水盤、雞籠等，加上人來人往，通道變相變窄，便教人只敢急步通過，不敢駐足堵路。「畢竟何藩係斯文人，都唔會去影人檔口，驚阻到人嘛。想像吓，中環街市咁大，一條走廊成幾十檔，一眼望埋去，全部打大赤肋，胸肌、腹肌樣樣齊，又粗聲粗氣，行慢啲都俾人問候！所以以前好多人好驚去街市㗎。」 32

街市人身型健碩，因為做的都是粗重工夫。以雞檔來說，昔日的雞籠結構全木製，外層包著鐵絲網，三層相連，一個空籠已重五十多斤；裝滿三十隻雞的話，就重逾百斤。每日清晨，運雞的貨車在租庇利街街市正門落貨，工人徒手將一個個三層高的雞籠搬落貨車，搬上手推車，推到自家檔口，再層層疊起......如是者日復一日，每日搬運三四百隻雞、百多隻鴨、幾十隻鵝，自然練得一身精鋼。

The ground-floor chicken slaughter room sat opposite the grand staircase of the market, which was famously captured by renowned photographer Ho Fan in some of his most celebrated works. The dramatic light and shadows in those photographs, according to Wong, were certainly attributable to Ho’s superb skills, but the striking visual effect also had to do with the chicken slaughter room. “Before the chickens were plucked, they were soaked in hot water at 70 degrees (Celsius) for a few minutes. So the slaughter room was perennially steamy, and the staircase near the building entrance always looked smoky. Also, natural light came in directly through the windows. With the back lighting, the pictures look all the more beautiful,” he explains.

“And do you know why Ho Fan only shot the staircase?” Wong asks. He then explains that the passageway inside the Central Market was fairly wide, but every stall expanded out onto the passageway to some extent, with items such as big buckets and bird cages placed in front of the stalls. Then there was the moving crowd that also ate up the space in the passageway. Everyone coming here walked at a fast pace and no one dared to stop and block the way. “Ho Fan was a gentleman. He didn’t photograph the stalls as he didn’t want to get in the way of others. Imagine coming to the big Central Market and standing on the passageway. You see all these men with six-pack muscles at dozens of stalls speaking loudly and gruffly. Walk slowly and you could get shouted at! That’s why many people didn’t dare to visit the market.”

銅皮鐵骨交織而成的人際網絡，街外人畏而遠之，內行人卻能感受到當中的人情味。在王偉樑成長的七八十年代，正值中環街市的全盛時期，每逢假期他到檔口幫忙，總有街坊請他吃雞髀、飲汽水，「間中冧檔、做唔切，隔籬檔自動就會來幫手，冇乜計較。」而當年阿爺打麻雀傾成的客戶，如鏞記、蓮香樓等，不知不覺就成了六十年的老主顧。

People working in Central Market were all physically strong and fit because of all the physical work. Chicken stalls in those days used wood cages, the outer layer of which were bound by wire gauze. An empty cage weighed more than 50 catties. When reaching its full capacity with 30 chickens, a cage could weigh over 100 catties. Every morning, a truck carrying chickens stopped outside the market’s main entrance on Jubilee Street. Workers used their bare hands to unload the chicken cages from the truck and onto a cart. They then pushed the carts to their own chicken stalls and stacked the cages on top of each other. Every day, the workers moved around 300 to 400 chickens, more than 100 ducks and dozens of geese. Over time, they all became muscular men.

The network of human connections built up through the physical work might seem intimidating to outsiders, but the insiders knew it was a circle where there was a strong rapport among everyone. Wong grew up in the 1970s and 80s, when the Central Market was in its heyday. During public holidays when he worked at his grandfather’s stall, other fellow workers always gave him some snacks like chicken legs and soft drinks. “Sometimes when a stall was super busy, the people next to it would offer a helping hand unprompted. Everyone was generous,” he said. Over mahjong games, Wong’s grandfather struck business deals with some of his fellow players who worked at restaurants such as Yung Kee Restaurant and Lin Heung Tea House. These longstanding establishments have been Hop Wo’s customers for six decades.

王偉樑是第三代繼承人。阿爺在戰前來港，原本在廣州跟太爺開燒臘檔，來港後在西環士美菲路雞欄工作數年，輾轉到中環街市開檔賣雞，檔口名為「合興」；至王偉樑的爸爸王柏榮接手後，檔口改名為「合和」。中環街市的檔口主營批發，為中上環一帶酒樓、餐廳供應雞、鴨、鵝。儲下第一桶金後，買下嘉咸街一個舖位，生意越做越大，高峯時日銷五、六百隻雞，除了附近食肆，也供貨予連鎖的德和燒味，最遠供貨到沙田。在禽流感出現前的年代，活雞可以在街市過夜，供應客戶的，也以活雞為主。運作模式跟供應冰鮮雞完全不同：「做活雞第一步係先劏雞，後揀雞。劏雞伙計劏，劏好就拎返

Wong is the third-generation owner of Hop Wo. Before moving to Hong Kong prior to the war, his grandfather followed his great-grandfather to run a roasted meat shop. In Hong Kong, grandad worked at a chicken stall on Smithfield Road in Kennedy Town for several years before starting his own business in Central Market. The stall was called “Hop Hing”. When Wong’s father Wong Pak-wing inherited the family business, the stall was renamed “Hop Wo”. It specialised in supplying poultry meat to local dim sum restaurants and other restaurants in Central and Sheung Wan. After a while, Wong Pak-wing made enough money to buy a shop on Graham Street. Hop Wo’s business grew by leaps and bounds. At its peak, it sold 500 to 600 chickens a day. Apart from nearby restaurants, Hop Wo also supplied poultry meat to the restaurant chain Tak Wo Restaurant. The farthest district it covered was Sha Tin.

檔口俾師傅揀，師傅會因應唔同嘅客嘅煮法，揀適合嘅雞俾佢哋。如果嗰日啲雞好靚，就可以定高啲個價，利潤都高啲。」一九九七年香港出現人類感染禽流感後死亡的個案，政府其後大幅收緊政策，包括活雞不可在街市留過夜、定期設休市日消毒等；同時停發新牌，以及提出條件收回牌照，結果逾萬個持牌雞檔下跌至現時只剩百餘個。

In the pre-bird flu era, live chickens could stay overnight in local wet markets, and most chickens sold were live ones. Today, however, it is frozen chickens that make up the majority. The way chicken suppliers operated in the past was completely different from today. “When you sold live chickens, you first slaughtered them. Then you picked the right ones for buyers. We had colleagues who took care of the slaughtering. After the slaughtering, they brought the chickens back to the stall for the master to choose. The master picked the right one for each customer according to what dishes they were going to make. If the chickens on a given day were of particularly good quality, they could sell at a higher price and you made more money.”

王偉樑坦言，縱使活雞販賣日漸式微，但仍算有利可圖。自二 ○○八年選擇離開寫字樓，回到街市繼承父業，他至今仍然十分熱愛他的工作，引以為傲，「街市對我來講始終係好玩嘅地方，我早開工，早收工，早幾年放咗工最鐘意就係去唔同嘅街市影相。而且，我同阿爸仲係日日食雞，唔會厭㗎！」

In 1997, an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus killed several people in Hong Kong. The government then introduced a host of new restrictions on the poultry trade, including banning overnight stocking of live chickens in retail outlets, requiring outlets to close regularly for disinfection, suspending the issuance of new licences to chicken stalls, and implementing a licence buyback scheme. As a result, the number of licensed chicken stalls in Hong Kong has plummeted from more than 10,000 to some 100 today.

The decline of the live chicken business is inevitable, but Wong says it is still profitable. In 2008, he quit his office work and returned to the wet market, keeping alive the family business. He still loves the work and takes pride in it. “For me, the wet market is a fun place. I start work early and finish early. A few years ago, I liked visiting different wet markets after work and took pictures there. By the way, my dad and I still eat chicken every day. We are never tired of it!”

新鮮豬肉 40

Fresh Pork

活化工程竣工前，黎漢源再次踏足闊別十九年的中環街市。在陣陣電鑽聲和𠝹木聲中，看著重新平整的水泥地面、被粉刷得雪白光鮮的牆壁，他娓娓道來自己歷歷在目的一些細節：圓柱之間是寬闊的公共走廊，足夠兩架手推車並行；方柱之間則是兩檔牛肉檔，或三檔豬肉檔。

Shortly before the completion of the revitalisation project, Jackie Lai visited Central Market for the first time in 19 years. The place obviously looks quite different from how the pork shop owner used to know it. The concrete floor has been repaved, and the walls repainted. Amid the sounds of drilling and woodcutting, Lai recalls some meticulous details in his memory of the market: in between the columns there was a public passageway wide enough to fit two carts, and adjacent to the square columns there were two or three stalls selling either pork or beef. Standing at 1.93 metres tall, Lai raises his mobile phone in front of one of the barricades surrounding a preserved stall and captures the new look of the renovated space. He recalls that some pork meat stalls in the market were sometimes turned into makeshift

beds - all it took was a wood board placed on the iron frame of such stalls, Lai explains, adding “For the beef stalls, some people simply slept on the beef stand because beef stands were much bigger than pork stands. Sitting close to the big windows of the market, the halfopen cubicles were airy even during hot summer nights. They might well be more pleasant to sleep in than an average subdivided flat in Hong Kong.

看到被圍封的檔口，身高一米九三的他走近兩米高的護欄，舉高手機，拍下檔口修復後的面貌。黎漢源笑說，從前不時有人將木條晾上豬肉檔頂的鐵架，充當臨時睡床，夜宿街市，「牛肉檔呢，啲人就直接瞓上牛肉檯，唔使爬上鐵架，事關牛肉檯大過豬肉檯好多㗎。」由於位置接近偌大的通風窗，即使是夏天晚上，空氣依然流通，比不少板間房舒適。

Lai, aged 50, is the second-generation owner of Wing Sing Ho, a 60-yearold shop that retails fresh pork meat. He has an English name, Jackie, and a nickname, “Dai Fei” (Big Fattie). At age 12, he started working as a delivery boy at Central Market, and he learned from a clerk how to issue invoices using Suzhou numerals, a special kind of numeric forms used by Chinese traders in the old days to display the prices of goods. 43

德輔道

中

Centra

d ’s Roa

Queen

后街

皇域多利

ria St

Victo Queen

x Road

中環街市 rket Ma Central

s Voeu 中 De

大道

l Centra

永成號在中環街市有三個檔口，是整個街市最興旺的字號，全盛時期僱用十四五名伙計，高峯時節每日賣出六十隻豬。中央屠宰的豬隻經由俗稱「皇家車」的政府車送來，每日三輪，第一輪在清早六時，在域多利皇后街近皇后大道中的貨車位落貨。工人手執豬腳，一個轉身，孭起豬隻；然後逐一分派到豬肉檔，「啪」一聲直接掉到檔口前的地板上。

Street e e l i b 街 Ju 租庇利

皇后

黎漢源是永成號的第二代經營者，專營新鮮豬肉，開業已一甲子。今年五十歲，洋名Jackie，綽號「大肥」，十二歲開始到中環街市檔口幫忙送貨，又跟文職先生學用花碼開單。

Wing Sing Ho used to have three stalls at Central Market, making it the best-performing brand in the whole market. In its heyday, it had about 15 employees and sold 60 pigs daily. In the old days, pigs slaughtered in the city’s central public slaughterhouse were transported to Central Market thrice a day on so-called “royal vehicles” operated by the government. During the first delivery, which took place at 6am, the pigs were unloaded at Queen Victoria Street near Queen’s Road Central. To unload the pigs, workers held 44

永成號生意好，人手足，各人分工仔細。每當豬隻被工人拋擲到地上，伙計們就像格蘭披治大賽車換輪胎般，各司其職 —— 清豬頭、洗豬雜、刮豬腩，將各部位斬件，迅速肢解一隻豬。分件後的豬肉，用鹹水草穿起，掛在檔口鐵架上，然後按照客戶訂單分成一籮籮，以手推車或單車送到酒樓和食堂。

them by their feet, pulled them out from the vehicles, turned around and carried the pigs on their backs and marched into the market. The pigs were then distributed to different pork stalls. The workers would throw the carcasses onto the floor outside the stalls, making a big noise on each throw. During those days when it did a roaring trade everyday, Wing Sing Ho was well-staffed with meticulous division of labor. When a pig was hurled outside a Wing Sing Ho stall, employees would dismember it with the speed of Formula 1 Grand Prix technicians changing racing car tyres. They would then clean the pig heads, wash its offal, scrape the belly, and cut each part into pieces, which were then tied up with dried Malacca Galingale (thin, long sedge grass) and hung on iron frames. The pieces were arranged in accordance with customer orders and dispatched to local restaurants either on carts or bicycles. 45

那是新鮮豬肉佔據市場主流的年代，即七十至八十年代間的黃金十年。黎漢源說，那時市道一片欣欣向榮，人們對飲食有要求，無論是中餐西餐，優質鮮肉總是有價有市。

八十年代是很多事情的分水嶺。黎漢源說，一九八○年英國殖民地政府取消抵壘政策，由大陸來港的人不能再像此前般，以南渡界限街為目標，到達市區即得到香港居民身分，基層勞動人口因而減少，招聘工人變得非常困難，這也是他和兄姊們每逢假期都要到檔口幫忙的原因。八四年中英雙方簽署聯合聲明後，部份人選擇離開，香港湧現移民潮，很多中產或富裕家庭紛紛離港，不少酒樓師傅也憑專業移民，中上環一帶無論住家或食肆都大幅減少，永成號生意亦隨之下滑。

Those were the days when fresh pork was widely sold in Hong Kong. Lai says the 1970s and 80s were golden days for wet markets. Businesses were thriving and people were quite fussy about what they ate. Fresh meat, whether for Chinese or Western cuisines, was in great demand.

countries. A large number of restaurant chefs also migrated elsewhere, thanks to their professional skills. With the local population in Central and Sheung Wan shrinking and restaurants in the areas closing, Wing Sing Ho’s business was greatly affected.

There were many watershed moments in Hong Kong in the 1980s. In 1980, the British colonial government ended the “touch base policy”, which allowed people from the Mainland to stay in Hong Kong if they reached the urban area without being detained. Lai says that after that year, the number of illegal migrants dropped sharply, and there was a shortage of low-skilled workers. That was why Lai’s siblings had to help out at Wing Sing Ho stalls during holidays. After the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, many Hongkongers migrated to other

At the time, Lai’s brothers and sisters were studying abroad. Having studied computer science for two years after finishing Form 5, Lai also wanted to go abroad. But his father, who had overworked in previous years, had joint disease and needed to undergo an operation. The father wanted to work for a few more years until Lai, the youngest child, finished his studies. But Lai did not want dad to suffer. So he decided to give up studying and took over the family business. He was only 20 years old.

