What is a food stall?

The original name of food stalls should be big-name stalls.

The reason is that in postwar China and Hongkong, mobile cooked food permits were issued to the families of some civil servants who were killed or injured. This kind of license plate is bigger than the general license plate, so it is called "big name", and their booth is called "big name booth".

1956, * * * Stop issuing such licenses. The "big name" cannot be transferred and can only be inherited by the spouse. Therefore, when the holders or successors of about 30 existing licenses die, such licenses will disappear. Big names are usually opened in crosswalks or alleys, with stalls on the roadside and benches next to them for diners to sit down.

The name of big-name stalls originated from the licenses issued to big-name stalls in China Mainland and Hongkong in the early days. The area is very large, larger than that distributed to ordinary vendors at that time, and it needs to be hung in a conspicuous place. Therefore, files with this big license are called "big files".

In the early years, there were many big-name stalls in Central and Sheung Wan, including Wellington Street, Qiuling Street and Kistler Street.

In 1950s and 1970s, big-name stalls in China Mainland and Hong Kong were the main places for people to eat, with reasonable prices and many food choices, so they were very popular with the general public and became a part of Hong Kong culture in China.

Big-name food stalls provide many kinds of food, including Chinese food and western food. Chinese food includes side dishes, fried rice noodles, fish egg noodles, rice porridge fried dough sticks and so on. Western food includes toast, sandwiches, Hong Kong-style milk tea, coffee, mandarin ducks and so on. And Chinese desserts such as bean paste and sesame sauce. Because the big-name stalls are all open-air, they usually cook with water stoves, and the fire can be fierce, so the big-name stalls are notoriously fierce enough. Another feature of big-name stalls is that after visiting a stall, you can still order other kinds of food from several stalls next door at the same time, and shops are also happy to cooperate with other shops and share furniture. For example, if a guest wants to eat chicken legs and eggs with rice porridge for breakfast, the store may only give him chicken legs and eggs, but he will ask the porridge noodle shop next door to send him a bowl of rice porridge. When checking out, some stores will collect money for neighboring stores, while others will ask guests to pay separately.

When patronizing big-name stalls, you usually have to sit on the street to eat, without air conditioning or cover. Although it is full of flavor, the food being prepared and the used dishes can only be placed on the street, and the sanitary environment is poor. Streets with big-name stalls also make it difficult for vehicles to pass and bring inconvenience to passers-by.

With the continuous progress of society, in the 1980s, * * * thought that the sanitary environment of big-name stalls was poor and it was easy to cause infectious diseases, so it began to be banned and no new licenses were issued. After the death of the holder and his spouse, the old certificate cannot be inherited by relatives. * * * The license plate was also withdrawn in cash, and the big-name stalls operating along the street were encouraged to go upstairs and move to the cooked food market of the municipal building. However, because the cooked food market is located upstairs, it is inconvenient to get in and out and lacks traditional flavor, so many big-name stalls are not as good as before after moving. However, many habits in big-name stalls, such as exchanging guests and furniture, are still preserved in many cooked food markets.

Some big-name stalls have gradually evolved into tea restaurants, and many people from mainland China and Hong Kong continue to visit them frequently.

In May 2005, the license of Minyuan Noodle Restaurant in Elgin Street, Central was revoked due to the death of the licensee, which made the media and the public pay attention to this special food culture in China and Hong Kong again. Many citizens quickly tasted the traditional flavor before the noodle restaurant closed down, and people from all walks of life also helped the noodle restaurant, hoping that * * * would re-license. Unfortunately, * * * had no intention of changing its original intention, and the noodle restaurant closed down on July 30.