Luk Shu Choi & Luk Keung Choi, Copperware Makers
- 1 Hamilton Street
- Open daily 10am-6pm
Hammered with passion
Bing Kee Copperware was established in the 1940s. For nearly 80 years, the Yau Ma Tei shop has been producing hand-hammered copperware for homes, restaurants, shops and hotels. The shop has no air-conditioning or comfortable seating: the brothers sit on simple wooden stools whilst they hammer the copper into pots, urns, kettles and other trinkets by hand.
One of Bing Kee’s hand-hammered copper congee pots can take up to an entire day to make and costs about HK$700.
The collectors
The shop is littered with hundreds of hammers and old tools which have been acquired over time: they are donations from neighbouring copperware shops that have closed down. As Bing Kee is the last remaining copperware shop in the area, they are the proud owners of about 400 hammers now!
I cook with copper utensils but I also like to use an electric rice cooker as it’s really convenient. You can’t just stick with using old things; we have to follow trends and the development of the world as well.
Ring the gong!
The brothers are most proud of making the giant copper gong for the Hong Kong racecourse. The gong makes an appearance on TV once a year and signifies the start of the horse racing season.