當時，黎漢源的兄姊們已赴笈海外升學，中五畢業後讀了兩年電腦課程的他，原本也有意放洋，可是爸爸長年積勞成疾，髖關節勞損，必須動手術。爸爸仍然盤算多撐幾年，直到孻仔黎漢源出身。黎漢源不忍，於是放棄升學，繼承父業，成為一個全職的豬肉佬，那年他二十歲。「開頭兩年生活好苦悶。」他說。每朝凌晨四點起床，四點半回到檔口，開始斬豬、執單。六點半飲茶，又回到檔口，繼續執單、推車仔送貨；送完東邊一堆戶口，回到檔口，再送西邊，回到檔口，再送東邊。至中午，跟伙計一起站在檔口午飯，飯後走到街市三樓的樓梯口，在坐滿了倦極的工人 —— 用他的話是「屍橫遍野」 —— 的空地上，或

“Life was dreadfully boring in the first two years,” he says. Every morning, Lai got up at 4am and arrived at Wing Sing Ho half an hour later. He started the day by chopping pigs and sorting out customer orders. Morning dim sum time in a local restaurant was at 6.30am. After that, he went back to work, handling more customer orders. During the next few hours, he pushed a cart loaded with goods, delivering them to customers located to the east of Central market and then returning to his stall before setting off to areas to the west of the market. At noon, he ate standing up at Wing Sing Ho with colleagues. After lunch, he liked to head to the third floor of the market, sitting down or taking a nap on the floor. At 2.30pm, it was time to go back to work and deal with new orders. The hardworking young man

躺下攤唞，或靠牆打盹，小休半晌。下晝兩點半回到檔口，處理午後加單。六點收檔，七點晚飯，八點睡覺。那時，黎漢源多番推卻朋友的飯聚邀約，直到邀請越來越少。後來適應生活節奏，懂得找空間休息，他才重投社交生活，「好在仲有一兩位老友，無論我推幾多次，都繼續搵我。」一年之中，僅餘年初二下午至年初三早上，放假廿四小時。由一九九○年入行起連續八年，黎漢源就這樣一年一度才放一日假，直到一九九八年結婚，才第一次連續休息三日，然後又安排了六日的蜜月假。「一年只休息兩個半日，聽落好似好誇張，但唔淨只我一個係咁，好多人都係咁。」他說。

finished work at 6pm and had dinner at 7pm. Bedtime was 8pm. Such was his daily routine. In those busy days, Lai had no time to meet up with friends and had to turn down invites time and again. Over the years, many friends stopped inviting him to dinners. When his pace of life eventually slowed down, Lai resumed his social life. “Fortunately I still have a couple of old friends. They have stayed in touch no matter how many times I turned down their invites.” For eight years from 1990, the year when he took over his father’s business, Lai only had two days-off every year: from the afternoon of the second day of Lunar New Year to the following morning, lasting for 24 hours in total. When he got married in 1998, he took three full days-off for the first time.

永成號是最後一批離開中環街市的字號。二○○二年十月才搬到上環街市現址，見證著中環街市由喧囂變得寂寥。他笑言，在街市關門大吉前的日子，豬肉檔只餘十來個字號，雖然冷清，但也變相讓他們多了空間使用。他懷念中環街市的通風和明亮，有時，海風清勁得吹動原本靜止的吊扇扇葉，那涼意，比上環街市的冷氣舒爽多了。 50

That was followed by more luxury - six days-off when he and his wife went on a honeymoon holiday. “I only took two half-days off work every year. That sounds crazy, but I was not alone. Many people did the same,” he says.

Sometimes, the sea breeze was strong enough to set in motion the ceiling fans that were not switched on. It felt a lot more refreshing than the air-conditioned space in Sheung Wan Market.

As the last batch of shops to leave Central Market, Wing Sing Ho witnessed how the market thrived and eventually met its demise. In October 2002, it moved to its current location in Sheung Wan. Lai still remembers that in the lead-up to the closure of Central Market, there were only around a dozen pork shops. While the market was much quieter than before, the pork retailers got to enjoy more space. Lai says he especially loved the airy and well-lit environment of Central Market. 51

牛肉的滋味

The Taste of Beef

吳浩良好鍾意食牛肉，津津樂道人生中嚐過最美味的牛肉，是昔日自家檔口買下的一頭黃牛，油脂豐潤到不得了，少許醃料，熱鑊快炒，頓時肉香四溢，味道極其濃郁，肉質柔軟而嫰滑，在口中久久不散，直教人回味一生。

Ng Ho-leung loves beef. He gets excited when talking about the best beef he had in life. It was the beef from an ox he bought for his meat stall at Central Market. The meat had a lot of fat. It only had to be slightly marinated before going into the wok for a quick stir-fry. A tantalising aroma immediately wafted in the air. The beef melted in the mouth with its rich flavour and exceptionally soft, tender texture. It was an unforgettable experience.

那是幾十年前的事了，準確年月說不準，總之是很久很久以前的事。自一九八四年因罹患青光眼而退休，離開工作近四十年的牛肉檔，吳浩良看到的世界越來越模糊，如今只剩下明暗。但只要在腦海中尋找昔日生活的點滴，他就不無聊，就有很多故事可講。在成為合昌牛肉的合伙人前，他度過了一段漫長且沒牛肉吃的日子。一九四七年當日本仔炸到廣州，十九歲的他返鄉下避難而無處可避，就隨叔伯來港謀生。乘九廣鐵路蒸氣火車到尖沙嘴，轉天星小輪到中環，來到中央市場，當牛肉檔的下欄工人。夜宿老闆屋企，做廳長，每朝四、五點天未光就起床，負責洗地、開檔、送貨、洗坑渠。一年之中，僅大年初一休息一天，雙十節休息半天 —— 在掛滿青天白日滿地紅旗的街市中看人家燒炮仗，霹靂啪嘞熱鬧一陣，下午繼續賣力工作。

That was a long, long time ago. Ng cannot recall which year it was. In 1984, he had to retire as he was diagnosed with glaucoma, leaving the beef stall he had been running for nearly 40 years. Since then, the world he saw had become increasingly blurry. Today, he can only tell if a place is dark or has light. But as long as he can recall bits and pieces of the past, he never feels bored. He has a wellspring of stories to tell. Before Ng became a partner of Hop Cheung Beef, there was a long period of time in which he had not eaten beef. In 1947, when the Japanese army bombed Guangzhou, Ng, aged 19, fled the city and tried to hole up in the rural area. Failing to find a shelter, he followed an uncle to Hong Kong. He remembers taking the Kowloon-Canton Railway steam loco to Tsim Sha Tsui, then boarding the Star Ferry to Central, and finally arriving at a food market where today’s Central Market is located. There, he began his new life as a beef stall worker. 55

奔波送貨最是累人。提著幾十斤重裝滿牛肉的大藤籃擠上電車，下層車資一毫，上層兩毫，下層人頭湧湧，上層涼風習習，但作為工人當然只會留在下層。那時不少中上環的名貴酒樓是單幢大樓，或位於大廈頂層，可是，即使設有電梯，揸𨋢人多數拒絕運載送貨工人，有些外表金碧輝煌的店，如英京大酒家，工人連撐樓梯的資格也沒有，在貴客看不見的後門，腳下踏著一根根鐵枝，爬上幾層樓。那時吳浩良每日只有一元工資，在外送貨時途經食店，經常飢餓得只有吞口水，「奶油花餅三毫子一件，食得幾多件？」他卻感恩當時的餅舖為免賣隔夜貨，會在臨收舖前平賣「回收西餅」，讓嘴饞的大孩子嚐到甜頭。更多時候，一毫子一份豆漿油炸鬼就一餐。

At night, he slept in the living room of his boss’ flat. Every morning, he got up at 4 or 5am. His job was to clean the floor and the drain of the stall, prepare for the stall’s opening and deliver meat. He worked every day and took no dayoff throughout the year, except on Lunar New Year’s Day, when he got a full day-off, and on the Double Tenth Day, when he could rest for half a day. On that day, “Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth” flags were hoisted in Central Market and firecrackers were burned. After the burst of liveliness and joy in the morning, it was business as usual in the afternoon and Ng would return to the stall and toil away again. Among all the tasks, delivering meat was the most physically demanding. Ng had to carry a huge rattan basket containing beef that weighed dozens of catties. The tram was his means of transportation. In those days, a single trip on the lower

說到每月三十元薪水的日子，吳浩良想起一件傷心事。那是踎廁時代，整間廁所雖有間隔，但並沒有馬桶，大家排出來的，全都會跌落貫穿所有廁格的同一條坑中，是名副其實的屎坑。每隔一段時間，當高掛的水箱儲滿水，浮波帶動出水閥打開，水傾瀉而下，沖走坑中一切身外物。有

deck cost 10 cents; on the upper deck, it was 20 cents. The lower deck was always crowded and the upper deck breezier. But as a worker with a heavy burden, Ng always stayed on the lower deck. In Central and Sheung Wan, many upscale restaurants were housed in standalone buildings or located on the top floor. There were lifts in such buildings, but most lift operators did not let delivery men in. Some other luxury restaurants with ostentatious decor, such as Ying King in Wan Chai, did not even allow delivery workers to use the stairs. To make deliveries, the workers had to go to the back entrance that diners did not normally see and climb several floors up with the help of an iron ladder. Ng’s daily wage was one dollar. When travelling to different places to make deliveries, he often walked past snack shops and felt hungry. “A piece of

次，吳浩良稍一不慎，原本袋在西褲後袋的手錶，跌了落屎坑，他猶豫半晌，相當於整整一個月的手錶，就大江東去、付諸流水了，「其實趴喺地上伸隻手落去係執到㗎，但我唔敢執。」其實中環街市不是所有廁所都教人如此狼狽，但有另一種殘酷。他記得在某個角落，有一個較企理的「歐籍廁所」，門外有專人收費兼提供草紙。吳浩良當然未使用過，也不知內裏是何種光景，只笑說：「呢樣真係好出奇，廁所排華都有㗎喎。」

cream cake cost 30 cents. How many could I afford?” But he was grateful that some cake shops offered so-called “recycled cakes” at discounted prices shortly before closing time as they did not want to sell leftover cakes the following day. That was a real treat for Ng. As for proper meals, he usually had soy milk and fried dough sticks, which altogether cost 10 cents. Speaking of the days when money was not easy to come by, Ng recalls a painful episode. At that time, squat toilets were the norm in Hong Kong. Public toilets took the form of a long trench, with individual squatting spots separated by partitions. All bathroom wastes fell through the trench. Water came and flushed away everything in the trench whenever the water tank hung high up in the toilet was filled with water, sending the ballcock in the tank forcing the lever to open the valve for water to run. Once Ng visited a squat toilet at 59

雖然中環街市的廁所害他失去一隻手錶，更涉嫌階級歧視，吳浩良還是很喜歡中環街市。早期天花板沒有安裝吊扇，但即使在最旺的日子，每條通道都塞滿人，也依然涼爽，毫不翳焗。而且有設備專供洗豬雜，劏雞房又有熱水方便除毛，算是很衞生。他見證著街市的進步，由只有幾個公用水喉，到為每個檔口舖設獨立水喉和安裝獨立電錶，可以加支燈讓檔口光猛點，做生意也越來越方便。吳浩良最欣賞中環街市的實淨。工人來貨從不小心輕放，而是豪邁地把膊上的四分一隻牛，或背上的一整隻豬，「啪」一聲直接掉在檔口前的水泥地上，猶如擲下巨石，「長年累月，地板絲毫無損，我估小型炸彈都炸唔爛啊！」他由衷佩服地說。

Central Market with his watch kept in the back pocket of his trousers. As he squatted on his heels to respond to nature’s calling, the timepiece, which was worth a whole month’s salary for him, fell into the trench. He hesitated whether to pick it up, but in that split second the watch was flushed away. “I only had to stretch out my hand into the trench to pick it up, but I didn’t dare!” It wasn’t as if all the toilets at Central Market were that bad though. There was a better alternative, but it reflected another form of cruelty in life. According to Ng, somewhere in the market building there was a so-called “European toilet”, which was neater and provided toilet paper to users. However, there was a worker outside the entrance who charged visitors a fee. Ng, of course, had never used it and didn’t know how it looked inside. “Incredible. Was that a toilet that excluded Chinese people?” he quips.

中環街市的檔口是現成的，肉檯為水泥結構加上海批盪飾面，優點是ready-to-use，但對個子矮小的吳浩良來說，就不夠user-friendly了。到他捱出頭來，當上合昌牛肉的合伙人，負責駐守街市「企檔」（另外兩位合伙人分別當「買手」和「行街」，前者在屠房劏牛，後者四出搵生意），吳浩良必須穿上四寸高木屐，才夠高在肉檯上切牛肉。木屐既能墊高也可防跣，每隻卻幾斤重，是故每當吳浩良收工，除下木屐，換上便鞋，總覺得輕飄飄，「好似識輕功咁，啲人會話『嘩！乜你行得咁快』，但其實我覺得唔使出力，自自然然就會行得好快。」

Despite the discrimination and the lost watch, Ng loves Central Market all the same. In the early days, there were no fans on the ceiling, but the market was always cool and cosy even at peak hours when it was heaving with people. There was a site for cleaning pig offal, and the chicken slaughter room had hot water supply to facilitate plucking. All these helped maintain hygiene. As a long-time vendor, Ng had witnessed how Central Market’s infrastructure evolved in the early days there were only several communal water pipes; later, each stall had their own pipes and electricity meters. With their own meter, stall owners could install light fixtures to brighten up their own turf and run their business more effectively.

Ng says the best thing about Central Market is the rock-solid floor. Delivery workers were never gentle when they brought things to the stalls. The items they delivered could be a whole cow, a quarter of whose body was carried on one shoulder of the muscular men, or a pig, which was carried on their back. But all the same, they simply tossed the items onto the concrete floor in front of the stalls. The action made a loud noise, as if a boulder was dropped onto the floor. “Over the years, the floor still remained intact. I guess it wouldn’t break even if you set off a small bomb there,” Ng jokes. Every stall at Central Market had readyto-use fixtures, including a meat table made of concrete, complete with Shanghai plaster finish. But with Ng’s small build, the setting was not userfriendly enough. When he eventually made headway in his career and became a partner of Hop Cheung Beef, he had to man the stall. As for his two business partners, one was the buyer 62

關於中環街市的故事，吳浩良總說不完。今年九十三歲的他，聲線洪亮，中氣十足，盼望街市重開後，疫情遠去，屆時，他就可以重遊故地，經歷新的故事。

and also had to slaughter cattle; the other was responsible for marketing and had to go out to look for business. At the stall, he had to wear four-inchhigh clogs to be tall enough to use the meat table to cut beef. The clogs had the added advantage of preventing the wearer from slipping on the floor. But they were heavy, each weighing several catties. When a day’s work was over, Ng would take off the clogs and put on comfortable shoes. All of a sudden, he would feel much lighter. “It was as if I was a kung fu guy. People would say: ‘Wow! How come you are walking so fast?’ But I actually didn’t have to make any effort. I walked fast naturally.” Ng has plenty of stories to share about Central Market. He is now 93 years old, but he still has a strong voice. When the market reopens and the coronavirus pandemic is over, he will revisit the place, experience new things and, hopefully, have more stories to tell.

歐陽偉航(左)、歐陽潔梅(右) Vincent Au Yueng (Left) and Au Yueng Kit-mui (Right) 64

剝蝦

Peeling Prawns

歐陽潔梅說剝蝦是很容易的事：一手捉蝦，另一手在蝦身轉彎位，大概第二、三節，用拇指指甲在蝦肚和蝦腳間的虛位輕輕撬，然後，順著往蝦尾擘開蝦殼，拔蝦尾，最後才搣蝦頭。「當你搣過一萬幾千隻，都會覺得好簡單。」她淡淡然說。

For Au Yeung Kit-mui, peeling prawns is an easy peasy thing to do. The trick is to use one’s thumbnail to make a slice down the bottom part of a prawn. Start from the second or third segment of the shell where there is a soft spot. Then, gently pry open the shell and pull it in the direction of the tail to remove the tail. The last step is to remove the head. “When you have peeled more than 10,000 prawns, you’d find it super easy,” she says nonchalantly.

But Au Yeung’s résumé is not only marked by thousands of peeled prawns. The 64-year-old, known as “To Je” (“Sister To”), started to help out at her parents’ prawn stall when she was seven. The stall, Fai Kee, was located on the ground floor of Central Market. It was a small space measuring less than 100 square feet. Nevertheless, because of the labour-intensive nature of the prawn wholesale and retail business,

almost all members of the Au Yeung family worked at the stall. Fai Kee also employed several young female workers. Every morning at around 3am, Sister To’s father Au Yeung Fai and a few colleagues went to the wholesale market selling prawns in Kennedy Town to source prawns. It was a risky job. Whenever a walla-walla boat arrived, the waiting buyers would dash over to the dock to drop order notes onto the bamboo baskets loaded with prawns. That was how they placed orders.

