Tam Pui Lin

Tam Pui Lin was born in 1946. At that time, her parents earned a living by hawking. They set up their stall in Yung Shu Tau Market (i.e. Yau Ma Tei Market, today’s Market Street Public Toilet). There were many single-storey stalls built of zinc iron in Yung Shu Tau Market. These stalls were opposite to Dai Pai Dongs such as Yau Kee and Yuen Choi Fat (today’s sitting-out area outside Tin Hau Temple, an open area between the temple and Dai Pai Dongs). ‘Big Bull’ was a famous Dai Pai Dong owner at that time. Yung Shu Tau Market was demolished in 1956. The Tams moved their stall to Reclamation Street Market at the junction of Kansu Street of Reclamation Street (i.e. where the outdoor stalls were situated at Reclamation Street nowadays). In the beginning the stalls were not delineated and each hawker occupied their own site. The authority would regularly reallocate the stall sites. Tam lamented that it was difficult to run a stall. His father made a little fortune by speculating on gold. However, his earning was devoured by his business. There were numerous stout houses of two or three-storey tall and with a pyramid rooftop at Pak Hoi Street and Saigon Street. They looked like temples. In the past the junction of Pak Hoi Street and Battery Street was a public dispensary where parents took their sick kids to the doctors. Next to the dispensary was a temple for boat people. In the early days Eight Streets was the most prosperous area in Yau Ma Tei.

Title	Early landscape of Yung Shu Tau (1)
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	12m46s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-001

The area where Market Street Public Toilet and Yau Ma Tei Carpark Building are located today used to be populated with market stalls. Apart from several dozen wet market stalls selling meat, fish and vegetables, there were also medicine stalls and Tie Da stalls (Chinese medical treatment on traumatic injury). This was the busiest market in Yau Ma Tei. Therefore the small path between market stalls and Yung Shu Tau was named as Market Street. Celebrities such as Rita Fan and Chow Yun Fat often did grocery shopping here. Many senior judges were also regular customers of this market. Rita Fan was a veteran customer of Tam’s stall.

In the past Yung Shu Tau had many banyan trees. All kinds of people gathered and set up stalls for kung fu performance, chess challenge and fortune telling, etc. Tam praised for the efficaciousness of incense stick divination and Chinese character divination. In the past there was a blind fortune teller in Yung Shu Tau. Now he is quite old and operates upstairs in a building where Hsin Kuang Restaurant is located. In the past transport was not well-developed. Tam’s father had to move his goods bought in Sai Wan back to Yau Ma Tei with a bamboo pole. When Tam was young, she met her father at Ferry Street and shared his burden. Those were memorable experiences since she once lost her way. Kwong Chee Theatre, located at today’s Star Seafood Restaurant, was not adjacent to Yung Shu Tau Market.

Title	Early landscape of Yung Shu Tau (2)
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	16m26s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-002

The citizens did not have a strong legal awareness in the early post-war period. It was common to see peddlers fight with each other and police receive bribes. Peddlers had to socialize with one another in order to survive. Tam Pui Lin reminisced that the police often sent agents to collect bribes from her parents when they were running their stall at Yung Shu Tau Market. The amount of bribes depended on the size of the stall. The average would be $30 per stall per week. Bribes would be collected several times a week. Each payment was $5 or $10. This phenomenon of police bribery was generally known as ‘Escape the Big Rat’ among the peddlers. In 1950s, the Tams were always in financial difficulties. All their earning could barely afford their living.

One day an agent came to collect bribe as usual. As Tam’s parents were not able to pay the protection money, their goods were confiscated. At that time Tam was only 5 to 6 years old. She came forward and desperately fought back. Finally she was arrested. She recalled that, as a child, she was simple-minded and straightforward. Family’s interest was on top of anything else so she had no ideas of the outcome. Since her parents were unable to pay for her bail, she was held in custody in Kowloon City overnight and released the next day. Since she was too young, she was looked after by the police. The constable who arrested her was scolded by his senior for catching a child. Afterwards Tam’s parents stood trial at South Kowloon Magistracy. It was a common practice to detain hawkers who were unable to pay protection money. Many male hawkers were even whipped by rattan stick coated with liquid medicine. Bribe was no longer required after the Tams’ stall moved to Reclamation Street Market in 1956.

