Local Street Food Stall
Man Chun
Competitions are fierce among local street food stalls in Hong Kong, which are located in various residential and commercial areas. The main character of this article is Man Chun, who has been working in the catering industry for several years. By an opportunistic coincidence, he took over the business of a street food stall on a public street. The street food stall sells a wide range of snacks, including fried chicken, Hainan chicken and three types of lunch boxes.
The catering industry is open throughout the year
A saying goes, “Do not work hard to gain worldly wealth.” “It is not easy to run a takeover snack shop. In fact, it needs huge efforts. After learning that the food stall was looking for a new owner, I did some market research in the area and found that the rent of a wet market was only about 1/10 of the shops on the street outside. I decided to take over the street food stall within a week.” The catering industry is a business which requires working 24/7. His street food stall has been in operation for about three and a half years and he hasn’t got a day off until now. “In the first six months of operation, there were basically neither holidays nor closing time. Up to now, it takes about 14 hours on average to work every day.”
As far as staffing is concerned, Man Chun is responsible for taking care of everything of the street food stall and working as a chef in the kitchen, making food and washing dishes. In addition, he has employed a helper who works as a floor manager to take orders, handle cash transactions, deliver food and clear the table.
There are so many competitors in the catering industry, including fast food restaurants, cha chaan teng, Chinese restaurants and western restaurants, therefore they need to constantly change in order not to be eliminated by their competitors. “Every district has a different taste,” Man Chun said. “I tried to make 40 to 50 items at a time to give customers a choice, and then took the unwelcome food off the shelves. In addition, we have to maintain the quality and level of food, and being innovative is also an important factor in attracting customers.” They know that the quality of food is important, but in order to attract more people to eat, the food appearance should not be overlooked. They will arrange the food neatly to attract the customers. He added, “Hainanese Chicken Rice is the most popular food at the moment, and the biggest advantage for us is that we have our own farm, which can ensure the quality and freshness of food.”
A sense of success in making food
One of the most successful things about running a street food stall is that the customer enjoys his food. “Every time I see a customer come again, it proves that my efforts have not been wasted,” Man Chun said. In addition, his street food stall mainly serves lunch or dinner for people living and working in the district. Mr Man said that whenever there was a long holiday, it meant an off-season of the food shop. He would use this time to explore some new types of food in order to learn his customers’ taste.
The development of snack shops
Man Chun is planning to work with the catering delivery company to provide customers with online ordering services. For those who are interested in starting a business, he thinks the most important thing in running a street food stall is to know how to calculate costs and profits, to understand the flow of people in the vicinity, to understand the age and taste, as well as the affordability of the target customers. This will facilitate the selection of locations and the provision of food that cater to customers’ tastes.