她剝過的蝦當然不只一萬幾千。今年六十四歲的歐陽潔梅，人稱「桃姐」，七歲起就到父母經營的蝦檔幫忙。蝦檔位於中環街市地下，名為輝記，兼營批發與零售，檔口面積不足百尺，卻幾乎出動全家人，還須額外僱用幾名年輕女工，皆因工作全屬勞動密集型。

“It didn’t matter if the prawns were not fresh or even stinky. Everybody was scrambling for them,” Sister To says, adding that from time to time a buyer would fall into the water. The worst kind of accident was when one got injured or even killed by the moving propeller of a boat.

每朝凌晨三、四點，桃姐的爸爸歐陽輝就跟伙計到西環蝦欄買貨。那是危險的工作，每當嘩啦嘩啦靠岸，所有在岸邊等候的買手一擁而上，爭先恐後把車頭紙拋入裝滿海蝦的竹籮中，代表認購整籮蝦，「話之靚定唔靚定臭嘅，個個都係咁爭。」桃姐說，不時聽聞有人失足墮海，萬一遭運行中的螺旋槳擊中，就可能身受重傷，甚至性命不保。

The prawns were usually delivered to Central Market at 7am. That was the time when Sister To’s busy day began. Every basket carrying the prawns was in a messy state upon arrival. They had to be sorted according to size, breed, and the level of freshness and intactness of the crustaceans. Afterwards they were distributed to customers, many of whom were upscale Chinese restaurants,

鮮蝦在清晨七點左右送到街市，桃姐也在這個時候開始忙碌的一天。一籮籮蝦，每一籮都亂七八糟，首先要依大小、品種、新鮮度和完整度分類，然後按客戶訂單分批交貨，當中不少是高級酒樓，如告羅士打、海洋皇宮、太白海鮮舫等。送貨方式是以擔挑孭起數以十斤計的蝦，就近的就步行過去，遠一點的坐電車，最遠送到對面海的九龍皇后酒樓 —— 先乘天星小輪過海，再連人帶貨轉乘人力車。

such as Gloucester, Ocean Palace and Tai Pak Floating Restaurant. On each delivery, dozens of catties of prawns were transported on a carrying pole. If the destination was nearby, the delivery worker would go on foot. Otherwise, he took the tram. The farthest destination was Queen’s Restaurant in Kowloon, in which case the delivery worker would first take the Star Ferry and then change for a rickshaw. When the prawns arrived at a restaurant, the worker would peeled them on the spot before going back to Fai Kee, delivered still more prawns to customers and peeled them on the spot. That was the daily routine. During important festivals, things got even more hectic as more prawns had to be delivered to restaurants and, at the same time, shoppers thronged the stall.

抵達酒樓後，即場剝殼，剝完就回到檔口，再送更多的貨，剝更多的蝦，天天如是。遇著大時大節，更是應接不暇，因除了交貨到食店，還要應付零售。「一日搣幾擔，搣蝦搣到冇手甲㗎！好陰功！後尾至有鐵手指套，要特登去打鐵行訂造㗎。」桃姐說，「最陰功係冬天。嗰時冇話戴手套㗎，凍到對手郁唔到時，惟有煲啲熱水，浸吓又搣，摵吓再浸......啲手指經常係腫嘅，仲會生蘿蔔，即係凍瘡。」桃姐在九兄弟姊妹中排第四，跟她經歷同樣辛酸的，還有六弟歐陽偉麟，綽號「阿魚」或「魚哥」。魚哥永遠忘不了生凍瘡的痛苦，「好似啲人成面暗瘡咁，我哋就成手凍瘡。啲瘡未熟時，輕輕揩吓都好痛！」一提到蝦，魚哥只有厭倦，「見到都驚！日日幾百斤，成座山咁，逐隻逐隻剝，嗰種慘無人道，講都冇人明。」

All the hard work took a toll on Sister To’s hands. “I had to peel so many prawns every day that my nails were destroyed! It was awful! Later there was this kind of metal finger protector that we could wear. We need to go to a metal shop to have them tailor-made,” she says. “Winter was the toughest time. In those days we didn’t have gloves. When our hands were so cold they couldn’t move, we boiled hot water, soaked our hands in the water and then did the peeling. My fingers were often swollen and had frostbites.” Sister To has eight siblings, and she is the fourth eldest child. Her brother Au Yeung Wai-lun, the sixth child, also had been through tough times like her. Nicknamed “Ah Yu” (“Fish”) or “Yu Gor” (“Brother Fish”), Au Yeung Wai-lun

桃姐和魚哥最佩服人稱「輝嫂」的媽媽陳麗華，無論多忙碌，心算永無差錯，秤蝦均真，包蝦爽手 —— 在那個磅和膠袋都未普及的時代，零售海蝦先用秤來量斤両，然後用報紙包好，再以鹹水草紮起，像端午節包糉般。

says the pain of frostbite is something he would never in life. “We were like people with lots of acnes on their faces, except that all the blemishes appeared on our hands. When a frostbite was still fresh, it hurt even when you touched it gently.”

Which is perhaps why the mere thought of prawns makes Brother Fish sick. “They look off-putting to me! Everyday there were mountains of them to peel. It was so miserable no one can possibly imagine.” 73

有些媽姐會在藤籃中自備私家秤，每買一種食物，就站一旁秤一秤。如果經輝嫂手，媽姐們就很放心。「有啲客見唔到我媽喺檔口寧願唔買。阿媽好勤力，只有生仔時會唔喺檔口，生完仔三日就返檔口，個仔交俾我阿爺阿嫲湊，個個都係飲鷹嘜煉奶大。」桃姐說。 74

For the two siblings, their mother Chan Laiwah is the most respectable person in the world. No matter how busy she was, her mental arithmetic was always perfect. She was accurate when weighing prawns, and she could pack them at breakneck speed. In

those days, mechanical weighing scales and plastic bags were rarities. To weigh prawns by the catty, a balance scale was used. The crustaceans were then wrapped in a piece of newspaper and tied up with dried Malacca Galingale (thin, long sedge grass), just like how rice dumplings are wrapped.

Some amahs who worried about being ripped off by wet market vendors liked to carry their own balance scale in their rattan shopping baskets to do the weighing themselves. But they never had to worry if the vendor was Mrs Au Yeung. 75

辛勤經營蝦檔為歐陽家儲下第一桶金。一九七二年，歐陽家在結志街買舖經營茶餐廳，名為「海運茶冰廳」。輝哥不再照料蝦檔，留給太太和其弟弟打理；當時十五歲的桃姐也到茶餐廳做水吧，沖茶煮麵炒蛋一腳踢。

“Some people would rather not buy from us if mum was not around. She was very hardworking. The only time she was not at the stall was when she was in the hospital to give birth,” Sister To says. “But three days after giving birth, she would return to the stall. My grandparents were the ones to take care of the newborn baby. All of us were fed with Eagle Condensed Milk as babies.” 76

海運生意極旺，門外不時排長龍。朝七晚十一，十號風球也照常營業。然後，在同一條街上，歐陽家再多開六間不同類型的餐廳，名為海富、海港、海洋、行運，以及兩間潮年，分由幾名子女打理，開枝散葉。當中，魚哥經營的是點心店，不用再過如夢魘般日夜不停剝蝦的日子，「唔只我一個，成家人個個都好厭倦。講都冇人信，一家十幾人食飯，半斤蝦都食唔晒。」桃姐聞言，但笑不語。

In 1972, the hardworking Au Yeungs eventually saved enough money to buy a shop on Gage Street. There, they opened a cha chaan teng called Hoi Wan Restaurant. Sister To’s father Au Yeung Fai handed over the prawn stall business to his wife and Brother Fish. Sister To was then 15, and she started helping out in the kitchen at Hoi Wan, responsible for everything from making tea to cooking noodles and scrambling eggs. Business thrived at Hoi Wan. There were often long queues outside the restaurant, which opened from 7am to 11pm. It stayed open even when typhoon number 10 was hoisted. Soon, the Au Yeungs opened six more restaurants (Hoi Fu, Hoi Kong, Hoi Yeung, Han Wan, and two Chiu Nin) of different types on the same street. They were respectively managed by Au Yeung Fai’s children.

歐陽家中至少還有一個人不那麼討厭蝦，那就是「孻仔」歐陽偉航。是設計師也是收藏家，歐陽偉航自幼不用掛心家族生意，卻份外留戀舊香港的一事一物。在中環城皇街開設古玩店的他，有時也會想像經營小食檔，延續家族故事，「我想賣蝦多士！一種代表到香港，亦代表到我屋企兩個時期嘅食物，依家好少地方食到喇。到時可能要桃家姐重出江湖！」桃姐繼續但笑不語。

The restaurant managed by Brother Fish specialised in dim sum. The nightmarish days of peeling prawns were behind him. “It wasn’t just me but everyone in the family was fed up. You won’t believe it. Even when more than 10 of us had dinner, we couldn’t even finish half a catty of prawns,” he says. Hearing her brother’s comment, Sister To smiles and says nothing.

There is one person in the Au Yeung family who has no problem with prawns. Vincent Au Yeung, the youngest child, was never involved in the family business. A designer and collector of nostalgic toys, he loves things belonging to the old Hong Kong and has a curios shop on Shing Wong Street in Central. Sometimes he contemplates running a snack shop to continue his family’s business. “I want to sell shrimp toast! This is something that represents not only Hong Kong but also two important periods of my family. You don’t find shrimp toast that easily now. When it disappears one day, Sister To might have to make a comeback!” As always, Sister To smiles and says nothing.

唯一的冰磚檔 The One and Only Ice Stall 80

麥晃亮年輕時是個大隻佬。那是八十年代，他在中環街市唯一的生雪冰磚檔「金記雪廠」打工，每天的工作都是運冰、開雪，徘徊在炎熱的街道和冰凍的雪房之間。長方形的冰磚極重，每磚重達三百磅，送貨時要用大型冰鉗將冰的一端夾上手推車，再夾另一端；每趟最多只能運兩磚，「成六百磅重！收工時經常關節痛。」搬運動作必須迅速而輕巧。若然手腳慢，冰磚融化縮水，客戶未必收貨。或稍一不慎，鉗冰時施力過多，冰磚一旦出現裂紋，就不能運到酒店。那年頭很多酒店流行以冰雕來裝飾宴會廳，首選晶瑩通透的冰磚，雕鑿成天鵝或駿馬模樣。冰磚是否晶瑩通透視乎製造廠技術，啞色如包著雲霧般的屬多數，是故每塊晶瑩通透的冰磚，都很珍貴。

In his younger years, Mak Fong-leung was a muscular man. Back in the 1980s, Mak was a worker at Kam Kee Ice House, the one and only stall selling ice blocks in Central Market. Transporting ice from one place to another, splitting ice blocks, and going in and out of sizzling hot streets and freezing ice storage rooms were his daily routine. The ice blocks he transported were extremely heavy, each weighing up to 300 pounds. It took an oversized tool (imagine a very big pair of tongs) to grab one side of the block and pull it onto a cart. Workers could carry no more than two blocks on each delivery. “It was 600 pounds altogether. I often had joint pain after work,” Mak recalls.

If too much force was applied when cutting through an ice block, the ice might crack and no hotel client would take it. In those days many hotels in Hong Kong decorated banquet rooms with ice sculptures in the shape of swans and horses. Ice with a translucent appearance was the preferred material. Whether an ice block was translucent enough depended on the skills of the manufacturer. The majority of ice blocks looked cloudy and rather opaque. Those with a crystal clear appearance were rare and precious.

Workers delivering ice blocks had to be fast and dexterous. One could not afford being slow or the ice would melt and customers might reject the goods. 83

開雪，是指把原裝三百磅一條的冰磚分成若干份。麥晃亮解釋，只須用上一個手掌心大小的冰鑿，在巨型冰磚的某一點錐下去，就能將冰磚劈開，通常一開六或八，售予雪糕車、冰室或辦館。雪糕車早上七點就來買冰開檔，意味著麥晃亮須更早準備。

“Splitting” ice involved breaking down a 300-pound ice block into several pieces. Mak says it took a palm-sized ice chisel to stab into any part of a giant ice block, which would then be broken, usually into six or eight pieces. They would be sold to ice-cream carts, local bistros or grocery shops (ban kwun in Cantonese). Ice-cream cart vendors collected ice blocks from Kam Kee at 7am, which meant Mak had to get up earlier than that to prepare.

Despite its name, Kam Kee Ice House did not produce its own ice blocks. The ground-floor stall, located under the grand staircase of Central Market, was not big enough to fit an ice-making machine. It was not so much an ice house as an ice storage unit. Ice blocks at Kam Kee were sourced either from a plant in Aberdeen or Kwai Chung. They were delivered to Central Market at 6am. It was usually Mak who singlehandedly unloaded the goods and swiftly brought them to the stall. 85

雖然字號中有「雪廠」兩個字，但其實，金記並沒有生產冰磚，用麥晃亮的說法是「冇自己打雪」。金記位於中環街市地下樓梯底，舖位不足以放置大件頭的製冰機，與其說是間雪廠，不如說是個冰庫。所有冰磚都來自於位於香港仔或葵涌的製造廠，清晨六時送到中環街市，麥晃亮常常獨力落貨，然後盡快運回檔口。「辛苦錢來㗎！搵埋都唔夠食雪糕！」麥晃亮苦笑說，「其實我做嗰陣已經式微㗎啦，好難做！雪糕車越來越少，餐廳直接買冰粒，酒店又漸漸唔興整冰雕。」那時他每日賣出二三十條冰磚，遠遜於高峯時期的日銷六七十磚，「曾經好旺㗎，成個中上環嘅酒店、餐廳、雪糕車都係搵金記。嗰個老細發咗達好耐啦！」

“It was hard-earned money! But it wasn’t even enough to buy an ice-cream!” Mak says wryly. “The industry was already in decline when I started. It was tough. There were fewer and fewer ice-cream carts; restaurants simply sourced ice cubes; and hotels gradually stopped making ice sculptures.” Kam Kee sold 20 to 30 ice blocks per day. That was a far cry from the heyday of the local ice-making industry, when wholesalers could sell up to 70 ice blocks a day.

“Things were prosperous in those days. All hotels, restaurants and ice-cream carts did business with Kam Kee. Its owner had made a big fortune!” In the mid-1990s, Kam Kee reinvented itself and became a fishmonger. The stall was renamed “Kam Kee Fresh Fish”. From an ice block delivery man, Mak became a salesperson selling seafood at Kam Kee. In 1997, Kam Kee moved to its current location in Sheung Wan.

金記至九十年代中轉賣海鮮，由「金記雪廠」變成「金記海鮮」，麥晃亮也由運冰工人變成魚販。至一九九七年，金記海鮮搬到上環現址，鹹淡水魚都賣，檔口一邊是海魚水缸，另一邊是陳列魚腩、魚頭的不銹鋼長枱，魚件下墊著透明膠布，膠布底是麥晃亮自製的冰磚。他一再強調自己只是打工，說到不復存在的店舖，他有問必答，抱著冰磚拍照時，笑容燦爛而自豪。

It sells both saltwater fish and river fish. On one side of the shop, there is a fish tank housing saltwater fish; on the other side, a long stainless steel table displaying fish bellies and fish heads. Beneath the transparent plastic cloth that covered the table is an ice block made by Mak. The hardworking man stresses that he is just an employee. Speaking of the ice house in the old days, he is always forthcoming. When he has pictures taken with the ice block, he breaks into a broad smile and looks proud.