Title	Being detained in Police Station during childhood
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	6m28s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-003

In the past there were two markets in Yung Shu Tau. They were located at the area where Market Street Public Toilet and Jade Hawker Bazaar lie today. The market at today’s Jade Hawker Bazaar was larger. In 1956, they merged and at the same time moved to Reclamation Street Market. It was a small market in the past. Sellers set up their stalls with canvas. Later the canvas stalls were demolished because of poor businesses. Before the new market opened it had been pulled down already. The Tams had to scramble for space with their counterpart when they moved to the new market. Tam Pui Lin, only 10 at that time, had helped her parents out at the stall. She was too young to win a favorable area. She obtained a license and ran her own stall when she was 18. Later some sellers complained that the allocation of stalls was unfair. Thus the authority introduced a new legislation requiring all stalls to be reallocated every night. At 4 pm stall owners should go to the market’s office to draw a lot. The site was allocated by sheer luck. At that time each stall just occupied an area of 3’’× 4’’, which made business difficult. In 1979, stall owners thought it was inconvenient to move every night. They jointly declared that the final allocation would be regarded as permanent. Yet, they were allowed to exchange sites in private. For those who drew a site next to a sewer, they could do nothing but to blame their bad luck. Since then Tam Pui Lin’s stall has remained on the same site in 31 years until today.

The Tams at first sold gourds and vegetables like lotus root, taro, hairy cucumber and kudzu root at their stall. Later they also sold wedding products such citronella, coconut and pomelo leaf. The Tams obtained their supply of rooting plant like lotus root, taro and kudzu root mainly from Western Wholesale Food Market (commonly known as Big Market). Before the Cross Harbour Tunnel was in use, Tam Pui Lin’s father carried his goods with a shoulder pole. On his way back he took a walla-walla (small electric boat) back to Yau Ma Tei. When the tunnel was available later, goods were transported by trucks.

On the other hand, the Tams got their vegetable supply from Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Vegetable Market (nowadays’ Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market). Now the site of vegetable market had been converted to three primary schools, i.e. Yaumati Catholic Primary School, T.K.D.S. Fong Shu Chuen School, and Wan Chai Church Kei To Primary School. Later the vegetable market was relocated to Cheung Sha Wan. Only the fruit market remained. Gradually most produce was available at Cheung Sha Wan Vegetables Wholesaling Market. Therefore, the Tams did not have to cross the harbor to obtain supplies. Tam Pui Lin imported citronella and coconut from Thailand and Singapore. Through some close counterparts she directly contacted her foreign supplier by phone. At first when the goods were delivered to Hong Kong, the Tams collected their goods at a truck’s parking area. Now the trucks delivered goods directly to the market.

Title	Wet market stalls in Yung Shu Tau and Reclamation Street (1). Supply source of Tams’ vegetable stall
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	9m45s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-004

Tam Pui Lin’s family occupied a site and ran their stall in Yung Shau Tau Market. They placed their goods on wooden boxes and wooden racks. They got on well with their fellows so their ‘mobile’ stall was operated like a fixed stall. Although the peddlers held an itinerant hawker license, they had to run away during police patrol. When police raids were frequent, they had to string their produce for sale in order to facilitate escape. The Tams moved their stall to Reclamation Street Market in 1956. Their sites had to be reallocated every night until 1979. Daily reallocation lasted for 23 years. In 1979 the authority imposed a final allocation of stall site. The Tams unfortunately were given a site in the middle, where storage space was inadequate. They had no choice but to diversify their products.

At the beginning their stalls mainly sold vegetables and melons. As Tam Pui Lin’s father had worked in a paper offering shop in Macau, he knew how to decorate wedding products. Therefore he packed some vegetables and plants for marriage. Within a short time ceremonial lotus gained immense popularity. Thus the stall shifted to selling wedding products. Auspiciousness was the key for wedding foods. For example, taro and garlic symbolised offspring and pregnancy respectively and pomelo leaf could exorcise evil spirits. Their customers included Tankas and Teochews, who had different preferences. The former preferred lotus roots while the latter preferred taro and garlic. In the past people from different hometowns organized their wedding in a different way. For example, when Tanka practised the rite of ‘homecoming on the third day’, the homecoming parties held in the bride’s home usually lasted for several days. Later wedding ceremonies in different ethnic groups became more standardized. Ceremonial lotus of Tam’s stall had a very good sale. They had to obtain supply from Castle Peak and Yuen Long in the early days. For each trip they bought a pool of lotus root weighing several hundred catties. Now they get their goods from Mainland China.

