A Farewell to a Hong Kong Staple
After nearly six decades on cafe menus and in street stalls, Ding How instant noodles will cease operations in December, closing a 57 year chapter in Hong Kong food culture. Kam Yuen Food Company, the manufacturer, confirmed the decision in a social media announcement, thanking customers, partners and restaurants for decades of support. The news struck a chord across the city, where the brand once anchored quick breakfasts, late night suppers and countless bowls of beef satay noodles.
Launched in the late 1960s, Ding How supplied unseasoned noodle bricks packaged with little frill. The format fit cha chaan tengs, Hong Kong style cafes that mix Western and Cantonese dishes, and fit noodle carts and cooked food stalls. At its peak, the company says roughly 80 percent of cha chaan tengs used its noodles. As of March last year, more than 200 restaurants across different districts still relied on the brand.
Competition changed the market through the 1990s as cheaper instant noodles from mainland manufacturers reached Hong Kong kitchens. Many eateries shifted to those lower cost suppliers. Ding How kept a loyal base, but by last year the company held about one fifth of the market. The announcement this week led to a wave of nostalgic posts and farewell notes, with more than 4000 sad reactions, around 500 comments and over 1000 shares recorded on the company page.
How Ding How Shaped Everyday Dining
Cha chaan tengs occupy a special place in Hong Kong. A typical menu ranges from milk tea and pineapple bun to baked pork chop rice and noodle soups. In many of these cafes, Ding How provided a reliable base for fast, hot bowls built to order. Cooks would blanch the plain noodles, add a house broth, and top with beef satay, fried egg, luncheon meat or fish balls. The result was quick service with a consistent bite that regulars came to expect.
What made the noodles different?
Unlike retail instant noodles that come with seasoning sachets, Ding How sold plain noodles in bulk for professional kitchens. Restaurants preferred this format because it gave them control over salt levels, soup bases and sauces, and it simplified inventory. Minimal packaging kept costs down and eased storage. The noodles were designed to cook fast under pressure during peak hours, yet hold texture long enough for a short walk from kitchen to table.
That practicality helped the brand spread through dai pai dong style stalls, neighborhood shops and tea restaurants across districts. For decades, a cafe could count on the same size bricks, predictable cooking times and a neutral base that worked in spicy satay broth one hour and in a clear bone soup the next. Many diners never saw a retail packet. They knew the experience only by taste and texture in the bowl.
Why the Brand Could Not Keep Boiling
Price pressure in the noodle trade has been relentless. From the 1990s onward, mainland factories scaled up output and offered restaurants cheaper alternatives. When a cafe sells a bowl for a modest price, a few cents per serving can decide which supplier wins the order. That competition slowly peeled away customers that once defaulted to Ding How.
Competition and costs
Costs rose at the same time. Wheat prices moved higher in recent years, and energy, rent and wages in Hong Kong strained budgets for local manufacturers. Kam Yuen Food Company had already trimmed its catalogue, stopping production of the premium Super Dai Kwong Min and Hou Mei lines in May last year because of rising costs. With thinner margins and rivals undercutting prices, sustaining the business became harder each quarter.
The company also faced a different restaurant landscape. Chains rely on central kitchens and standardized procurement. Some cafes switched to retail style brands that offered aggressive discounts, while others sourced from across the border through wholesalers that deliver mixed pallets of staples. Each of those shifts eroded the advantage of a local supplier whose strength was fast delivery and familiarity with neighborhood kitchens.
An Outpouring of Nostalgia Online
The farewell message touched nerves across generations. The company post drew thousands of reactions and shares within hours. For many diners, the brand is tied to family routines, after school snacks and the familiar smell of a busy tea restaurant.
In its announcement, Kam Yuen Food Company thanked the community and explained the decision: “We have decided to cease the operation in December this year after thorough consideration. We want to extend our gratitude for the support and trust from our clients, partners and customers over the past 57 years.”
Many responses were personal. One longtime diner wrote on social media about a favorite order that defined their cafe visits.
“I always chose Ding How noodles when I ordered a beef satay dish. Thank you for your dedication. Hope you will come back one day and I can eat your noodles again.”
Another user captured the mood in a single line after the news broke.
“From now on, beef satay noodles have lost their soulmate.”
Even after years of market change, the brand still had reach. Company figures cited more than 200 restaurants using its products as of March last year. That footprint, while smaller than its peak, speaks to how deeply the noodles were woven into daily dining.
What the Closure Says About Hong Kong
Ding How is not the only familiar name to fade in recent years. The Grand Ocean Cinema, a fixture for more than half a century, closed after 56 years. The Metropol Restaurant in Admiralty, in business for 35 years, also shut its doors. Each closure has its own reasons, yet together they feed a sense of loss among residents who see pieces of shared memory slipping away.
Local operators point to a mix of challenges. Costs have climbed for rent, labor and utilities. Supply chains are more global, and competing imports often come in at price points that local manufacturers cannot match. After pandemic disruptions, patterns of work, commuting and dining changed. Some neighborhoods see fewer office lunches. Others draw more cross boundary shoppers who favor different brands. That churn pressures small producers that built success on stable, repeat orders.
The cultural weight is as important as the economics. Cha chaan tengs are where students cram, shift workers refuel and families catch a quick meal between school runs. Brands that supply these spaces become part of daily life. Losing one breaks a familiar routine. For many, it also reminds them that the city they grew up in is changing in ways both subtle and visible.
What to Know
- Ding How instant noodles will cease operations in December after 57 years of production.
- The brand was a staple in cha chaan tengs, noodle carts and food stalls, supplying about 80 percent of cafes at its peak.
- As of March last year, more than 200 restaurants across different districts still used the company’s noodles.
- Cheaper instant noodles from mainland manufacturers eroded market share from the 1990s onward.
- Rising costs led the company to stop its Super Dai Kwong Min and Hou Mei lines in May last year.
- The announcement sparked thousands of social media reactions, including messages tying the noodles to classic beef satay dishes.
- The closure follows other departures of long established Hong Kong institutions such as Grand Ocean Cinema and Metropol Restaurant.
- The loss reflects economic pressures on local producers and the cultural value residents place on everyday dining traditions.