一麈不染

Spotlessly Clean

在中環街市上班的日子，黎錫欣每朝六點就搭過海線巴士到達灣仔，開始一天的工作。時值八十年代末，四十一歲的他是市政總署的高級管工，負責管理灣仔至中環一帶的街道衞生。由警察總部出發，途經萬茂里、金鐘廊、天星碼頭、德輔道中、皇后大道中，除了檢查街道、垃圾站和公廁的潔淨、翻看工人簽到紀錄，他也留意沿途所有公共設施是否正常運作。一旦發現交通燈失靈或渠蓋失蹤，他會紀錄在案，稍後轉告其他部門跟進。 During the days he worked at Central Market, Peter Lai took a cross-harbour bus from Kowloon to Wan Chai every morning at 6am. It was the late 1980s. Lai, then 41, was a senior foreman at the Urban Services Department. He was responsible for street hygiene. The area he oversaw ran from Wan Chai to Central, starting from the police headquarters all the way through 92

Monmouth Lane, Admiralty Centre, the Star Ferry Pier, Des Voeux Road Central and Queen’s Road Central. He had to inspect the hygiene conditions on the streets, refuse collection points and public toilets, check workers’ signin records, and make sure all public facilities in his area operated properly. If a traffic light was out of order or if a manhole cover was missing, he had to keep records for other government departments to follow up.

他特別留意德輔道中一帶會否有散落的報紙。當時的德輔道中是多份報章的分發中心，一疊疊的報紙在天光之前已經擺滿行人路，發行商會在那裏分派新鮮出爐的日報予不同地區車隊，運到全港發售。

One area he paid particular attention to was Des Voeux Road Central. In those days, this part of Central was the distribution centre for a number of local newspapers. Many stacks of copies filled the pavements at dawn every day, and distributors dispatched the newspapers to different vans that would then deliver the copies to different parts of Hong Kong. Lai’s job was to make sure no newspapers were scattered on Des Voeux Road Central. 93

巡邏路線的終點站是中環街市，也就是市政總署辦公室 —— 黎錫欣的寫字樓。街市外沒有掛起市政總署的招牌，十分低調，黎錫欣卻說這是常見做法，「自己人知就得」。他由域多利皇后街近皇后大道中的入口步入街市，踏兩層樓梯，從不搭𨋢 —— 那巨型油壓𨋢多數用來運菜，升降速度極緩慢，比行樓梯更慢。回到辦公室，黎錫欣才更換制服，然後處理案頭的文書工作。辦公室沒有冷氣，卻相當通風舒爽，這是黎錫欣最喜歡中環街市的地方。辦公室位於街市頂層，窗戶大，有海風，有街景，又有鴿子和斑鳩的咕咕叫聲。黎錫欣並不討厭那些禽鳥，雖然路上時有鳥糞，但總能洗淨，「以前冇禽流感嘛，又冇咩人投訴...... 最緊要冇人投訴！」

The Central Market building marked the end point of Lai’s patrol route - the office of the Urban Services Department was located there. The department’s presence in the market was discreet, with no signboard hanging outside the building. According to Lai, that was a common practice for government departments. “It was fine as long as we the insiders knew where the office was,” he says. To get to his office, he took the Central Market entrance on Queen Victoria Street near Queen’s Road Central and then walked two floors up. He never took the big hydraulic lift inside the market, which was used to transport vegetables. Lai says the lift was slower than human walking speed. When he arrived at the office, he would change his uniform and start to deal with paperwork of the day. Lai’s office, sitting on the top floor of the market, had no air-conditioning, but it was airy and soothing. That was what he loved most about the market. The office had big windows, through which one could feel the sea breeze

and view the streets down below. There were also the sounds of pigeons and spotted doves. Lai didn’t mind the bird droppings that sometimes fell onto the streets as they could always be cleaned. “There was no bird flu, and complaints from people were rare. Having no complaints was most important!”

辦公室以外，同層單位還有兩三間職員宿舍供家庭入住，以及清潔工人休息的房間。黎錫欣說，舊時政府安排非常周到，會因應職務分配宿舍，即使狂風暴雨，也必定能安排職員當值。宿舍相當受同事歡迎，因為租金廉宜，也能省下交通費和時間。不過，黎錫欣不羨慕住宿舍的人，「冇私隱，萬一兩公婆嗌交，都會被同事聽到晒。」

On the same floor of Lai’s office, there were a couple of units that served as staff quarters as well as a resting area for cleaning workers. According to Lai, the government in the past had a sensible way of making sure workers were well taken care of. Many public facilities contained staff quarters. In times of unexpected events, such as floods and typhoons, the government would deploy workers living nearby to provide assistance. For the Central Market, staff quarters on the top floor meant there were always workers looking after the marketplace even in times of typhoons when all public transport stopped running. In general, government staff quarters were popular because of the low rent and because living there could 95

清潔工人休息的房間俗稱「散仔館」，內裏放了十多張碌架床，工人自由進出，也沒有指明哪張床屬於誰。原則上，散仔館只供短暫休息，不可長期居住；但實際上有些工人離家較遠或沒有家累，會在散仔館借宿。他說，那時代的工人都非常勤力，毋須督促，自動自覺到街上打掃，「時時都見佢哋返工，日日夜夜都返，好多時未到規定時間就掃乾淨晒。我都有問點解要咁早㗎，佢哋話，條街冇人時易掃好多。」 96

save travel time and cost. But Lai was not envious of people living there. “There was no privacy. If you had a fight with your wife, your colleagues could hear everything.” The resting unit for cleaners was known as San Zai Kwun (literally translated as “Office for the Odd Job Guys”). It housed about a dozen bunk beds, none of which was designated for anyone. Workers were free to go in and out. The room was meant for them to rest

for a short time, not to stay overnight. But some of the cleaners who lived far from Central or had no family would stay there overnight. Lai said workers in those days were all hardworking. They carried out their street cleaning duties independently without having to be told or nagged. “I always saw them, day and night. Very often they finished their job earlier than expected. I sometimes asked them why they got things done so quickly, and they said it was much easier to clean the streets when no one was around.”

黎錫欣做人有原則，在中環街市上班卻從不在此買餸，即使他並非直接管理街市，而是負責街市以外的街道潔淨。這位正直的公僕想起在中環街市的短短兩年，仍回味無窮：「嗰時連我嘅上司都好自豪，中環嘅街真係特別乾淨，可以話係一麈不染！」

Lai is a man of principle. When he worked at Central Market, he never shopped there, even though he was in charge of the hygiene on the streets outside the building and was not involved in the management of the market. The honest civil servant only spent two years working at Central Market, but he has fond memories of his time there. “Our superiors were proud of the place. The streets of Central in those days were spotlessly clean!” 97

木屐 The Clogs 98

In 1990, Leung Ping-kwan, more often known as Ye Si in the Sinophone literacy circles, penned a poem titled “The Clogs”. 一九九○年，梁秉鈞（也斯）寫下《木屐》一詩。穿著木屐穿過樓梯街我和影子穿著木屐穿過歲月我的足踝跟我的足踝說話已故學者張美君在《形象香港：梁秉鈞詩選》一書的序言寫道，這首詩講述香港作為瞬息幻變之城，人們如何珍存記憶。張博士補充，尋找身分認同的過程有如腳踏木屐走過上環樓梯街一樣險象橫生。這是關於木屐、歷史建築和記憶的真人真事。

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“It got to be magical, old Ladder Street “It gotclogs to beinmagical, old clogs in Ladder my shadow and I scraping Street along, and down, my shadow I scraping along, down, clacking back intoyears the years clacking back into the noting solely ankle speaking noting solely ankle speaking to ankle.” to ankle.” The poem is about the preservation of memory in the changing space of Hong Kong, wrote the late scholar Esther Cheung in the introduction of City at the End of Time in 2012. To achieve this sense of identity is as precarious as walking with clogs up and down the stone steps of Ladder Street in Sheung Wan, Cheung added.

Romaine Bamford 對中環街市的回憶可說是聲畫俱全。木屐、白色橡膠水鞋、深灰牆壁、紅色燈罩、切肉劏魚聲，喧嚷和嬉笑。而她最深刻的回憶則與木屐有關。五十年代中，Romaine跟母親到街市買魚。她留意到有些檔主穿著一種特別的鞋子 —— 木造鞋底，約莫一寸厚，上面有條一字帶，露趾，走路時會發出「喀—喀—喀」聲音，因此 Romaine兒時稱之為「喀喀鞋」。

The following is a real story about clogs, historic buildings and memories. Romaine Bamford’s recollection of Central Market is full of sights and sounds. Clops of clogs, white rubber boots, dark grey wall, red lamp shades, vendors chopping meat and fish, and people’s shouts and laughter. Her most vivid memory has to do with clogs. It was in the mid-1950s. She went to the market with her mother to look for fresh fish. There, she saw some vendors wearing a special type of shoes: they had a wooden sole of about an inch high, open toed with a strap across the front. As a kid, she called those shoes “clip clops” because of the sound they made. She desperately wanted a pair of clip clops because, for a small child, they

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Romaine非常渴望得到一雙「喀喀鞋」，因為對小朋友而言，木屐就是高跟鞋的最佳代替品。她最終成功獲得兩雙木屐，一雙紅色，鞋底有花的圖案，另一雙的鞋頭則有鮮綠色的花紋。小時候的Romaine喜歡穿著木屐在家中走路，鞋底敲響木地板時發出「喀—喀—喀」的聲音，令她十分著迷。另一位穿木屐的人就是家中的洗衣女工。在洗衣機盛行前，香港上流社會的家庭都會聘請助理，專門負責洗衣。於是，兩人的木屐聲響遍整間房子。 Romaine Bamford 生於一九五一年，是家族中第四代香港人。一九六三年，Romaine十二歲，跟很多同輩一樣，在英國讀寄宿學校。到了一九七五年，她回港結婚。她的父親在童年時，家裏也是從中環街市買來食物，但只有傭人負責買餸。

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were the next best thing to high heels. She managed to get two pairs: one was red with a flower drawn on the wooden sole; the other had a bright green pattern across the front. Little Bamford loved walking around home with her clogs. The “click-clog, click-clog” sound of sandals against the wooden floor was fascinating. The other clog-wearer in her family was the laundry amah. Before washing machines became popular, upper class families in Hong Kong had helpers whose job was to wash clothes. So the clog-wearing duet filled the house with clip-clopping sounds. Romaine Bamford, née Wright, was born in 1951. She is the family’s fourth generation in Hong Kong. Like many

Romaine童年時，儘管家裏聘請傭人，母親都會親自到中環街市買魚。她憶述，母親會致電連卡佛訂購肉類。當年的連卡佛位於雪廠街，設有鮮肉專櫃。母親多會先到連卡佛買肉，再到牛奶公司咖啡店喝杯咖啡，Romaine 則點杯橙汁。他們會在牛奶公司買牛奶、乳酪之類，然後到皇后大道中上的惠康買麵粉和果醬。Romaine記得店內的商品層層疊疊至天花板，「要買東西的話，有個職員會爬梯拿給你。」牛奶公司和惠康之間，就是中環街市。Romaine和母親會沿著皇后大道中，走到中環街市買魚。事實上，這家人只吃中環街市買來的魚。

of her peers, she went to England for boarding school as a teenager. It was 1963 and she was 12. In 1975, she returned to Hong Kong and got married. When her father was a kid, his family also sourced their food from Central Market. But only the family’s servants went there to shop. In Bamford’s time, her mother went to Central Market for fresh fish even though they had amah. She remembers her mother would ring up Lane Crawford to order meat. In those days, Lane Crawford was in Ice House Street and had a butcher’s counter department. The mother’s routine usually started with meat shopping at Lane Crawford, followed by a visit to the Dairy Farm café where the mother sat down for a coffee and the daughter orange juice. The family got milk, yogurt and other goods from Dairy Farm. Along Queen’s Road Central was a Wellcome Company where the family got flour and jam. Romaine remembers the shop was packed with goods from floor to ceiling. 103

她娓娓道來：「想吃魚時，母親一定會去中環街市。這就是我記得木屐的原因。」後來重返街市買餸，她再也聽不見「喀—喀—」的聲音，才發現木屐已被白色橡膠鞋取而代之。一九七五年回港結婚後，她每隔數天便會買新鮮的牛心餵狗。她的廣東話不算流利，常常惹檔主發笑，但她至今也不明白這事的好笑之處。她回想：「雖然我每次都買到我要的東西，但人人都會笑我。我猜，可能因為我用錯字，也可能是我的廣東話不夠準確。」兩年後，丈夫被調派到紐約，例行的中環街市之旅就此結束。

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“If you want something, a man would go up the ladder to get it,” she says. Somewhere between the café and the Wellcome was Central Market. Romaine and her mother walked down Queen’s Road to the market for fish. All the fishes the family ate must be sourced from there. “If we wanted fish, my mother would go to Central Market to get it. That’s when I remember those clip-clops,” she said. Later when Bamford shopped at the market again, the clip-clogging sound could no longer be heard. The clogs had been replaced by white rubber shoes. In 1975, she returned to Hong Kong to get married. She went to the market every few days to buy fresh beef heart for her dog. She struggled to say what she wanted in Cantonese, always ending up making the vendors laugh. She still cannot figure out why they laughed at her. “I always got the right thing but

everybody laughed at me. I don’t know whether I was asking the right thing, or my accent was funny,” she recalls. Two years later, her husband was relocated to New York. This ended her regular excursions to Central Market. More than a decade after she stopped going to Central Market, the image of the market popped up in her mind in an unexpected situation. During a visit to Bombay (present day Mumbai) in 1989, Bamford went to a meat market in the Indian city which the locals regarded as their central market. The smell was gross, with hundreds of flies buzzing around. The foul smell and flies in the meat market made her realise Central Market, the most important market in her hometown, was airy, clean, looked new and smelt fresh. “The meat smelt a bit and the floor was swimming in water but I don’t remember any horrible smell.” With shutter windows and high ceilings, 105

闊別中環街市十多年，街市的回憶卻在意想不到的時刻突然浮現。一九八九年，Romaine身處印度孟買。她到了一家當地人視為中央市場的肉類市場，那裏的氣味令人噁心，到處都有蒼蠅飛來飛去。市場充斥的惡臭和蒼蠅，令她意識到家鄉的中環街市原來如此通爽、乾淨，外觀較新淨，氣味也較清新。她憶述：「新鮮肉無論如何都帶點氣味，街市地面有時濕滑，但從來不會有異味。」中環街市設有百葉窗，樓底高，空氣清新。夏天時即使沒有冷氣，室內也清涼舒適。

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there was an abundance of fresh air in Central Market. Even in summer and with no air conditioning, it was cool inside. Nowadays, Bamford, now a vegetarian, gets her groceries in the Graham Street market. She looks forward to the opening of the revitalised Central Market. On a recent visit to Tai Kwun, the former Central Police Station Compound, she sat on the Laundry Steps for a concert. “It is good [that] the iconic buildings are not torn down. These architecture are important to locals and tourists. It is something I love about Hong Kong. Hong Kong is always changing. It always changes, continues to evolve and [is] full of energy.”

Romaine現在是素食者，多從嘉咸街街市買餸。她正期待中環街市活化重開。她最近到訪大館，即舊中區警署，並坐在洗衣場石階上欣賞了一場音樂會。「慶幸這些標誌性的建築沒被拆毀。這些建築對本地人和遊客都非常重要，也是我喜歡香港的原因之一。香港總是瞬息萬變，每次變化都帶來進步和活力。」

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108

大龍躉

Giant Grouper 109

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黃偉成最記得中環街市中的巨型龍躉。

A giant grouper is Wong Wai-sing’s best memory of Central Market.

六十年代從廣州來港的他，是個瘦小的伙子，實際年齡十五歲，外表卻像十歲。父親已歿，來香港是為了陪母親治療肺病，身為長子的黃偉成，肩負起養家的責任。在親戚介紹下，他在皇后大道中一間雜貨舖擔任送貨，時常托著裝滿蠔油、蝦醬等調味料的藤袋，游走中上環一帶的大街小巷。

A Guangzhou native, Wong moved to Hong Kong in the 1960s. At age 15, he looked five years younger as he was a skinny boy. His widowed mother, who was being treated for lung disease, was the reason why he came to Hong Kong. As the oldest child, Wong had the responsibility to take care of his family. Through a relative, he landed a job as a delivery boy at a grocery store on Queen’s Road Central. He was often seen on the streets of Central and Sheung Wan, carrying a rattan bag packed full of condiments like oyster sauce and shrimp paste.