Title	Wet market stalls in Yung Shu Tau and Reclamation Street (2). Tams’ stall shifted to sell wedding products
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	7m30s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	pyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-005

Tam Pui Lin had assisted her parents in running a market stall since young. She was able to go to school only when she grew older than 10. She studied in evening schools run by Pooi Kei College, Chong Yung (a private school offering traditional subjects), and Restaurant and Cafe Workers General Union respectively. She had finished primary schooling in the General Union’s evening school. Tam could not go to school every day because sometimes she had to help out at her parents’ stall by moving goods or escaping the police. Every day she woke up at 4 am. She worked hard at the stall until 7 pm. When she grew a little older, she attended evening school from 7 pm to 9 pm. Tam lamented that it was difficult to make a living in the past. She was lucky enough to receive education. In evening schools she met some female schoolmates whose parents were boat dwellers living on the tugboats parked at Royal Bridge (i.e. a small pier extending to the sea from Public Square Street). Boat dwellers usually earned a living by transporting cargo on a tugboat. During festivals Tam was invited by her schoolmates to watch firework on board. Once she was scolded by her father for being too immersed in pleasure. Now boat dwellers have moved onshore. Many of them live in public housing estates or private properties.

As Tam’s parents were similar with some cinema staff members, Tam sometimes enjoyed a free movie at the cinema after she had finished her work at the market stall. She had visited cinemas in the vicinity such as KamWah Theatre, First Theatre and Yau Ma Tei Theatre. She usually watched Cantonese films. Sometimes she travelled to Hong Kong Island to watch a western film. Since Kwong Chee Theatre was stricken with lice so she seldom went there. At the beginning Kwong Chee offered Cantonese films and later played second round western movies. Tickets were very cheap. When television and radio grew more popular, Tam went to the cinema less often. She lived at 10 Waterloo Road. At that time it was stipulated that each household could only install one telephone. Therefore residents should co-ordinate with neighbours when they planned to install television and electric light, etc. Tam’s husband also worked in the same market. They therefore met each other. Her husband had studied in Workers' Children Secondary School and Lai Chak Middle School. He had developed fine calligraphic and literary skills.

Title	Study, work and entertainment in her childhood (1)
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community| Education
Duration	10m58s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-006

Tam Pui Lin had attended three primary schools run by Pooi Kei College, Chong Yung, and Restaurant and Cafe Workers General Union respectively. She quitted Pooi Kei only after a short period of time because the principal did not accept students who were absent frequently. Then she had attended Chong Yung at 7 pm every night for 2 to 3 years. Similarly, General Union also offered evening classes from 7 pm to 9 pm. Every day Tam woke up at 4 am and she helped out at her parents’ market stall until evening. The whole family prepared their lunch in the stall. A stove was made by stacking bricks up and charcoal was used as cooking fuel. After the stall was closed Tam went back home and burned charcoal to prepare dinner for her family. She lamented that life was not easy at that time. In the early days there were no fans or electric lights in the market. Stall owners had to rely on street lamps for lighting or share energy with adjacent shops and households. Electricity became available only in recent years.


Sometimes after the stalls closed Tam would watch movie filming in Kwok Ka Film Studio at Kowloon City with her friends. The studio was located within Kowloon Walled City. Tam was acquainted with the staff so she was allowed entry. Sometimes she would enjoy herself at Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park or ask for movie stars’ photos at their home in Tsim Sha Tsui. Tam once had more than 10 siblings and 8 of them were still alive. Among them 5 had obtained their own hawker license and run their business in Reclamation Street Market. Tam also acquired her own when she reached the legal age of 18. Annual license fee was $20, which was not a small amount at that time. Numerous hawkers were not willing to pay it. Tam got married in her twenties. Her husband worked as a manger of a hotel’s reservation department. After marriage he shifted to work on ships. The couple had many children and jointly earned their living.

