Vancouver is getting a Hong Kong crime cinema-inspired culinary pop-up next month
Top Chef Canada Season 10 runner-up Chef Dez Lo is once again teaming up with EatFish and Holy Duck Chili to debut a new culinary concept that pays homage to Hong Kong crime cinema, sustainable B.C. seafood, and the stories food can tell.
You may recognize the team-up from its one-day-only, $10 congee pop-up earlier this year. This time, the pop-up is called The Fish Business and will unfold like a mini crime series, with three original trailers released on Instagram before the pop-up weekend on Aug. 8 to 9 as part of Hawkers Lane at the Light Up Chinatown! Festival.
The menu will consist of three seafood creations designed and executed by Lo. Expect tasty bites like Typhoon Shelter Sum Sum Fish and Chips with Hong Kong curry tartar sauce, a dish that draws from a culinary tradition associated with Hong Kong’s fishing communities.
Typhoon Shelter Sum Sum Fish and Chips (The Fishy Business)
Takoyaki with Chili Lava Salted Egg hoisin glaze and bonito will also be on the menu, alongside B.C. Smoked Fish Cakes served with Spot Prawn Chili Oil spicy mayo.
“In Hong Kong, street food is never just about eating on the street,” said Louise Pang, co-founder of Holy Duck Chili. “It is what you grab when you are late, broke, tired, hungry, alone, excited, heartbroken or just needing five minutes to yourself. It is fast, messy, comforting and completely yours. With The Fishy Business, we wanted to bring that emotional texture into Vancouver Chinatown through B.C. seafood, Hong Kong flavours and a little cinematic mischief.”
B.C. Smoked Fish Cakes (The Fishy Business)
As for how Hong Kong crime cinema and food intersect, Holy Duck Chili shared that some of Hong Kong’s greatest stories were unfolded at everyday eateries like dai pai dongs, ferry docks, late-night noodle stalls, and bustling typhoon shelters, where fishermen, office workers, detectives, taxi drivers, and gangsters all stopped for the same quick meal.
“Those same neighbourhoods would later become the backdrop of Hong Kong’s golden era of movie-making,” wrote the team behind The Fishy Business pop-up, citing films like John Woo’s Hard Boiled to Andrew Lau and Alan Mak’s undercover-cop thriller Infernal Affairs (that later inspired Martin Scorsese’s The Departed) as direct inspiration.
The Fishy Business
“Hong Kong crime cinema has long exported its own grammar of tension, style, and urban restlessness,” added the pop-up. “That language felt like a natural fit for a seafood pop-up rooted in Hong Kong street food culture.”
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To coincide with the thoughtfully curated menu, the team will be debuting three original trailers also inspired by Hong Kong crime cinema. The visual identity and photo set design were created by Doroty Tsang, a Hong Kong-based artist who created Holy Duck Chili’s iconic duck illustrations and has contributed to the visual production and art direction of many major Hong Kong film projects, including the crime thriller blockbuster Detectives vs. Sleuths. This is in addition to cinematography courtesy of Vancouver-based Mark Yuen Visuals. You’ll be able to find these trailers shared on the Instagram accounts of Holy Duck Chili, EatFish, and Chef Lo.
Are you excited about this Hong Kong cinema-inspired pop-up? Let us know in the comments.
The Fishy Business
When: Aug. 8 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Aug. 9 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: 500 Block of Columbia St., Vancouver
Cost: Free admission, food available for purchase
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