The Cha Chaan Teng Codex at Gallery33 traces the history of Hong Kong’s beloved cha chaan teng, or short-order cafés — not simply to celebrate these famously cramped and welcoming spaces, some of which have operated since the 1950s, but to decode their visual and culinary language.
Alongside restaurant artifacts and other ephemera, one interactive section challenges visitors to assemble orders from inside a realistic pantry before time expires.
“We want to go beyond the clichés of [pineapple] buns and egg tarts and explore the human elements… and the memories we hold of these cafés,” a co-curator told the South China Morning Post. Buy tickets to The Cha Chaan Teng Codex through July 31.