Title	Study, work and entertainment in her childhood (2)
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	9m40s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-007

There were many fortune telling and storytelling stalls in Temple Street North, Temple Street South and Arthur Street. Landscapes of these three streets were similar. Wu Shan and Liu Liu Kee were famous food stores in Temple Street, They were famous for beef rice, steamed BBQ Pork Bun, steamed rice roll and steamed Chaozhou dumpling. Tam gave her thumbs up for them. She went to teahouses, both high class and low class ones, with her family regularly. ‘Kam Shan Lau’, ‘Yit Ting Ho’, Tong Yit, and Nam Fong (located at Canton Road, close to Pak Hoi Street) were those frequently visited teahouses. The playground at Public Square Street was a piece of barren land in the past (commonly known as ‘ball pitch’). When Tam studied in Chong Yung, she often played ball games, rope skipping and tug-of-war in the pitch.

Sometimes she went to the typhoon shelter to enjoy boat congee with her schoolmates. She also watched firework in her classmates’ dwelling boats. Firework was displayed by the government on Queen’s Birthday. A tug boat moored in the middle of the sea was an ideal place for spectators. People could rent a yacht in the typhoon shelter. Quite many maladies (i.e. male from lower class, a Cantonese derogative term) sought entertainment onboard with their female companions. Before her marriage, Tam woke up at 4 am every early morning to set up her family’s market stall. At that time people from Marine Police Dockyard would buy foodstuffs. Afterwards meal would be sent to big ships. Caterer also visited Tam’s stall at dawn. They mainly served meals for the coolies. After she got married, nobody did grocery shopping at dawn. Therefore she could wake up as late as 7 or 8 pm. Tam had to look after the family after marriage. She went out for fun less often.

Title	Study, work and entertainment in her childhood (3)
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	8m51s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-008

Banking services were not popular in the past. It was common for market stall owners to organize chit funds. The head collected fund from members every day or every month, say, $1 or $3 every day, and the principal would be released at the end of the month or the year. At that time stall owners trusted each other. The heads occasionally defaulted and fled. Tam Pui Lin had been cheated several times. She mentioned that once a relative of a stall owner was selected as head. After he had collected funds from all members he fled in the pretext of investment failure. Tam believed it was not profitable to participate in a chit fund. Her elder sister had joined a fund and contributed $9 every day. The head then deposited the fund in a bank in order to earn interest. He distributed only the principal to members and plundered all the interest. Chit fund lost its popularity when public banking became available. Through the decades markets were full of various frauds. Some robbers assaulted stall owners and customers with faint smoke and tricked them for their cash and jewellery. There were many Fish-Shrimp-Crab dice stalls in markets. Some gambling-addicted housewives were cheated. Though hustlers employed traditional deception techniques, they are still as effective as ever today.

Title	Chit fund and frauds in wet market
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	5m45s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-009

Tam Pui Lin lived at 10 Waterloo Road when she was born. It was a pre-war tenement with a roof floor and pillars standing on the pedestrian path. The Tams lived in a veranda room on the upper floor. Their room was separated from the sitting room by a small corridor. Water beetle was attracted by indoor light. Residents put some water basins on the corridor and sitting room to catch water beetles and then stir-fry them for meal. Tam could hardly forget the great taste of fried beetles. Afterwards 10 Waterloo Road was demolished and the Tams moved to Temple Street. Tam lived with his husband at Six Streets (Editor’s Note: Yau Ma Tei Six Streets) after marriage while her parents moved to a public housing estate in Ngau Tau Kok.

Buildings at Waterloo Road with a door plate number between 8 and 10-something were rebuilt as today’s 8 Waterloo Tower. At that time they were all buildings of several storeys tall. In the past a post office, a single building of one storey, occupied the site where today’s main hall of 8 Waterloo Tower is located. In the early days there were many rickshaws for the paralysed at the area around today’s 8 Waterloo Tower. At that time it was not popular to transport goods by private vehicles. People usually employed a rickshaw. Using a wicker basket was a more primitive way.

There were a series of old shops on where 8 Waterloo Tower is located today. From the end near Nathan Road towards Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market, the shops were, namely, Chun Cho Tong (Chinese medical clinic), Kwong Shen Cheong (soy sauce), Hoi Tsuen Printing (name card & book), Cheung On (Laundry) and Hang Cheong Restaurant. Hang Cheong Restaurant and Kowloon Central Post Office were separated by Yunnan Lane, where garages, casket shops and scrap metal recycling stores were found on the ground floor. Businesses at Portland Street included grocery stores, bridal sedan and shoe repairing.