有一日，他在中環街市一個海魚檔看到一張紅紙，鈞勁的毛筆字寫明若干日後某時辰，將「生劏大龍躉」。紅紙醒目地貼在檔口當眼處，招徠饕客及早預訂。黃偉成十分期待，當日清晨就依時到場，只為親睹屠龍一幕。當日的街市比平日更熱鬧，魚檔圍滿買手和街坊，在鎢絲燈泡下，一尾約六呎長、逾二百斤重的巨型龍躉，隆重登場。黃偉成說，當時巨魚仍然生猛，魚尾噼噼啪啪地拍打濕漉漉的地面。魚檔於是出動四名大漢，一人按尾，兩人按身，再由大師傅拿著一張逾呎長見方的鐵刀，由魚頭劈起，然後劏腩，再將魚背脊開邊，起出最矜貴的龍躉翅，只見油潤的膠質魚皮下是白裏透紅的魚肉，黃偉成吞了吞口水，心裏想像這尾野生大龍躉是如何鮮甜味美。

One day when Wong visited Central Market, a piece of red paper posted on a fish stall caught his eye. It carried a message, written in vigorous calligraphy, saying a giant grouper would be “cut alive” in the morning several days later. The paper was displayed prominently at the fish stall, apparently to motivate customers to act fast and pre-order the fish. Wong was so excited he arrived on time early morning on the day of the event. 111

龍躉的味道，黃偉成絕非憑空想像，而是回憶。十八歲那年，他的親戚無暇出席一個富有人家的婚宴，派黃偉成做代表到場恭賀，他就跟人借了套稍為寬鬆的西裝，結起領呔到大會堂嘉頓酒樓赴會。黃偉成當時有點緊張，一到場跟主人家道賀兼自我介紹，然後被安排到跟僑商會的生意人同席。席間話題早記不起，但說到席上菜式，黃偉成回味無窮，「九個餸，有乳豬同燒雞，仲有大蝦沙律，好靚㗎，有蘋果、西芹、啤梨，全部係高級嘢！最難忘係嗰味金華玉柱斑，我嗰時從來未食過咁好味嘅嘢！」

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That day the market was more boisterous than ever. The fish stall was swarmed by buyers and onlookers from the neighbourhood. Then a sixfeet-long giant grouper came into the limelight, literally, right under the incandescent light bulbs of the stall. Weighing 200 catties, the sea creature was still full of life, flapping its tail with strength, Wong recalls. The stall then sent four big men to keep things under control - one of them held the fish tail, two held down its body, and the fourth man, a master wielding a metre-long cleaver, took up the task of finishing off the grouper. He first chopped the fish head, and then the belly. Afterwards, he tackled the side, cutting off the fin - the most expensive part of the fish. Seeing the white meat with a rosy tint under the skin of the oily fish, Wong started to drool, imagining the wonderfully fresh taste of the creature.

那淡淡濃烈的味道，在許多年以後，才再次填滿黃偉成的齒頰。少年時當糧油舖伙計，成年後的黃偉成轉職珠寶行店員，繼續在中環上班。成家立室後，卻遇上金融風暴，遭珠寶行遣散，為了養家，他到快餐店當福食伙頭，即為員工提供福利膳食，練得一手好廚藝，但還是捨不得吃龍躉等貴價餸。

It was not as if Wong had never had a taste of the celebrated giant grouper. When he was 18, a relative of his was invited to the wedding banquet of a rich family but was too busy to go. Wong was told to attend on the relative’s behalf. That evening, he put on a slightly oversized suit he borrowed from someone, complete with a tie. The banquet was held in Garden Restaurant at the City Hall. The young Wong was a little nervous as he arrived at the event, congratulating the family and introducing himself. He was then arranged to sit among a group of business chamber people. Wong cannot recall what was discussed among the guests, but he remembers the food well. “There were nine dishes: suckling pig, roasted chicken, king prawn salad and so on. They were all delicious. There were also apples, celeries and pears. All high-end stuff. But the most memorable was this dish called ‘grouper with Jinhua ham’. I had never tasted anything that delicious in my life!” 113

But it took many years before Wong had the chance to savour giant grouper again. As an adult, his first job was as a salesperson at a jewellery shop in Central. Not long after he got married and became a father, he was made redundant by the jewellery shop due to the economic downturn. As the breadwinner of the family, Wong had to find another job, and so he did. He became a cook at a fast food restaurant and his cooking skills improved day after day. But in those days, expensive food such as giant grouper was too much of a luxury for him.

「啲細路仲細，又要補習，又要交學費，負擔都好重。」黃偉成的太太後來投得石塘咀街市檔，兩夫妻就開始經營菜檔。每朝清晨，他都親自到西區批發市場買貨，然後獨力推著重達五百斤的手推車，回街市一直工作到午後，休息幾小時，就繼續當夜更保安。 114

“I had a big financial burden - our children were still small and we had to pay for their schooling and private tuition,” he says. When his wife won a bid for a stall at Shek Tong Tsui Market, Wong joined her to start a vegetable retail business. Every morning, he went to the Western Wholesale Food Market to source vegetables and pushed a cart, loaded with fresh produce and weighing 500 catties, all the way back to the wet market. In the market, he worked

from morning till early afternoon. After resting for a few hours, he headed for his second job as a night-shift security guard. In recent years, Wong has been able to afford being a little more picky with what he eats, as his children have finished university and business at his vegetable stall has been going well. A fish aficionado, he likes to try out different recipes. A few years ago, he decided to bring his palate down the memory lane by remaking that scrumptious grouper dish he tasted at the wedding banquet.

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直到近年，子女皆大學畢業，菜檔生意也不錯，黃偉成才捨得吃得講究一點。他最喜歡吃魚，不時研究更美味的做法，前幾年有天，他買足材料，嘗試重現回憶中的美味 —— 金華玉柱斑。「我好有心機整㗎！」他在街市相熟檔口買來深海龍躉，切件後，用幼鹽、幼糖、豆粉、玫瑰露撈一撈，醃一會後加點油，然後，將冬菇和已蒸熟的金華火腿片跟龍躉相間排好，再加上紅棗絲、辣椒絲、薑絲一起蒸，蒸熟後香氣四溢，紅棗、玫瑰露帶出龍躉的鮮美，加上經薑油爆香的露筍伴碟，色香味俱全，他十分滿意。「第一次整，第二次食，估唔到整得返咁好味！阿仔仲話『媽咪快啲來食，爸爸整得好好味』。」黃偉成自豪地說。

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“I put a lot of effort in that!” he says. From the owner of a wet market stall he knows well, Wong bought a slice of giant grouper and took it home. He cut the fish into pieces and marinated it with salt, sugar, flour and rose wine. Oil was added later. The fish, mixed with shredded red dates, shredded chilli and shredded ginger, was steamed together with mushrooms and slices of pre-steamed Jinhua ham. After the steaming, the rich aromas of the dish wafted through the air. According to Wong, the red dates and rose wine served to accentuate the freshness of the fish, and there was asparagus sautéed stir-fried with ginger and oil as a side dish, making the whole thing taste and look better. Chef Wong was very pleased with the result.

“The first time I ate the dish, I was a guest at a banquet. The second time, I was the cook. I didn’t expect to be able to remake the taste! My son said to my wife: ‘Come over, mum. Try it. Dad has made a great dish!’” Wong says proudly. 117

買鷹鯧 118

Chinese Pomfrets

黃寶燕(左)、陳鈞量(右) Wong Po-yin (Left) and Kilian Chan (Right) 119

陳鈞量對昔日中環街市的印象有點模糊。他只記得自己仍是小學生時，身穿白色上衣配灰色短褲的校服，跟著身穿彩藍色白領連身裙護士服、燙了一頭沈殿霞式短髮的媽媽，到中環街市買魚。他們小心翼翼地走進地面濕漉漉的街市，後來才發現那水泥地面並不溜滑。

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陳媽媽黃寶燕最喜歡買鷹鯧，因為鷹鯧大條、肉厚、少骨，十分適合小朋友食用。煮法有好幾種：用蒜頭豆豉蒸；或加薑絲、唐芹及金華火腿絲蒸，是為潮式蒸法；也可以慢火煎香。

Kilian Chan’s memories of Central Market are rather blurry. He only remembers tagging along his mother Wong Po-yin to the market to buy fish when he was a primary school student. He always went in school uniform, which consisted of white shirt and grey shorts. His mother was in a blue nurse dress with a white collar. Her short hair was similar to the trademark hairdo of the late actor Lydia Shum. There were times when the mother and son trod the market carefully lest they should slip on the wet floor. But later they realised the concrete floor was not at all slippery. Wong liked to buy Chinese pomfrets at Central Market. This type of fish is big, fleshy and does not have many bones and therefore is child-friendly. She says it can be cooked in several ways: steamed with garlic and fermented soya beans; pan-fried on a slow fire; or prepared in the Chiuchow way, which is to steam the fish together with shredded ginger, Chinese celery and Jinhua ham.

“You had to go to Chung Yeung Gai Si if you wanted to buy good fish,” she says. As with many Central Market shoppers in the 1970s and 80s, Wong calls the market Chung Yeung Gai Si (中央街市, literally translated as “market in the centre”), as opposed to the official Chinese name Chung Wan Gai Si (中環街市). Wong always bought fish from the same stall without shopping around. She liked to tell the fishmonger to pick the best Chinese pomfret of the day for her and gut it. But one should never wash the fish under tap water after it was cut open.

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「要買靚嘅魚一定要去中央街市。」黃寶燕跟很多七、八十年代出入中環街市的人一樣，叫那裏「中央街市」。二戰日軍佔領香港，曾將中環街市易名「中央市場」，而不少人習慣說廣東話的「街市」，於是結合成非官方名稱「中央街市」。停止營運前，泛黃燈箱上紅字的「中央市場」，一直掛在皇后大道中出入口「中環街市」大字招牌下。黃寶燕每次買魚，也是幫襯同一魚檔，而且不揀擇，多數請檔主給她當日最好的鷹鯧。她請魚檔代為劏魚、去除內臟，但劏好後不可用淡水洗淨，「鯧魚係海魚，水喉水有化學物，會令洗過嘅魚冇咁襟放。」有時她一口氣買兩三條，魚檔會在裝魚的膠袋內多放點海水，讓魚保持新鮮，回家後直接放入雪櫃就可以了。

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“Chinese Pomfret is a seawater fish. The chemicals in tap water would wash away its fresh taste,” she explains. Sometimes she bought three Chinese pomfrets in one go and asked the fishmonger to put more seawater in the plastic bag holding the fish, which would go straight into the refrigerator when she went home. Apart from the high-quality products, the excellent location of Central Market was another reason why Wong loved the market. “Chung Yeung Gai Si is the perfect market!” she says. A nurse and technician at a dentist clinic, Wong’s office was at Man Hing Commercial Building, which sits right opposite the market. She was an expert at making dentures. Although dentures at her clinic cost three times more than the average dental clinic, there was often a long waiting list of patients ordering the dentures she made. Business was good at the clinic and Wong often worked overtime. But the caring mother

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「中央街市係完美嘅街市！」她說。除了食材優質，還有位置極佳，尤其對黃寶燕來說。她在中環街市旁的萬興大廈上班，是牙醫診所的護士兼技術員。她造假牙的手藝卓絕，即使一副假牙比一般診所貴兩倍，候診名單仍然大排長龍，診所生意滔滔，以致黃寶燕時常加班。她是好媽媽，不願犧牲為寶貝仔親自採購和下廚的機會，惟有趁午膳時間買餸，速去速回。回家後的洗切準備工夫交予幫傭，自己負責親手埋鑊，「啲蒜頭有冇爆香，煮出來嘅餸就好唔同啦。」

did not want to miss any chance to shop and cook for her son, and so she always shopped at Central Market during lunchtime. Every trip was rushed. The task of preparing the ingredients back home was handed over to her domestic helper. Wong was responsible for cooking. “It makes a big difference to the taste of a dish if the garlic is not properly browned,” says the chef. Some people say things at Central Market were rather pricey, but Wong believes one gets what one pays for. She says that the food sold at Central Market was invariably of good quality, which was important for her as

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有些人說中環街市物價貴，黃寶燕更在乎一分錢一分貨，品質有保證，讓她這位在職媽媽不用費神就能買到好貨色，「啲人好均真、好老實」。也有人說，街市人好惡，黃寶燕也不同意，「人哋啲菜修剪得乾乾淨淨，排得齊齊整整，有啲人手多落手逐條揀，咁啲檔主一定唔高興㗎。魚又係，條條都督吓，咁人哋仲使賣嘅？」

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a working mother with little spare time. Besides, vendors at the market were “fair and honest”. What about claims that people working at the market were a tad intimidating? “Their vegetables were neatly trimmed and clean and arranged nicely. Some shoppers liked to pick the vegetables one by one. Of course, the vendor wouldn’t be happy. And some people liked to poke at every fish at a stall. How was the fishmonger going to sell his stuff with shoppers like that?” she says.

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陳鈞量升上中學後再沒有陪媽媽買餸，但每天上下課時，都會途經變成購物廊的中環街市。購物廊的店舖不再售賣食物，取而代之的是改衣舖、鐘錶店、錢幣郵票社，氣氛較昔日的街市沉寂得多。他期待活化後的中環街市回復熱鬧，屆時再跟媽媽一起漫遊和覓食。

When Kilian Chan started secondary school, he stopped accompanying his mother to the market. But he passed by the market every day on his way to school. The market had become a shopping gallery by then and no longer sold food. Replacing the food stalls were shops selling timepieces, coins and stamps, or tailors offering clothing repair and alteration service. The atmosphere was much quieter than before. Chan hopes the market will return to its hustle and bustle after the revitalisation project, and he will roam around there and look for fresh food with mum again.

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羊頸 Goat Neck 131

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陳寶玉有個慳儉的媽媽，和嘴刁的爸爸。

Bobo Chan had a frugal mother, and a father with a fastidious palate.

「阿爸食魚一定要食新鮮石斑，仲要係游水魚，瞌眼瞓嗰啲都唔要；太大條又唔要，專揀十二至十四両一條嘅就最啱。石斑好貴㗎，幾蚊一條，夠阿媽買幾日餸。所以每次阿爸買餸，我哋就會好開心，因為有好嘢食！」她說。

“Dad only ate fresh groupers, not any other fish. The groupers he bought had to be alive in the market. If they looked less than alive, he wouldn’t buy them. They couldn’t be too big either. Anything weighing between 12 and 14 taels was the best. Groupers were expensive. One fish cost several dollars. That was enough for mum to buy food for several days’ worth of meals back then,” Chan recalls. “So when dad was the one to shop for food, we would be very happy because it meant there would be good food!” Born in the 1950s, Chan grew up in Wan Chai. She lived in a residential apartment block with her parents and younger brother. Her father used to be a landlord in mainland China. After fleeing to Hong Kong, he was left with little money, but the bourgeois in him never died. He remained a bit of a hedonist, with a penchant for gambling. He enjoyed tse fa (a form of gambling involving guessing what character will

be uncovered), double-hand poker (pai gow), Chinese poker and mahjong. If he won some money, he would go to Central Market and buy good food for the family. Occasionally he cooked. “He loved bragging that he was already a chef when he was 10 years old!” Chan says.

