In with the old
WOO CHEONG TEA HOUSE
The grade II listed building at 60-66 Johnston Road in Wan Chai is familiar to many in Hong Kong. Estimated to have been completed between 1888 and the early 1900s, the four-storey structure originally consisted of four tong lau, one of which housed Woo Cheong Pawn Shop. Revival efforts meant the building escaped demolition, a fate faced by many pre-war walk-ups in the city, and in 2009, the first and second floors became home to British gastropub The Pawn. Last autumn, after 13 years in business, the restaurant closed its doors; by the end of the year, it had reopened as contemporary Cantonese restaurant Woo Cheong Tea House.
The change was out of a desire to “revive this magnificent building—to honour its history and culture, and to go towards a more authentic concept”, says Alix Ligier de Laprade, the head of creative at Classified Group, which is behind both restaurants. The new concept is “a meeting point between the past and the present, and between the east and west”,
