Hong Kong nostalgia inspires Canadian’s food and fashion art

Some of her art – including colourful paintings, illustrations and sketches – is on show in “Hong Kong Baby Girl” at Young Soy Gallery in Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, until August 25.

Traditional Hong Kong food was not the original focus of Wong’s art. She started drawing street food on a visit to New York several years ago. “But after I drew bagels, hot dogs, pretzels, then I was, like, OK, there’s nothing else I can draw,” she says

Hong Kong food culture, on the other hand, is more diverse and has been influenced by cultures from around the world thanks to its location and past as a British colony and trading port.

Wong’s Instagram page has videos explaining the history behind Hong Kong culinary favourites, such as macaroni in broth, Hong Kong-style French toast and borscht.

Hong Kong-style French toast was dreamed up by Hong Kong chefs as they tried to recreate a fancy item served in hotels at dai pai dong – street food stalls – using more affordable ingredients, hence the birth of the deep-fried peanut butter sandwich.

Borscht was introduced to Shanghai and Hong Kong by Russian refugees from the 1917 Communist revolution and world wars. They opened Russian restaurants and localised “the red soup” by switching the main ingredient from beetroot to tomato; the soup is still served daily in cha chaan teng.

The influence of British tea culture is seen in the tea or coffee that is part of every cafe’s set menu.

Being an illustrator was not Wong’s first career choice; she had dreamed of launching a fashion label, having graduated from Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) in Toronto, Canada, with a degree in fashion design.

But she soon realised she did not like sewing, or a nine-to-five job at a trading company, and picked up her paintbrushes to create fantasy worlds.

Despite turning away from a career in fashion, one of the highlights of Wong’s exhibition is “Miss”, a series of her fashion drawings. Her style is influenced by the illustrations in Hong Kong comic Miss 13 Dots, which her mother used to buy her.

Drawn by Hong Kong illustrator Lee Wai-chun, Miss 13 Dots featured the adventures of a stylish girl from a privileged background and her friends.

Wong’s “Miss” drawings feature women with the physique of Hong Kong beauty pageant contestants wearing outfits with silhouettes representing fashion trends from the 1950s to the 1990s, their patterns incorporating Hong Kong street food items.

Also notable are works from her “Hong Kong Puzzle Mystery” series. During the Covid-19 pandemic she made watercolour paintings of city scenes – ice cream trucks, trams and the Star Ferry – and launched jigsaw puzzles of them with a friend.

“We wanted something that’s super busy [to look at], kind of like Where’s Wally,” says Wong, referring to Martin Handford’s illustrated book series.

Wong’s art is a love letter to Hong Kong.

“I feel like everyone in Hong Kong works so hard,” says Wong. “I want people to see [my art], smile, feel happy, and have a cosy sense of nostalgia.”