Dai pai dong are open-air restaurants in Hong Kong serving affordable food cooked to order. Originally unregulated, the government has since issued licenses and regulations to improve hygiene. The number of stalls has declined, but they remain popular for their well-prepared food and communal seating. The government is now upgrading them for better sanitation.
A dai pai dong is an open air restaurant in Hong Kong. A typical dai pai dong stall is a temporary structure containing folding tables and chairs and usually located near a large amount of foot traffic. The pans are often painted green and the food that is served will appeal to diners looking for an affordable meal. The food is normally eaten outdoors and is cooked to order, as there is usually no set menu.
Originally, dai pai dong stalls were found all over Hong Kong and other areas. They were often set up at ferry crossings due to the large crowds that would pass through. There was little regulation of the stalls at the time and they became notorious for their poor hygiene.
The Hong Kong government has issued a series of regulations to remove any health risks from restaurants. The name itself refers to the certificates issued to allow it to function. It literally means “large license banks”, because the licenses included photographs of the owners and were oversized compared to other licenses issued in Hong Kong.
The licenses, under strict government regulation, eventually dwindled in number because they were non-transferable and for a long time not issued to new businesses. Eventually the government started issuing new certificates. Over time, however, the number of dai pai dong stalls has declined dramatically, from thousands at their peak to a few dozen.
There is usually no set menu in a dai pai dong. Instead, the food is cooked to order and can be sourced from several separate stalls to complement a single meal for a customer. The food is considered well-prepared and satisfying, contributing to their popularity. However, not all stalls have the same foods; one might only serve noodles, while another might only sell fish.
Seating for dai pai dong stalls has traditionally been communal and open-air. This has changed as more stalls start operating indoors and offer customers individual tables rather than communal seating. Long tables can still be found, however, with a number of customers seated shoulder to shoulder at each.
The Hong Kong government has launched an effort to close and rebuild pai dong stalls to make them more sanitary, including upgrading sewage systems and creating access to cleaner water. Although few of the stalls still exist in the early 21st century, there is growing interest in their continued operation. The stalls continue to serve cheap food at almost all hours of the day and night.
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