The Tale of Hong Kong's 'Dumpling Queen' Outshines Hollywood's Thunderbolts Film
A Tale of Perseverance: Wan Chai Ferry and the Street Vendor Turned Empire Builder
Meet Joanne Wong Pui, who vividly remembers her ol' days anxiously waiting for her mother, Chong Kin-wo, to return from her maiden day selling homemade dumplings at Hong Kong's bustling Wan Chai ferry pier in 1979.
Joanne and her younger sister would wait till midnight at the entrance of their cramped, 70 sq ft apartment in a shabby tenement building on Russell Street in Causeway Bay.
"I recall my heart pounding fast, and I was scared to death, nudging the tenant next door to help me find my mum," Wong, now 56, shared.
Soon, relief washed over her when her mother, exhausted and upset, finally made it home.
"I didn't understand at the time. She didn't say anything. She merely shoved us into our room, scolding us. I saw her crying too," Wong reminisced. "As I grew older, I began to comprehend my mum's feelings at that moment, a woman battling to survive as a street vendor and concealing her defeated moments from others."
Born in Qingdao city, mainland China's Shandong province, the single mother transformed from a street vendor into the brains behind Wan Chai Ferry, an empire renowned for selling dumplings and various frozen food products. She left this world in 2019 at 75.
The journey from the bustling streets of Wan Chai to corporate success is not fully detailed in available resources. However, it's believed that the brand profited from post-war Hong Kong's economic boom and surging demand for quality yet convenient food products.
Wan Chai Ferry may have followed the footsteps of local entrepreneurs like Chong Sing-Chong of Oriental Soy & Canning, as archived by the Industrial History of Hong Kong Group. Family-owned businesses in Hong Kong typically expanded via vertical integration and strong branding.
Connecting the dots reveals Wan Chai Ferry's association with Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings), though the specific nature of their relationship remains vague. Today, the brand has become a global symbol of Chong Kin-wo's entrepreneurial spirit, its roots stretching deep into Hong Kong's vibrant street-food culture, albeit the details of his street-vending beginnings remaining partially shrouded in public records.
- Joanne Wong, who started her life anxiously waiting for her mother to return from selling homemade dumplings at the dilapidated tenement building on Russell Street, has now become the brains behind the renowned Wan Chai Ferry empire.
- Recalling her younger days, Joanne Wong Pui vividly remembers pushing her sisters into their cramped apartment after her mother, Chong Kin-wo, arrived, exhausted and upset, from selling dumplings at the Wan Chai ferry pier.
- The Wong family's journey from street vending to corporate success traces back to post-war Hong Kong's economic boom, with the brand embracing the fashion-and-beauty and home-and-garden trends, marking its presence as a global symbol of entrepreneurial spirit.
- Despite Wan Chai Ferry's association with Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings) remaining somewhat unclear, Wong's street-vending beginnings contribute to its roots being deeply entrenched in Hong Kong's vibrant street-food culture.
