Tai Pak Floating Restaurant, Aberdeen
I’ll be honest, I’ve never been inside – only chugged past on a junk admiring the external decoration – but I have decided to include this on my blog because of its history and profile in various movies.
For most tourists the Jumbo floating restaurant is the most well known but its history is somewhat limited to just the last few decades. The Tai Pak on the other hand was established in 1952 and has therefore seen a lot more action and its age makes it worthy of a mention. It was established when HK waters were nice and clean and there was an abundance of fresh catch available just by throwing a net over the side. Sadly this is no longer the case as most seafood is now imported as a result of decades of over-fishing and general abuse of the local marine environment.
The Tai Pak is built on a 105ft long boat and was the first custom made vessel for this particular purpose and its luxurious decor soom became a focal point for the jet set. This may have been helped by “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” which had some scenes filmed there in 1955, shortly after it opened. The scenes include William Holden and Jennifer Jones boarding a tuk-tuk from the Tai Pak ferry pier and boarding the vessel for an evenings dining. The colour and decor may have changed over the years but a quick look at the main columns at the front entrance reveals the same pattern (an abstract oriental cloud pattern with an entwined dragon) hasn’t changed in the 50+ years since the film was made. See for yourself below.
The ‘final’ arrival of the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in 1976 (‘final’ because it was due to open in 1971 but suffered a massive fire on 30th Oct 71 which killed 34 people) saw a decline in the Tai Pak’s fortunes, ‘Jumbo’ was huge in comparison and could seat up to 2000 people at a time, as opposed to Tai Pak’s 400.
As time went on the other two floating restaurants (this included the “Sea Palace” that was featured in the 1960 film “The World of Suzie Wong” – starring William Holden again) were taken over by the Jumbo’s management company (Melco – owned by Stanley Ho the Macao casino magnate) and together they became known as the Jumbo Kingdom. The Sea Palace is unfortunately no more (I believe it was sold to someone in Australia and was moved there) but the Tai Pak lives on and still attracts a lot of attention despite the proximity of its huge neighbour.
Here is another screen shot, this time from “Enter the Dragon”, which shows the Tai Pak and Sea Palace in Aberdeen Harbour in 1973 (note also the Ap Lei Chau power station in the background which marks the position of today’s South Horizons development).
June 7, 2012 at 10:28 pm
My father Yuen, Tim Yung as the owner of Tai Pak Floating Restuarant. He designed for all the interior and exterior decorations. He passed away in 1972 and sold the resturant to Stanley Ho. I missed the resturant so much and I spent my happiest time there. The food was so delicious.. lobsters, abalones, crabs, scalops etc….all fresh.
June 8, 2012 at 12:01 am
Hi J – many thanks for the comment and information. Wow! an amazing piece of HK history that your whole family can be proud of. Can I ask if your family also owned the Tai Pak that was stationed in Castle Peak Bay? I’ve seen photos of the Castle Peak Tai Pak but it didn’t look as impressive as the Aberdeen one (in terms of exterior decoration)?
Cheers
Phil
June 10, 2012 at 1:18 am
Phil – I believe the one in Castle Peak Bay may be under diffrent ownership now. This boat is the old Tai Pak from Aberdeen. As I can remember, the Aberbeen Tai Pak had been replaced at least twice and renovated few times.
June 10, 2012 at 11:10 am
Hi HM, many thanks for visiting and commenting. Some great memories from both you and J. I had no idea the restaurant had actually been completely replaced..at least twice! So if the old boat ended up at Castle Peak, does that mean that the external adornments were easily removed and put on the new superstructures, or was it completely rebuilt? I imagine the Castle Peak boat disappeared when the Govt started the reclamation for turning Castle Peak into the New Town of Tuen Mun.
Great stuff, many thanks. Phil
June 11, 2012 at 2:20 am
The current aberdeen Tai Pak was a complete rebuilt in late 60′s or early 70′s which was a much bigger boat than the original. These structures are basically built on floating platforms. The original Tai Pak was towed (I would think with everything intact) to the Castle Peak Bay when it was replaced by the new one.
June 11, 2012 at 8:41 am
Thanks for the additional information, HM. It’s interesting to hear this stuff because no websearch in the world can replace oral history from people with direct links to things, people and events. Cheers, Phil
June 10, 2012 at 1:09 am
My father Chan, Chow was one of the four original founders of Tai Pak and he was the head chef there until we move to the US in 1974. As a kid, I had so many happy memories when I visited the restaurant – playing hide and seek and watching dragon boats racing…..I am going to HK this September and may be I should plan on visit Tai Pak again.
June 10, 2012 at 6:43 am
Our family also owned the other Tai Pak Floating Restaurant in Castle Peak. However, this one was sold in 70′s as well and now is in Australia. Since my father passed away in 1972, no one in our family knew how to manage these restuarants. I was only 14 years old. I moved to US when I was 20. I remembered I went back to Aberdeen few times for dinner. The food was still good, the differences are now we have to pay the bill……hahaha, I still saw my father’s pictures were still hanging there with Elizabeth Taylor, William Holden, Queen Elziabeth etc….I’ve already talked to my family, next year when we are in Hong Kong, we have to visit the boat again.
June 10, 2012 at 11:16 am
Hi again J. I always wondered what had become of the other place, so now we know. Incidentally there are some great photos of the Castle Peak restaurant over at gwulo.com: http://gwulo.com/node/8441
I will try and make it over to Aberdeen soon and try top grab a look at the photos if they are still around.
Many thanks
Phil
August 9, 2012 at 12:16 am
Hello J
I came across some old photos from the restaurant in Aberdeen my uncle frequently ate there when he was in the service i’m guessing late 40s early 50s the photo the photographer name Mr.Y.C.LO phone 770133 any way would you like the photo ? ill send it to you if you like.
January 18, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Do you know the location of the hill top and the tree featured in Love is a Many Splendored Thing? I don’t know whether it was actually in Hong Kong or not. Whereever it was it would be a great adventure to see if still recognizable or in existance anywhere! Thanks!
January 18, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Hi Debbie – ah yes, the famous hilltop. Due to the usual Hollywood trickery, the physical hilltop itself was located in Malibu Creek State park in California. They also created a mock up in the studio for the dialog portion of those scenes and used back projection for the scenery behind. However, the building/steps that Jennifer Jones runs up to reach the hilltop was a real location in HK. It was the Mok villa at 41a Conduit Road which was demolished in the 70′s (or 80′s – I can’t recall an exact date right now) to make way for Realty Gardens. The pavilion you see was recreated in the garden (so the current one is not the original) but there are some elements in the grounds that can be seen on film. The best person to analyse this so far has been Richard Wong on FLICKR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/49694825@N08/4807361177/
Anyway, hope this helps. I’m not sure how easy it is to get into Realty Gardens because it’s a private development.
Cheers, Phil
February 21, 2012 at 8:06 am
i WAS SERVING IN THE ROYAL NAVY IN THE FAR EAST STATION 1955-57 AND SAW (HMS NEWCASTLE) AND SAW THE FILM “LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDED THING ” IN HONG KONG i MET A VERY NICE CHINESE GIRL THERE UNFORTUNATELY I HAD TO SAIL AWAY BUT THE MEMORIES STILL LING ER ON. i WAS ALSO AT THE END OF THE KOREAN WAR PATROLLING NEAR INCHON
February 21, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Hi David – many thanks for your memories. I imagine HK has changed immensely since those days and not always for the better. Have you managed to make it back since your service in the region? If you have any photos you can share then David Bellis over at Gwulo.com has a bunch sent from ex-servicemen who served in and around the are at various times. Best regards, Phil