The walkway on Yunnan Lane was fully occupied by letter writing stands. More than 10 letter writers set up their sheds to provide services including letter reading, letter writing, tax declaration and license application. Some of them worked as an assistant in law firms. They were familiar with local legal system and earned a huge profit as a part-time letter writer. In the past Hong Kong residents were poorly-educated. Communication channel between the government and civilians was weak. The general public had no choice but to reply on lettermen who charged dearly. Before Tam was married, her mother had visited letter writing stands to handle some documents for property purchase and license application. Since Tam’s husband had a better education, only after their marriage Tam’s mother did not need to consult a lettermen. Tam lamented that knowledge was important because the educated did not had to rely on others. She believed today government’s administration was much better. Moreover, education became popular. Therefore business of letter writing is declining.

Title	Old house and old shops in today’s 8 Waterloo Tower and Yunnan Lane
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	15m35s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-010

During her childhood Tam lived at 10 Waterloo Road, which was opposite to Ng Fook Funeral Services. When she played in the building where Ng Fook was located, she was surprised to find human skulls being dried on the rooftop. Hanging human skulls were also found on the stairs of the building where she lived. It was petrifying for children. There was a mobile cooked food stall on the stairs of the building opposite to Tam’s residence. It served boat congee, No.1 scholar congee and wonton noodle, etc. Among them wonton noodle was the most delicious. As the owner’ face was covered with freckles, his stall was nicknamed as ‘Freckle Congee’. Now his offspring were still running ‘Freckle Congee’ at where Kam Wah Theatre was once located. Waterloo Road Nullah was always flooded in the past. Sometimes there were accidents in which children were washed away.

Street Sleeper’s Shelter at Waterloo Road was once a concentration camp of Dai Pai Dong. Further earlier the same area was occupied by tenement houses and clothing shops. It was rebuilt as a concentration camp after the tenement buildings were demolished. Since the government could not contact all the property owners during the process of demolishment, it was not willing to redevelop the area. The government was afraid that one day descendants of the property owner may claim back their flats. Stool disposal service was available in the building at Waterloo Road where Tam’s family lived in the past. One day a night soil dumper carried his barrel downstairs. He missed a step since the staircase was very ragged, pouring out all the night soil inside the barrel straight onto those mahjong players at the sauce shop downstairs. All four players were fully covered with night soil. Tam could not stop laughing when she reminisced this event. In the past Tam’s father often played mahjong at the sauce shop. His playmates included Leung Lok Chi, a fortune telling stall owner at Portland Street, and Sin Ping Lau, a medical practitioner at Chun Cao Tong. Leung was a famous fortune teller whose customers included Yam Kim Fai and Pak Suet Sin.

Title	Reminiscences on her childhood residence at 10 Waterloo Road
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	8m26s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-011

Market stalls at Reclamation Street were mainly fixed ones. There were many newly moved in mobile stalls (i.e. stalls that were ready to escape any time) in Pak Hoi Street and Saigon Street. Some fruit peddlers at Saigon Street placed their produce in a refrigerator. There were numerous Dai Pai Dongs in side streets of Yau Ma Tei such as Saigon Street, Pak Hoi Street and Ningpo Street. These stalls extended from one end at Nathan Road to the other end at Canton Road. Coffee stalls and fish ball noodle stalls were found in Pak Hoi Street. There was a snack stall called Bo Kee, the owner of which set up his stall on a bicycle. Bo Kee specialized in ice-cream and olive leaf for children. Ng Lung Dai Pai Dong was close to Jade Hawker Bazzar. It was famous for wonton noodles and taro chips. There were many teahouses, seafood restaurants, beef offal stalls and congee stalls in Canton Road. Yen Yen Teahouse at Canton Road was located at the site where today’s Lung Yue Restaurant lies.

Title	Stall owners and Dai Pai Dongs in Yau Ma Tei Eight Streets
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	8m32s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-012

Reclamation Street south of Kansu Street was full of wet market stalls selling fish, vegetables, fruits and melons. Numerous Dai Pai Dongs were found in the side streets across Reclamation Street. Various peddlers set up their business in Yung Shu Tau. They included snack stalls offering food such as watermelon, grass jelly and sweet soup. There were also stalls performing kung fu, teeth extraction, story-telling and songs, etc. The section of Temple Street close to Yung Shu Tau was also prosperous. Fried clam, chicken intestine congee, watermelon, mango and fried chicken were offered. There were stalls selling groceries such as torches, earrings, garments and belts. There were a myriad of clothing stores in Shanghai Street. Lee Ka Yuen Emporium Company (located at today’s Chiyu Bank and New Keung Kee Roast Goose & Seafood Restaurant) was especially attractive since it did not bargain with customers. At that time setting a high price was a common practice among shop owners and hawkers. They welcomed customer’s counteroffer and started a lengthy bargain. Some buyers were reluctant to bargain and they gave up shopping at all. Lee Ka Yuen broke this convention and became the best selling shop in Shanghai Street.

