By Elliat Albrecht

The clatter of cups, the sizzle of a stove, and lunch orders being called out in rapid Cantonese – this is the soundtrack of a cha chaan teng, or ‘tea restaurant’. Serving quintessential Hong Kong-style Western fare in a fast-paced, no-frills setting, these cafés are beloved institutions in the territory. Yet to call a cha chaan teng Hong Kong’s answer to America’s diner is to tell only part of the story. They encapsulate a cross section of Hong Kong life. For artists like Trevor Yeung and Mak2, they offer a backdrop for broader stories about connection and change.

Cha chaan tengs trace their origins back to the 1950s and are known for their bustling ambiance and eclectic menus of comfort food. By merging Eastern and Western cultures, the cafés adapt Western dishes to suit local palates and wallets. Then, as now, cha chaan teng menus offered affordable comfort fare like fluffy pineapple buns topped with crusted sugar, flaky tarts filled with silky egg custard, thick slabs of deep-fried French toast drizzled with melting peanut butter, scrambled eggs between pieces of soft, crustless white bread, macaroni in broth, pork chops over instant noodles, and more. To drink: choose from milk tea, yuen yang (a mix of coffee and tea), and lemon tea. All this flavor for a handful of Hong Kong dollars pushed across the counter.

Cha chaan tengs were, and still are, beloved spots for a quick meal, free from fuss or pretense. Waitstaff efficiently take orders and serve dishes, and people from all backgrounds flock to these gathering spaces for satisfying dishes. Dozens of lives converge in a single frame: a banker in a suit beside school pupils in uniform, a grandmother sipping tea, an office worker on her lunch break, a young couple on a date.

You never know who might be dining next to you. It could be an artist like Trevor Yeung, who sees cha chaan tengs as miniature worlds within the larger city. Yeung, who represented Hong Kong at the 60th Venice Biennale this year, says cha chaan tengs are always his first stop when returning from abroad. ‘Because they’re so common in Hong Kong, we probably don’t even notice until we’re in another city and start feeling homesick. I always miss a good, strong milk tea.’

Yeung, who favors a classic order of satay beef noodles, scrambled eggs, ham, and toast, is known for installations exploring sentimentality, desire, and urban intimacy. Having grown up visiting his father’s seafood restaurant, Hong Kong eateries have always been poignant social spaces for Yeung. To him, cha chaan tengs are places where one can feel a sense of belonging without direct interaction.

When the Hong Kong Tourism Board recreated a cha chaan teng at Art Basel in Paris this October, serving up staples like milk tea, pineapple buns, and egg tarts, Yeung’s light installation Chaotic Suns (Transiting 01) (2024) hung above the tables. The work, comprising light bulbs of varying intensities, draws from a climactic scene in an ancient Chinese myth where the sky is held captive by multiple suns – a story that, for Yeung, evokes a contemporary sense of flux, with each moment holding the potential to mark a beginning or an end.

Mak2, a conceptual artist known for her wry humor and mischievous sensibility, (formerly Mak Mak, and earlier still Mak Ying Tung) works across different mediums. Her ongoing series of triptych paintings ‘Home Sweet Home’ reimagines idealized Hong Kong home interiors through The Sims video game, transforming these virtual spaces into collaborative artworks through a process of co-creation.

At Art Basel Miami Beach, Mak2 will debut a new video work, Sweet Home Invasion (2024), which reimagines an alternative version of the fair in which every booth shows only her work. This cheeky idea captures her often solitary artistic process. ‘As artists, we’re usually alone, working in our own heads,’ she says. ‘But cha chaan tengs let us step out and become part of the city’s life.’ For her, these cafés also represent a way to connect with family. ‘My dad used to work at one before he retired,’ she remembers. ‘When I was a kid, I’d walk in, and everyone would give me a warm welcome. My dad was so proud, introducing me to everyone…That place holds so many memories, where my dad’s pride and joy truly shone.’

By bringing the enduring appeal of cha chaan tengs to Art Basel Miami Beach, visitors have the chance to experience the timeless atmosphere of these iconic Hong Kong cafés in a new cultural context. The classic patterned tiles, Hong Kong style-decorations, and Mak2’s artwork converge at the intersection of traditional culture and contemporary art, creating a bridge between Hong Kong and Miami.