The Lunar New Year poon choi feast isn't just about food

South China Morning Post

28-01-2025

Published: 4:00pm, 28 Jan 2025 Few traditions evolve more rapidly than food customs. Hong Kong is no exception. The popularity of variants on the once-humble poon choi ('basin dish') meal demonstrates how tradition and modernity can find their meeting point, especially when marketed as an enhanced seasonal convenience. Communal meals are a key element to Hong Kong society. Extended families, who may be unable to meet regularly, typically gather during festival times, Lunar New Year being an essential opportunity that few willingly forgo. At other times of the year, a regular gathering in a particular place becomes a default occasion for extended family members to drop by and catch up. Most Hong Kong families simply could not all fit into an average residential unit – much less cook and then serve a sizeable family meal, which makes restaurant gatherings the only practical option.
But whether these get-togethers are held at someone's home or in a restaurant with a permanently booked preferred table kept occupied on the designated day, regularly shared meals – and the conversation that accompanies them – help keep family links going strong across the generations. An old-style village poon choi is a humble but tasty collation of pork, chicken and duck dishes prepared in various styles. Photo: Felix Wong
In rural settings in the New Territories in earlier times, space was not a concern. All major life events, such as weddings and funerals, were celebrated with a communal meal, to which all participants contributed in one way or another. Serving dishes were a concern, as few farming families possessed more plates and dishes than their individual circumstances required. Larger receptacles were needed for more sizeable gatherings, and well-scrubbed laundry buckets and washing bowls were pressed into service on these occasions.
Until the 1930s in New Territories villages, wooden washing buckets were all that was available. But that changed with the introduction of mass-produced enamelware after World War II. Along with such cups, plates, bowls and platters, large washing tubs and smaller basins intended for kitchen use, were important domestic items invariably found in a bride's dowry. Enamelware manufacturers shrewdly recognised the secondary use large washbasins periodically found in rural areas and typically emblazoned such items with the Chinese character for 'Double Happiness' – always used at wedding celebrations.
Freely borrowing and lending such items to one another, as individual circumstances required, was regarded as a key marker of friendliness and cooperation. Long-term self-interest also played a role; in remote rural settings, everyone in the village knew precisely who had what available, and a churlish refusal to lend something when needed was an unnecessary invitation for lingering ill will. In 2012, Lions Club International broke the Hong Kong record of hosting the largest poon choi meal, with 600 tables for more than 7,000 people in Yuen Long, Hong Kong. Photo: Felix Wong An old-style village poon choi is a humble-but-tasty collation of pork, chicken and duck dishes prepared in various styles. All ingredients would have been sourced locally and incorporated what was readily available; seaside villages might also include prawns, fish and other seafood. Dried meats and sausages, fresh and preserved vegetables, bean curd and eggs were usual inclusions. Rice and soup were served separately. Food was prepared separately by different kitchens; when the time came to eat, the washbasins were piled high with various dishes, and everyone helped themselves.