陳寶玉生於五十年代，自小跟父母和弟弟住在灣仔道一個洋樓單位。她的爸爸逃難來港前是地主，來港後即使生活拮据，仍然維持一派少爺性格，好賭愛玩。字花、牌九、十三張、打麻雀、跑馬仔樣樣好，贏了錢就到中環街市買好餸回家，偶然親自下廚，一顯身手，「佢成日牙擦擦話自己十歲就做伙頭大將軍！」

Chan’s mother, on the contrary, never shopped at Central Market. Hardworking and thrifty, she usually bought food at Bowrington Road Market near home. At times she went a bit further to Lockhart Road Market or Wan Chai Market, where she could find good bargains. When making winter melon soup, a popular dish among the Cantonese, Mrs Chan simply added Chinese pickles to enhance the flavour. Mr Chan, on the other hand, was more fussy. He liked to add frog meat, red beans and dried orange peel to the soup. “In those days, we didn’t get to eat meat often. Stewed mushrooms were a luxury, and it was a big deal to have chicken and roasted pork during traditional festivals.” 133

勤奮節儉的陳媽媽則從不到中環街市買餸，只到屋企附近的鵝頸橋街市，或遠一點的駱克道街市，或更遠一點的灣仔街市，都是物價較為便宜的街市。以煲冬瓜湯來說，陳媽媽會簡單地配鹹菜來煮，爸爸講究得多，用上田雞、紅豆、果皮來熬，「嗰個年代唔係經常有肉食㗎，平日食燜冬菇已經算奢侈，做節有雞、燒肉係不得了咁大件事。」

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At the end of the 1960s, Chan finished school and started to work. Sometimes her father asked her to buy some good food from Central Market. At that time, Chan worked in the accounting department of a restaurant located on the top floor of China Building on Queen’s Road Central. She was good at using the abacus and Suzhou numerals. In the morning, she counted the value of food ingredients delivered to the office. At noon, she went to the restaurant to calculate the revenue of the day. In the afternoon when things slowed down, the men in the office usually gathered around to gamble, while she liked going shopping with her female colleagues.

六十年代末，陳寶玉出身了，爸爸間中交帶她到中環街市買好餸返屋企。那時，她在皇后大道中華人行頂層的大華飯店會計部上班，精通打算盤、寫花碼。早上為交貨來的食材算帳；中午到酒樓忙午市埋數；午後清閒時，男同事多數躲在一角賭錢，她就跟女同事去逛街市。午後的中環街市較淡靜，不少檔口都有人躺在尼龍馬閘椅上午睡。穿著連身裙、腳踏矮踭皮鞋的陳寶玉不會亂逛，只會幫襯相熟的檔口，即大華飯店的供應商。「唔會唔收錢，會照俾靚貨，最緊要係一定唔會呃我。我唔識買㗎，淨係識同牛肉檔啲人講啲肉用來點煮，譬如用來炒嘅，或者同榨菜一齊蒸嘅，咁佢就會自動俾啱嘅部位我。」

In the afternoon when things slowed down at Central Market, many people who worked there liked to lie on a foldable nylon chair for a siesta. Usually clad in a full-length dress and flat leather shoes, Chan only shopped at stalls she knew well, and by that she meant her restaurant’s suppliers. “They would not give me free stuff but always picked the best things for me. Most importantly, they never ripped me off,” she says. “I wasn’t a clever shopper. All I did was to tell the beef stall how I was going to cook the meat. When I said I was going to fry it or steam it with pickled vegetables, they knew what to give me.” Winter was a time one looked forward to. When the temperature went down, Chan’s father would tell Chan to buy some goat meat. She usually placed an order for a goat’s neck with the beef stall in Central Market.

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冬天最令人期待。每當天氣轉涼，爸爸就著陳寶玉留意黑草羊上市時機，跟牛肉檔預訂一條羊頸，「羊頸好珍貴，一隻羊得嗰一條頸，一定要預早幾日訂。我爸唔食羊腩，因為羊腩多肥膏，買返來一燜就會縮水；羊頸冇咁多油脂，但又係經常郁動嘅部份，同羊腩一樣咁淋，而唔會縮水。無論用來煲羊肉湯，或燜羊頸煲，都非常美味。」她笑言，每年一度到牛肉檔訂羊頸，檔主都會讚她識食。

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“The goat neck is quite precious. There is only one neck from one goat. You had to order a few days in advance. My dad didn’t like the goat belly because of the excessive fat. The belly shrinks a lot when stewed, but not the neck. And although the goat neck doesn’t have as much grease, it is just as tender as the belly because goats move their neck a lot. Whether it is used for goat meat soup or stewed, it is always delicious,” Chan explains. She adds that every year when she ordered a goat neck at her favourite beef stall, the stall owner invariably praised her for her refined taste. Not every meat stall was honest though. There were some shops which cheated shoppers by retailing sheep meat as lamb. “Lamb has a very strong pastoral flavour, but not goat meat. I didn’t know how to tell the difference. In the past, there was no Consumer Council in Hong Kong. If you got cheated by a stall, all you could do was to never buy from them again.”

她說，有些不老實的肉檔會把綿羊當草羊賣，「綿羊好騷㗎！草羊就唔會。但我唔識分㗎嘛，以前又未有消委會，萬一俾人呃咗，最多就以後唔幫襯嗰檔囉。」 1975年陳寶玉出嫁，婚後跟丈夫住在大角嘴，適逢華人行清拆重建，大華飯店遣散員工，此後她就很少再到中環一帶。這些年來，熱愛下廚的她已成為廚藝高手，最愛逛街市，常備買餸車，家中有兩個巨型雪櫃儲存食材。

After getting married in 1975, Chan moved to Tai Kok Tsui with her husband. Incidentally China Building was demolished and the top-floor restaurant she worked at had to make redundant its employees. Since then, Chan rarely stepped foot in Central. Over the years, she went from being someone who enjoyed cooking to being a great cook. Visiting food markets is her favourite pastime and she always shops with a trolley. At home, she has two big fridges keeping a variety of food and ingredients.

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繼承了媽媽的節儉和爸爸的嘴刁，陳寶玉喜歡大批買入優質凍肉，再以巧手炮製出媲美鮮肉的佳餚；逛街市時遇上比石斑更矜貴的石崇魚，她也會大批購入，回家後立即起骨、拆肉、急凍，供日後分批煲湯。至於羊肉湯，也成為了家傳食譜，她的兒媳都曉得：「識食，一定食羊頸，好味過羊腩！」

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Taking after her frugal mother and gourmet father, Chan often buys a large amount of high-quality frozen meat, which she uses to make all kinds of delicious dishes. When she sees scorpionfishes, which are pricier than groupers, she also snaps up many of them in one go. Back home, she will debone the fishes, cut them into pieces, freeze the whole thing and later take a few pieces on each go to make soup. As for her goat meat soup, it has become a staple dish in her family. Now Chan’s sons and daughters-in-law like to repeat her mantra: “The one who knows how to eat goes for the goat neck. It tastes better than the lamb belly!”

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演變

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Evolution

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第二代街市建築 Secondgeneration Market Building 144

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中環街市所在地——北面德輔道中、南迎皇后大道中、西鄰租庇利街、東臨域多利皇后街的地皮 —— 早於香港開埠初期，已作市集之用，是一個向不同階層市民開放，讓小商戶創業的地方。這段歷史甚至比前述道路的開闢及命名更早。一八四二年五月出版的《中國之友和香港憲報》（The Friend of China, and Hongkong Gazette）頭版刊登中環街市開幕的消息，內文詳述街市之規劃有序，井然有條，分門別類地劃分售賣肉類、蔬果、家禽、鹹魚、鮮魚，更設有磅房和找換店，標榜為居民帶來便利。同年八月，清政府跟英國正式簽署《南京條約》，香港遂成為一個港口城市。

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In the early days of colonial Hong Kong, the area surrounding Central Market (Des Voeux Road Central to the north, Queen’s Road Central to the south, Jubilee Street to the West, and Queen Victoria Street to the east) was home to a street market. It was an area opened to all walks of life, and where small businesses thrived. The street market was even older than the four said streets and roads. When it was opened in 1842, the market made the front page of the May issue of The Friend of China, and Hong Kong Gazette. Inside there was an article describing how the market was carefully laid out and divided into different sections: meat, vegetables and fruits, poultry, salted fish and fresh fish. There were even weighing rooms and a money changer’s house to facilitate shoppers’ visits.

Three months later, the Qing court signed the Treaty of Nanjing with Britain. That marked the genesis of the Hong Kong as a port city. Half a century later in 1895, a sheltered food market, which can be described as the secondgeneration Central Market, sprang into being.

Ian Tan, a Singapore native and a PhD student researching architecture at the University of Hong Kong, specialises in the architecture of food markets. Based on some old photos he obtained from the National Archives in the UK and the Library of Congress in the US, Tan gathers that the second-generation Central Market consisted of a pair of two-storey buildings that had exactly the same design and layout. Both the front and rear of the buildings featured an archway and columns, complete with a pediment at the top. The two elongated buildings were connected by a 20-foot-wide covered corridor and a three-storey bell tower, which housed the living quarters of market inspectors and their office. According to Tan, these

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半世紀後，第二代中環街市於一八九五年落成。來自新加坡的香港大學建築系博士生陳昱宏專門研究街市建築，他根據在英國國家檔案館及美國國家圖書館找到的舊照片指出，第二代中環街市由兩座格局一模一樣的兩層建築構成，前後立面都是對稱拱門及廊柱，上方頂著三角形楣飾；連著兩座長條形建築物的，是廿呎闊的有蓋中央走廊，以及三層高的鐘樓，為駐街市督察的宿舍和辦公室。他指這些設計典型的殖民地風格，外觀是流行於西方的新古典主義建築，同時亦因地制宜，於屋頂舖設嶺南常見的筒瓦和板瓦。

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buildings had a typical colonial design and were fashioned in neoclassical style, which was popular in the West at the time the market was built. The architect of the twin buildings also adapted to the local culture by covering the roof with barrel tiles and flat roof tiles, elements that were commonly used in architecture in southern China. One thing about the second-generation market that caught Tan’s eye was the steel and iron structure sitting on the granite foundation and hidden behind the walls. Its raison d’être was to support the entire building, and it embodied the public work authority’s vision to maintain the hygiene of the market. A photograph taken at the time when the building was newly completed clearly shows the interior:

the design was clean and simple with almost no decoration, a stark contrast to the exterior. Columns made of cast iron and steel beams served to prop up the folded metal ceiling. The trusses of the food stalls were also made of metal. The use of metal was an idea stemming from royal engineer Osbert Chadwick in a report published in 1882, 13 years before the second-generation market was completed, Tan says. “Metal is waterproof, fireproof and, by extension, germ-resistant.” Besides, compared with other construction materials such as rock and wood, metal is less chunky and easier to clean, and can promote air circulation in and outside a building. Subsequently, a food market design based on Chadwick’s suggestion was drafted. Nevertheless, it was not

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最吸引陳昱宏注意的，是花崗岩地基之上、磚牆之內，是支撐著整座建築物的鋼鐵結構，以及背後出於衞生防疫的考慮。由一張街市新落成時拍攝的室內照片可見，街市室內陳設極其簡潔，幾乎沒有裝飾，跟外牆形成強烈對比。鑄鐵造的柱、鋼造的樑撐起摺疊金屬天花板；攤檔桁架同樣是金屬製的。陳昱宏指出，金屬的應用乃英國衞生工程專家翟維克(Osbert Chadwick) 於一八八二年發表的報告中提出的建議，「金屬防水、防火，引伸嘅想像係亦防菌。」相比石或木等建材，金屬體積較小，更便於清潔，也更有利於建築物內外的空氣流通。

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adopted because government funds had to be reallocated to build the Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir Dam, which was at the time an urgent project. But Chadwick’s effort was not wasted. In 1890, then surveyor-general Samuel Brown incorporated the British engineer’s idea of using metal in a new market design. In 1894, one year before the secondgeneration Central Market came into being, Town Market (now more commonly known as Lau Pa Sat) was completed in Singapore. The market, which is today a food court, was also built using metal for the sake of hygiene. A harbour city like Hong Kong,

Singapore was hit by a cholera epidemic in the late 19th century, whereas in Hong Kong, there was a major outbreak of bubonic plague. The British colonial governments in Hong Kong and Singapore then set out to improve the hygiene of food markets. That called for picking the right building materials and properly implementing related policies.

©Library of Congress 老巴剎 Town Market (now known as Lau Pa Sat)

In May 1895, newspapers in Hong Kong ran reports on the opening of the second-generation Central Market. There were both criticism and appreciation of the project. Critics were not happy that the masonry facade of the complex covered the iron structure, but they also lauded the hygiene of the 151

雖然後來因應翟維克建議而催生的設計，因經費被撥調建造更為迫切的大潭水壩而告吹，至一八九○年量地官 Samuel Brown 重新設計第二代中環街市時，仍然遵從以金屬為主的建議。陳昱宏指出，位於新加坡、比中環街市早一年於一八九四年落成的老巴剎，當時是街市，現為熟食中心，設計上也是出於衞生考量，以鑄鐵為結構。新加坡跟香港同樣是港口城市，新加坡在十九世紀末曾爆發霍亂，香港則受鼠疫所困，英國殖民地政府因此提出相若的對策，包括改善街市的衞生，不只由建築物的設計和材料做起，也用心於管理政策的落實。 © The National Archives 1895年中環街市地面的檔攤 Ground Floor Retail Stalls in Central Market, 1895 152

market, saying it was bright and airy with no strange smell, and that all windows could be easily opened and closed. People also praised the way the food stalls were categorised and laid out to keep the market clean and odour-free. The chicken stalls, for example, were placed in an area where running water was easily accessible so that chicken blood could be drained away quickly. Every stall carried a specific number, and the name of the stall owner was displayed in both Chinese and English. All meat stalls were required to state the source of their meat and that they had been approved by food market inspectors.

“We may imagine the market to be very chaotic in the old days, when in fact it was very well organised, and that was more than 100 years ago,” Tan says. “Many ideas we consider ‘modern’ today actually date back to a long time ago. You can imagine that government officials in those days wanted to help the locals live a better, more decent life.”

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一八九五年五月報章報導第二代中環街市開幕消息，一方面抨擊磚石立面遮蓋了鐵結構設計，同時也盛讚街市內的衞生情況，採光充足，通風良好，完全沒有異味，所有窗戶都可按使用者需要而開關。攤檔的分類和布局同樣按氣味和潔淨度而安排，例如雞檔就被安排到便於取用清水的位置，以便洗走屠宰後的雞血。此外，每個檔口都有編碼，並以中英雙語展示檔主姓名；所有肉檔都必須列明肉品來源，以及已獲街市督察認可。「我哋想像中嘅歷史情景可能都係好混亂嘅，但其實百幾年前，已經組織得非常好。」陳昱宏讚嘆地說：「好多我哋以為係『現代』嘅idea，原來係歷史悠久。

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By the 1930s, the second-generation market was unable to cope with growing local demand. It was then demolished and a Bauhaus-style building was constructed on the same spot. That is the third-generation market building we see today. But Tan underscores that the second-generation market had laid the foundation for how its successor should be managed, and it still serves as a good reference for contemporary architecture.

可以想像，當時嘅官僚係有心想幫本地人過更好、更文明嘅生活。」他指出，雖然第二代中環街市至一九三○年代不敷應用而被拆卸、改建成現存的中環街市，但前者無疑奠定了後者的管理方針，值得今人借鏡。 155

羅雅寧(左)、雷子興(右) Katty Law (Left) and Anthony Lui (Right) 156

時間囊

Time Capsule 157

雷子興記憶中的中環街市，殘破不堪。那是二○一五年，仍是大學生的他，是中環街市關注組的一員。為了解街市最新狀況，在某個夏日午後，他跟另一名成員懇切央求街市僅有的一名保安，那個善良的保安不忍心，就讓他們進入封閉多時的中環街市。空氣中凝住一股悶悶的噏味。室內環境幽暗，偌大的窗戶因久未清洗，污漬遮掩了日光。天花板多處剝落、滲水、滴水，地面很濕，地上有鴿屍，嚇了他一跳。他趕緊執行任務，重點拍攝不同功能與形狀的檔口，地下層的水產檔魚缸大多已破裂，一樓豬肉檔卻仍然掛著掛鉤。最令他讚嘆的是那水磨石樓梯，扶手的弧度極其優美，美得他忘了不安。 158

From what Anthony Lui remembers, Central Market was a dilapidated building. It was the summer of 2015. He was still a university student, and a member of Central Market Concern Group to boot. Hoping to find out the latest condition of the market, he and another fellow member of the concern group turned up outside the market building one summer afternoon that year. They begged the sole security guard of the building to let them in. Not wanting to leave the duo disappointed, the kind guard let them get into the market, which had remained closed for some years.