At the junction of Waterloo Road and Portland Street there were many streetwalkers. They would serve their customers upstairs in Portland Street. Some quarter of tenement buildings was designated for prostitution. This practice was different from today’s one-woman brothel. Portland Street was a complicated place where brothels were intermixed with proper households. Besides, there were traditional shops offering bridal sedan, coffin and shoe repair. In the past there were many rickshaws and tricycles on the pedestrian lane opposite to nowadays’ 8 Waterloo Tower. Private cars were not yet popular. The small garden in front of 8 Waterloo Tower was once occupied by tenement houses, grocery store and casket shops. Yaumati Kaifong Association was located at Henry G. Leong Yaumatei Community Centre. The club house was also used as a temporary recruitment center of police officers as well as a court trying minor cases such as burglary. In the past Kaifong Association was powerful in Yau Ma Tei. For example, erecting an opera shed on Jordan Road required the approval from chief director. Nowadays its power had shifted to the district councilor.

Tam’s home was rather cramped and its living environment was poor. Sometimes she slept on the street to escape from heat. She and her siblings always played outside with their own companions of a similar age. Since young she strolled around Yung Shu Tau and Temple Street to enjoy snacks and kung fu performance. Tam missed roadside snacks very much. She did not think about food hygiene at that time. She and her elder youngsters knew about the prostitutes at Portland Street so they seldom went around there. However, those who engaged in illegal dealings would not harass proper households. Tam even believed that public order was better in the past. Though she grew up in difficult circumstances, she belonged to the fortunate group while compared with her parents’ generation, who had experienced wartime chaos.

Title	Shops, stall owners and streetscapes around Waterloo Road, Portland Street and Temple Street
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	17m8s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-013

Tam Pui Lin had been through ups and downs during her residence in Yau Ma Tei for several decades. She had got acquainted with many community members. They knew one another well and lived in harmony, which brought her many happy memories. After marriage, she moved to Kwai Shing Estate. She still ran her market stall in Yau Ma Tei every day. After more than 10 years, she found commuting inconvenient and she hoped to provide more guidance to her children. Therefore she moved back to Yau Ma Tei. She lived in a building opposite to her stall. Tam did not allow her children to help her in market. She wanted them to focus on school. Her children were self-motivated and hard working since they understood the hardships their mother had endured. They were able to get in SKH Lam Woo Memorial Secondary School, an excellent school in Tsuen Wan. Tam found that Yau Ma Tei was short of recreation facilities. To her, King George V Memorial Park (Kowloon) was a complicated place so she did not allow her children to go there. At spare time the whole family only visited Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park and Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden.

Mid-1980s was the heyday of Reclamation Street Market. Even residents in Tsim Sha Tsui and Prince Edward would come to Yau Ma Tei for grocery shopping. At that time Tam Pui Lin’s market stall could sell several dozen baskets of goods. Stocks of various products were almost exhausted. Recently, the population of Yau Ma Tei was ageing with the young people moving away. Moreover, supermarkets were gaining their popularity. Turnover in the market declined rapidly. Tam relied on her regular customers to maintain the business of traditional wedding products. Nowadays the working environment in the market was poor. Traffic flow outside the market was heavy. Stall owners’ health was further deteriorated by the heat emitted from air-conditioning systems. Though the municipal services building offered a better environment, Tam did not intent to apply for a new site elsewhere. Many sellers in the municipal buildings took order from Chinese seafood restaurants. They also set up their stalls in Yung Shu Tau in the past. Tam had settled down in Yau Ma Tei for several decades. She had got accustomed to the various smells and sounds. Sounds of quarrel and peddle as well as smell of chicken feces and pork were nothing special for her. No smell or sound could leave her a strong impression.

Title	Yau Ma Tei life in retrospect. Smell and sound of Yau Ma Tei
Date	26/04/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	12m12s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-TPL-SEG-014