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羅雅寧笑說，進入如同時間囊的荒廢街市，感動得毛管戙。她是關注組的召集人，二○○九年跟成員們爭取將街市的古蹟評級由三級調高至一級，於是向古蹟辦申請進入街市視察，同行的建築師教會她欣賞當中的細節，令她印象深刻。她很喜歡那成排成列的混凝土檔口，結構良好，接口位的圓角造工細膩而精確；也欣賞那高高的樓底，吊著簡單的光管和吊扇；看著頂層職員宿舍的壁爐，她想像百多年前住在那裏的官員坐在旁邊取暖。

Inside the market, it was dark and there was a stale smell in the air. The big windows, which had not been cleaned for a long while, was covered in dust and dirt that blocked the natural light from outside. Various parts of the ceiling were peeled off, had wet stains or were dripping. The floor was wet and some dead pigeons were lying around. Lui was taken aback by the sight. He tried to be quick with his task of the day, focusing on taking pictures of stalls with different functions and shapes. Most of the fish tanks on the ground floor had cracks; on the first floor, some meat hooks were still hanging at the pork stalls. What stood out was the terrazzo staircase, the curve of whose handrail was so graceful that Lui almost forgot the disturbing sight a minute ago. For Katty Law, convenor of Central Market Concern Group, entering the deserted market was like going into a time capsule. It was a moving experience that gave her goosebumps. In 2009, Law and other group members sought to have Central Market’s status

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他們異口同聲表示，除了設計與工藝的優美和精良值得保留，更重要的是中環街市代表的精神 —— 一個容許眾多小商戶同時營生的空間，即使在地價高昂的市中心，也能以相宜租金，在現成檔口裏小本經營，不必費心陳設，只需入貨，即可開檔。

elevated from being a grade three historic building to grade one. So they sought permission from the Antiquities and Monuments Office to enter the market for inspection. During the visit, she was in particular impressed by the accompanying architects who told her what architectural details to pay attention to. She liked the wellstructured stalls made of concrete, which formed an orderly row. The rounded corners of the stalls were a work of fine craftsmanship. She also admired the high ceiling, which was installed with simple fluorescent lighting fixtures and ceiling fans. Seeing the fireplace in the top-floor staff living quarters, she imagined a group of government officials sitting around to keep warm in winter more than a century ago.

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「我哋嘅城市發展一直都只係淘汰、清除小商戶。舊嘅拆拆拆，小販清清清。如果街上只有商廈和豪宅，冇空間俾普通人生存㗎喎」，羅雅寧說：「中環人都要食飯㗎，中環人都要買餸㗎，最緊要係留空間俾我哋有得選擇，有alternatives。」她舉例說，自己最喜歡到街市買雞蛋。她喜歡街市的蛋都是常溫、放在籃子或紙皮蛋盒裏，而且可以買少量；相對於超級市場的雞蛋總是放在雪櫃內，在膠盒內，冷冰冰，至少半打才有交易。

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Both Law and Lui say the conservation value of Central Market lies not only in the fine design and craftsmanship but, more importantly, in the resilient spirit it embodies. It was a space where a plethora of small businesses survived and thrived. Located in the heart of the city centre where land prices were sky high, the stall owners paid a relatively low rent and managed to run their small business. They focused on sourcing the right goods. The appearance of their stalls was never a concern. “The way our city develops is always about getting rid of small businesses. Old shops have to be demolished and street hawkers removed. A city with only commercial buildings and upmarket residential complexes leaves no room for ordinary people to make a living,” Law says. “People in Central also need to eat out and do food shopping! It is important that we have options and alternatives.”

By way of example, Law likes buying eggs from wet markets because they are stored in room temperature and held in baskets or paper egg cartons. Besides, one can choose how many eggs to buy. Eggs in supermarkets, however, are all kept in refrigerators, and some of them are packed in plastic containers. Shoppers need to buy at least half a dozen each time. For Lui, wet markets are places that connect people from all walks of life through food. “Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many people have taken to cooking at home. More and more people now give importance to locally grown ingredients. Some people even make their own bagels and cakes and sell them via Instagram. We need more outlets that allow us to share our personal experience and small achievements. Central Market can do just that,” he says.

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雷子興補充，街市也是一個對所有人開放，而且以食物連結人的地方，「疫情後越來越多朋友學識煮飯，多咗人關心本地食材，亦有朋友自製貝果同蛋糕，放上 Instagram賣。其實我哋好需要一啲outlet去俾大家分享呢啲生活經驗同成果，中環街市係一個好適合嘅地方。」

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Law points out that some local markets may be age-old, but they can also be refreshing places. It all depends on how they operate and how they are managed. When she visited South Melbourne Market in Australia, she was impressed by the meticulous attention that workers gave in handling food waste, recycling different materials, and collecting and reusing rainwater. The 150-year-old market is home to a diversity of fresh ingredients and cooked food. There are also secondhand bookshops and hair salons. These are the reasons why, despite its age, that market remains a lively place relished by locals and tourists.

“An attractive market doesn’t have to be upmarket. It can also be down-to-earth. Most importantly, there are no nagging workers telling you not to do this and not to do that. People should have the freedom to roam around.” What kind of place she reckons the revitalised Central Market will be? With a smile, Law says: “Let’s see.”

羅雅寧進一步說，街市是一個可以很舊，也可以很新的地方，視乎如何經營與管理。她念念不忘到南墨爾本市場跟管理人員遊覽的經歷，見識到當地管理者由廚餘處理、資源回收，到雨水收集再利用，皆一絲不苟，讓那個超過一百五十年歷史的街市歷久常新。市場內除了有各式新鮮食材、熟食，更有二手書店和理髮廳，是遊客和當地人都喜愛的地方，「一個街市有魅力唔一定要高檔，可以down to earth，最緊要唔會有管理員不停話呢樣唔得、嗰樣唔得，俾啲自由自主吖。」至於新中環街市，她微笑說：「拭目以待。」

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水族館 166

Aquarium

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區俊豪最喜歡吃海鮮，最常光顧楊屋道街市。「我叫佢做『水族館』，因為地下全層賣海鮮，由淡水到鹹水到深海，乜奇奇怪怪嘅嘢都有，譬如香港長腳蟹啦、西班牙藍蟹啦，仲識郁㗎喎！真係水族館都見唔到咁多嘢啦！」他笑說。他也喜歡在「水族館」買本地新鮮牛肉，皆因很多刁鑽部位都能買到：鮮嫩爽滑的牛頸脊、肉味濃郁的封門柳、爽而不韌的牛胸油—— 他用手指劃自己的身體部位，示意那些美味的牛肉的所在位置，「唔係行埋去就買到㗎，一隻牛得嗰少少，要早一日訂！」對這位建築師而言，街市是個新奇有趣的地方，「早排我第一次見到花生苗，好得意，好似放大咗五六倍嘅芽菜咁嘅樣」。

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Wilfred Au is a seafood aficionado. His favourite wet market is the one at Yeung Uk Road in Tsuen Wan. “I call it ‘the aquarium’ because the entire ground floor is dedicated to seafood. You can find all sorts of seafood there, from river fish to saltwater fish to things from the deep sea. There are spider crabs from Hong Kong and blue crabs from Spain, and they are fresh and alive! Not even a real aquarium has that many types of seafood!” He also likes to source local fresh beef from "the aquarium", where one can find all manner of beef cuts - from the

obvious to the little-known. Beef neck bones are tender and smooth, hanger steak is rich in taste, and brisket fat is scrumptious but not greasy, Au says, pointing at different parts of his body to indicate the locations of the beef cuts. “And you can’t just walk in to get what you want. Each head of cattle has only so many beef parts. You need to reserve a day in advance.” As an architect, Au finds wet markets to be immensely interesting places. “A while ago I saw peanut sprouts for the first time [in a wet market]. They looked funny, like sprouts enlarged five to six times!”

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自二○○九年起，他跟街市的關係越來越密切。《2009 – 10 施政報告》將中環街市剔出勾地表，交由市區重建局全面保育和活化，區俊豪就負責這個項目，由公眾諮詢、制定復修及活化方案、至監督工程進展等，由始至今都參與其中。他也由高級經理漸漸晉升成為市建局主管規劃及設計的總監。在荃灣區長大的他，第一次走進中環街市就是施政報告後，當時剩下二樓的二十四小時通道、中環購物廊及公廁仍開放予公眾，地下及一樓則已塵封六年，地上滿是鴿屍和老鼠，天花多處批盪整片掉落，如布幔般垂墜，像極裝置藝術，「嗰度好適合拍鎗戰，ambience 好恐怖！好似切爾諾貝爾咁，周圍其他所有嘢都跟住時間變，只有嗰度freeze咗，入面冇晒生氣」。

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Since 2009, local wet markets have become increasingly familiar to Au. In the Hong Kong government’s 200910 Policy Address, Central Market was removed from the List of Sites for Sale by Application and handed over to the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) for conservation and revitalisation. Au is the one taking charge of the project. The scope of his work includes public consultation, formulation of design specifications, tendering, and supervision of progress. He has been involved in the project from day one. Over the years, his career has also seen progress - from Senior Manager, he was promoted to Director (Planning & Design) of the URA. Au grew up in Tuen Wan. The first time he stepped foot in Central Market was shortly after the 2009-10 Policy Address. At the time, the only area opened to

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他說，當時中環街市室內非常幽暗，僅餘中庭較為光猛，卻突兀地放置了一間機電房；貫穿每一層的風槽多處塌下，搖搖欲墜，而即使四周通風窗沒有密封，室內空氣依然膠著不動，教人屏息。「大致上嘅感覺就係殘殘舊舊」，他說。但細想之下，就不禁讚嘆昔日設計之厲害，聰明而不花巧，功能性強，在沒有冷氣的年代，高樓底、通風窗加上中庭，能扯海風進室內，保持空氣流通；同時以闊大的出簷來擋雨，讓街市在打風落雨時，依然能如常運作。區俊豪的評論呼應了一九三九年四月十七日出版的《工商日報》一則報道。當時中環街市尚未開幕，記者問准地盤總管，進到街市內部參觀。其中，記者尤其讚

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賞中庭的設計：「中部是一個很寬大的『通天』，那個通天所虛耗的地方，雖然很多，但光綫非常好，空氣也十分流通，如果拿牠來和以前日間要開電燈，進去時空間窒息令人作悶的舊街市相比較，無疑的，充分證明近代建築技術的進步了。」不過，至六、七十年代，中環成為核心商業區，高樓大廈林立，中環街市不再臨海，通風的設計漸漸失效，只有天台和中庭能感受到自然海風，卻扯不進室內。區俊豪指出，這是何以後來街市內每一層都加裝了風槽與風機，以機械和電力確保空氣流通。正因如此，至活化工程時，團隊決定除中庭外，以空調系統解決室內環境問題，並於地下預留趟門設計，於秋冬天可以打開，減少開啟空調的需要。

public was the passageway on the second floor, which was accessible 24 hours a day, the shopping gallery and the public toilet. The ground floor and the first floor of the building had been closed for six years. Inside there were rats and dead pigeons. Big chunks of ceiling plaster hung down like a curtain. If was as if you were looking at a piece of installation art. “It was a perfect film location for shooting gunfight scenes. The ambience was eerie! It was as though you were in Chernobyl - everything else around changed with time, but in there, time was frozen. There was no sign of life.” According to Au, in those days the inside of Central Market was very dark. The only spot with light was the atrium, but an electrical and mechanical room was incongruously installed there. Various parts of the air ducts that ran

through all floors were on the verge of collapsing and dangling in the air. The ventilation windows were not sealed, but the air inside was stale and stuffy. “On the whole it was in a dilapidated state,” Au remarks. But he can’t help marvelling at the building’s great design of yesterday - it was clever, unpretentious and functional. In the days before air-conditioning, the high ceiling, the ventilation windows and the atrium played an important role in pulling sea breeze into the building and maintaining the airflow. Au also points out that the big awnings served to minimise the impact of rain, so that when the city was hit by heavy rain or a typhoon, the market could continue to operate as usual. Au’s comment echoes a report published in Kung Sheung Daily News on 17 April

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更大的挑戰在於建築物料日久失修，損耗嚴重。這跟中環街市採用鋼筋混凝土為建築物料有很大關係。「補金字塔係唔難㗎，因為的一種物料，就係石頭。但RC （reinforced concrete，即鋼筋混凝土）就難得多」，他解釋，鋼筋混凝土在建造時的一九三 ○年代是尖端科技，混凝土硬度大、耐壓度高，但拉力弱，配合拉力強的鋼筋，二者結合就十分實淨。而且混凝土可保護鋼筋，防水又防火。可是，當混凝土有裂痕，滲水至鋼筋，鋼筋生鏽、膨漲，並撐爆包裹鋼筋的混凝土，唯一可行的復修方法就是整組換新——即鑿開混凝土，剪斷鋼筋，再駁上新鋼筋，注入和鋪上新的混凝土，「所以保育RC唔係保原型，唔會話『嗰條鐵好緊要』、『嗰嚿石

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1939, not long before the second edition of Central Market’s opening. Reporters were allowed to get a preview of the market. One of them, who presumably wrote the Kung Sheung article, praised the atrium design “There is a spacious atrium in the middle part. It amounts to a waste of much space, but the area is well-lit and airy. Compared with old wet markets that require artificial lighting even in daytime and which make one feel suffocated, [Central Market] no doubt is a mark of progress in architectural design.” In the 1960s and 1970s, however, the airflow effect in Central Market faded as Central continued to grow as a core business centre, with more and more high-rise buildings coming into being and reclamation narrowing the harbour. The sea breeze could still be felt on the

rooftop and in the atrium, but it could hardly be pulled into other parts of the market. Au said that was why every floor of the market was later fitted with air ducts and ventilators to maintain air circulation. In the revitalisation project, it was decided that an airtight model would be applied to the inside of the market, meaning air-conditioning is to replace natural ventilation throughout. The bigger challenge, however, was that the building was terribly worn-out and had been in bad repair for a long time. That had much to do with the reinforced concrete used to build the market. “If we are to repair the pyramids in Egypt, it wouldn’t be difficult because they are made of stones. But reinforced concrete is tricky.” According to Au, reinforced concrete was the product of cutting-edge technology in the

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屎好重要』，唔係咁做，而係尊重原技術進行復修同貫徹功能主導設計的精神，以及跟返整個柱網風格」，他說。整幢中環街市在完成保育工程後，超過六成地方鋼筋混凝土已更換復修成新的。他說，情況比想像中好，他原以為需更換八成，「一路斟探時都諗，咁爛仲執唔執到？感恩啲column仲用得，復修上易啲。」他又說：「坊間有種誤解，話市建局拆樓多過起樓，但我哋嘅底線係必須符合《建築物條例》。」街市中人見人愛的主樓梯，在加裝金屬扶手後，惹來不少批評，區俊豪也說那是必需的，「盲人需要扶手上落樓梯，我哋都有諗過屋宇署可唔可以exempt，但最大問題始終係what if嘅問題，有事邊個負責？」

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1939 年4月19日工商日報 Kung Sheung Daily News on 17 April

1930s when Central Market was built. Concrete is hard and highly resistant to pressure, but it has a low tensile strength, which is compensated by the inclusion of steel reinforcement which has a higher tensile strength. Concrete in turn can protect the reinforcement. The combination makes the entire material all the more solid. Additional advantages of reinforced concrete are that it is waterproof and fireproof. Nonetheless, when there are cracks in concrete and water seeps into the steel reinforcement, the latter will get rusty and expand, eventually bursting through the concrete. The only solution is to renew the whole thing. That involves cutting open the concrete, cutting off the steel reinforcement, replacing it with new reinforcement, and paving new concrete. “Conserving a reinforced concrete building is not

about conserving only the material. We don’t say ‘oh, this piece of steel or that piece of concrete is very important’. It’s not about that. It’s about the construction technology, functions and conserving the structural grid with beams and columns.” Through the revitalisation work, more than 60 percent of the reinforced concrete of the Central Market building has been renewed. Au says that is better than expected as it was previously estimated 80 percent of the material had to be replaced. “When we inspected the site, we saw how worn-out things were and wondered if they could be restored. Fortunately the columns could be preserved. That made the repair work easier.” Au adds “Many people have the misconception that the URA has

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區俊豪認為，理想的保育和活化，視乎公眾是否欣賞。他認為，像中環街市這樣的劃時代設計，經活化後，能夠追上人們新的需要，延續其價值，並將影響力擴展，帶動周邊環境營造其特別的個性，而演變卻不是一朝一夕立竿見影，往往需等上數年才漸見成效。他相信，中環街市的活化是否成功，還看更遙遠的未來，人們如何利用這個空間。

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demolished more buildings than it has built new ones. But we have a bottom line, which is to comply with the Buildings Ordinance. If a design does not have enough concrete, can we possibly ask the Buildings Department to relax the rules? Who would bear the responsibility in case of an accident?” He also defends the decision to add metal handrails to the much-loved grand staircase of Central Market. “Visually impaired people need the handrails to go up and down the staircase. We did wonder if the Buildings Department could make an exemption, but again the big question is: if something happens, who would bear the responsibility?”

Au believes the ideal kind of conservation and revitalisation is about preserving the original intent of a design and bringing changes to the surrounding environment. Yet changes do not come overnight but can take several years to happen. Whether the Central Market revitalisation project is successful will depend on how people use the space. The answer will emerge in the distant future, he says.

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待續

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To be continued…

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未來街市 184

A Lively Space

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蔡宏興每個星期都會到中環街市逛逛。他喜歡中環街市的光線──穿透中庭和偌大窗戶的日光，千變萬化，光影隨日照游動，氣氛亦隨之轉換，是人造光源所不能替代的。這位敏銳的建築師尤其喜愛街市的主樓梯，坦言對中環街市的第一個印象，就是來自何藩在梯間拍攝的照片。

中環街市於一九九○年被列為三級歷史建築，自二○○三年關閉後，去留存廢爭議不斷，保育方案推倒重來，至二○一七年市建局才動工復修。二○二○年市建局就委聘營運機構展開招標程序，最終由華懋集團奪得十年營運權；二○二一年三月簽訂合約，華懋旋即密鑼緊鼓埋班裝潢，務求於同年第三季首階段對外開放。

作為華懋集團執行董事兼行政總裁，他不時獨遊中環街市，方便審視細節，例如地盤是雜亂還是整齊？用過的工具有沒有收好？手工是否細緻？正在上第二層油漆嗎？第一層油漆已乾透了嗎？

「時間上好緊迫，但冇諗過咁緊迫！」他笑著說。同事們連月趕工，全力以赴，他既感動又感激，「睇得出大家唔只係當係一份工，而係有理念，希望盡快俾市民大眾享用。」

「細微位會睇得出大家有冇心機。要掌握進度，唔可以只睇報告，一定要到現場。」他說。

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For quite some time, Donald Choi has paid weekly visits to Central Market. The architect loves the lighting there. The natural light that streams through the atrium and the big windows is everchanging. Shadows change throughout the day as the sun moves, and so does the ambience. That is not something artificial lighting can achieve. The grand staircase of the market is Choi’s favourite feature. He got his first impression of Central Market when he came across some photos of the staircase taken by the late photographer Ho Fan. During the revitalisation of Central Market, Choi, CEO, and executive director of Chinachem Group, usually visited the market alone. This way, he could inspect things more thoroughly. Was the site messy or neat? Were tools put away properly after use? How was the quality of the handwork? Was the

first coat of paint completely dry when the second coat was applied? All these were things which Choi wanted to check. “The small details are where you can tell how much effort has been put in. And to check the progress, you don’t just read reports. It’s important to visit the site in person,” he explains. In 1990, Central Market was listed as a Grade 3 historic building. Since its closure in 2003, there had been many debates on whether to preserve or demolish it. Conservation plans were formulated and then scrapped. In 2017, a preservation and revitalisation project headed by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) kicked off. Last year, the URA launched a bidding process to select a future operator of the building. A 10year operation contract was awarded to

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他指出，中環街市自開埠以來一直是一個市集，乃是凝聚市民的地方，也是中環難得的公共空間，未來必定會保留這些用途：「早上可以來耍太極，或輕鬆睇報紙飲茶；中午時學生或辦公室返工嘅人，可以帶午餐來敍一敍；夜晚年輕人亦可以來打 band。」由早到晚，中環街市都歡迎公眾到訪，不必消費，亦可停留。大原則是使用者之間能夠互相尊重。無論拉小提琴或唱大戲，將來都可以申請在中環街市內表演，「只要唔滋擾到其他人，就可以自由發揮。」

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Chinachem. As soon as an agreement was signed in March 2021, Chinachem began renovating Central Market, with the aim of reopening it in the third quarter of the year. “Obviously the timeline is very tight, but I didn’t expect it to be so tight!” Choi says with a grin. He is grateful to his team for working relentlessly for months in order to meet the deadline. Their commitment, he says, is moving. “They are not merely doing a job, but they have a sense of mission, which is to open the market to the public as soon as possible,” he remarks.

Since Hong Kong’s genesis as a British colony, the site where Central Market is located has always been a public market bringing together people from all walks of life, as well as a rare public space in Central. Choi says the revitalised market will continue to play the same role. From dusk till

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未來的中環街市不會成為另一個高檔商場，而是一個展現「傳統」魅力的地方。一方面是延續傳統，在建築上保留外貌，以及十三個原有檔口，即使肉檔不再賣肉，但空間仍然會供尋常百姓營生，主要給予中小企或初創公司使用；另一方面是創造新的傳統，尤其重視科技應用，包括為商戶提供 POS (point of sales) 系統作為基礎設施，減省小商戶的開業成本和壓力，免卻他們花費時間自行應付各式電子支付工具，或費神於庫存統計及收據整理。「我哋唔只係鼓勵特定嘅傳統行業，因為我哋相信，『傳統』係唔同時代由唔同嘅人製造出來，今日我哋做嘅，譬如科技，都會成為將來嘅傳統，都值得鼓勵。唔係為科技而科技，而係令香港成為一個更宜居嘅城市，更方便、更舒適，令大家可以發揮自己嘅理念。」他說。 190

dawn, members of the public can hang around in the market, whether they patronise the businesses there or not. “In the morning, people can come to do tai chi, or relax with a cup of tea while reading the newspaper. At noon, students and office workers can bring their lunch and eat here. At night, young people can come over to play music,” he explains. Everyone can enjoy the public space, but there is one condition: respect for others. From violinists to Cantonese opera singers, anyone can apply to perform at Central Market, and “you can play freely as long as you don’t disturb other people”. The new Central Market will not be another high-end shopping mall in town. Rather, it will be a place that presents the beauty and charm of traditions. Many old features of the market have been preserved, including, first and foremost, the building itself,

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常言中環街市是包浩斯風格現代建築，蔡宏興坦言，中環街市未必是十分出色的包浩斯建築，卻因碩果僅存而值得保留，「香港拆太多建築物，而記憶又好難重組，當物件或街道情景已經變晒，剩低指示牌俾人睇『孫中山喺幾時做過乜嘢』，其實係好難想像到㗎。但有實物就好好多。」

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and the 13 food stalls. At the same time, small and medium enterprises and start-up companies will have their place in the market to run their business. The objective is to provide space for ordinary people and small businesses to make a living. The new market will also be supportive of innovative ideas - it is ready to create new traditions for the future while carrying on the past heritage. Besides, it will make good use of technology. For example, merchants will be provided with pointof-sale service to help them bring down the costs of launching their business and ease their financial pressure. The service can also help them save time on dealing with numerous e-payment tools, counting inventory and handling receipts. “We don’t nurture specific types of traditional industries because we believe traditions are created by different

groups of people at different times. What we’re doing today, including things related to technology, will become traditions in the future and are therefore to be encouraged. Technology should be adopted not for the sake of technology, but to make Hong Kong a more liveable, convenient and pleasant city, where everyone can bring into play their ideas,” Choi says. Central Market is known for its Bauhaus design. According to Choi, it may not be the most outstanding Bauhaus creation, but the mere fact that it is the only remaining Bauhaus-style market makes it a landmark building worth preserving. “Too many old buildings in Hong Kong have been pulled down. It’s not easy to reconstruct our memories. When everything in a place or a street has completely changed, and there are only some signs saying ‘Sun Yat-sen did certain things here [in the Central District] at a certain time’, you can hardly 193

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保留卻不等於複製，「正如我唔會話古典唔好，但依家再起古典建築就係唔好，因為只係抄襲；我哋亦唔需要複製Bauhaus。」他更重視包浩斯的精神 —— 優良設計在工業化時代能為普羅大眾所用，不是富人專利。我們的世代也能因應技術的發展、價值觀的更新，創造我們的風格和生活方式。

visualise the past. It’s much better to see the real thing.”

最重要是與時並進，永續發展。他期望中環街市在未來十年是個活生生的空間，「唔係依家做咗，就永遠都係咁樣，希望每一個年代都有新嘢加入來，延續到我個孫、曾孫都會好enjoy呢個地方，唔會out of date。有時開頭成功、收尾失敗，可能就係因為太成功，而唔去改變，慢慢就會被淘汰。」

For Choi, the most important thing about Bauhaus lies in its philosophy of popularising good designs so that they are accessible not only to the wealthy class. The industrial age gave birth to the Bauhaus style, and so we can also create a new style and way of living today, based on contemporary technology

Preserving does not mean copying. “For example, I wouldn’t say the classical style is not good, but it’s not a good idea to build classical architecture today because that would be copying old things. Likewise, we don’t need to copy the Bauhaus style,” he elaborates.

and a new set of values, Choi believes. He also hopes Central Market will be a lively space in the decade to come. What matters most is to evolve with the times and ensure sustainable development. “Things will not always stay the same. Hopefully new elements will emerge at different times, so that this place will never be outmoded, and my grandchildren and greatgrandchildren will get to enjoy it. Sometimes something successful may later become a failure because it has enjoyed so much success it stays unchanged, and eventually gets replaced by other things,” he adds.

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Acknowledgements 鳴謝 Individuals 個人 In alphabetical order of surname 依姓氏英文字母排序 Wilfred AU AU YEUNG Kit-mui AU YEUNG Wai Lun Vincent AU YEUNG Romaine BAMFORD Bobo CHAN Fredie CHAN Kilian CHAN Sing CHAN Donald CHOI Jessica HO Jackie IP Jackie LAI Peter LAI Charlie LAM Katty LAW 198

區俊豪歐陽潔梅歐陽偉麟歐陽偉航陳寶玉陳浩倫陳鈞量蔡宏興何玉菁葉潔貞黎漢源黎錫欣查理羅雅寧

Anthony LUI MA Koon-yiu Andrew MAK MAK Fong-leung Charmine MIAO NG Ho-leung Ian TAN Jennifer WONG Leanne WONG WONG Wai-sing Ivan WONG Napo WONG WONG Pak-wing WONG Po-yin Harmony YUEN

雷子興馬冠堯麥子充麥晃亮苗汝菁吳浩良陳昱宏王詠思黃淑儀黃偉成王偉樑黃永志王柏榮黃寶燕袁晞韵

Companies 公司 In alphabetical order 依英文字母排序 Hop Wo Poultry Kam Kee Fresh Fish Ming Fung Frozen Meat Nine Arches Press Ltd Tai Cheung Seafood Wing Sing Ho Ying Kee Seafood

合和雞鴨金記海鮮明豐凍肉泰昌海鮮永成號英記海鮮

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About us 製作團隊

主編｜黎穎詩黎穎詩專注於城市議題，曾任職記者，為比較文學系博士。她喜歡以知識考古學的方式觀看世界及從事研究。 Edit | Chloe Lai Chloe Lai is a journalist-turned-urbanist. She has a PhD in Comparative Literature. Adopting the concept of the history of the present is her favourite way to see the world and conduct researches.

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撰文｜朱雋穎

繙譯｜劉小燕

朱雋穎曾從事新聞工作。畢業於哲學系，好奇心強，喜愛觀察周遭人事，也喜愛跟人聊天，擅長專題寫作和人物訪問。

劉小燕是自由撰稿人兼譯者，光陰流散於香港和柏林之間，特別喜歡無法繙譯的德文字「Heimat」。身在柏林埋首為《我們的中環街市》作英譯時，Heimat這個可解作「家園、歸宿、心之所安」的字詞不時在她心上縈繞。

Text | Hedy Chu A writer by profession, Hedy Chu previously worked at several news media outlets in Hong Kong. She read philosophy at university and has a strong curiosity. She loves to observe the world around her and talk to different people. Hedy specialises in news features and personality profiles.

Translation | Shirley Lau Shirley Lau is a freelance writer and translator who divides her time between Hong Kong and Berlin. The untranslatable Heimat is her favourite German word. While working remotely on Central Market Rendezvous in the German capital, the word kept popping into her mind. It can mean homeland, belonging and a place one feels most at home.

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About us 製作團隊

攝影｜余俊亮余俊亮是資深攝影記者，從事新聞攝影十多年，奪得多個攝影獎項。喜歡攝影，走遍大街小巷，卻很少走進街市，也不擅長烹飪；喜歡採訪，發掘不同的人與事，假日時卻只想躲在家安靜地看海，專心做貓奴，管好貓咪飲多啲水。 Photography | Ring Yu Ring Yu is a photojournalist with over a decade of experience and numerous awards to his name. He enjoys meeting different people, seeing new things and shooting away as he goes around different parts of the city. But he rarely steps foot on food markets. Cooking is not his forte. Off work he prefers staying home, looking at the sea through the window and taking care of his cats.

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設計｜張琬婷

出版｜打書釘

張琬婷建築系畢業，熱愛設計、藝術和社區，其作品曾入圍國際建築繪圖比賽，也曾於PMQ設計展覽及裝置作品。她的設計作品包括《1.5米 —— 活在瘟疫蔓延時》、 Architectural Project Reviews #01 - #04 和 Openstudio Booklet。

打書釘以傳承和推廣知識為己任，是全港第一間人文圖書館，藏書由多名本地退休教授捐出，內容涵蓋性別研究、文化研究、城市研究、香港研究、文學、哲學及電影。

Design | Jollie Cheung

Nose in the Books is the first humanities library in HK with a vast collection of books donated by retired professors. Our collection includes Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, Urban Studies, Cultural Studues, Urban Planning, Hong Kong Studies, Literature, Philosophy and Film Studies. It is our mission pass on the torch of knowledge.

Jollie Cheung read architecture at university. She is passionate about design, art and community life. She had exhibited her installation pieces at PMQ and was the designer of an art exhibition also at PMQ. She was also behind the design of several publications, including Face Under Masks: Tales of Hongkongers amid the Pandemic, Architectural Project Reviews #01 to #04, and an Openstudio Booklet.

Publisher | Nose in the Books

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來自不同地方的水果各有各敘說自己的故事

--- 梁秉鈞

Fruit from many different places Each with its own tale to tell

--- Leung Ping-kwan

Translated by Brian Holton

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At the wet market Jennifer Wong I used to find it barbaric, mother, but you’d bring me along, a young girl then, to the market: a theatre of blood. It pained me

I used to find it barbaric: the taste of ching yuan chicken served with ginger and spring onion in the family meal, just like

to imagine the shuffling feet, the croaking pleas, their feathers shed from their struggles against the tightening.

any other family in that city of high-rise flats and wet markets. An almost-past life now, contained in small, distant cubes of light.

I used to find it barbaric to face that red-faced man in the shop who gave us the number tag. His clammy hand. Forty minutes

[Originally published in《回家》 Letters Home ( Nine Arches Press, 2020) with permission to reprint]

he said, and we walked away from what took place under the red plastic lamps in that squalid cage-house.

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