Henry’s Cafe Hong Kong

I’ve been tracking the Lowcock Hong Kong family history for some time. This page is dedicated the Henry’s Cafe Hong Kong and various photos and memorabilia I have been able to scrounge from the internet. In a way, it also preserves the history of Hong Kong Kong itself.

Henry’s Cafe, as it was called, was located in Chungking Arcade. The exact address was 21 Chung King Arcade. The arcade was demolished in 1959, replaced with Chungking Mansions. If you were looking for Henry’s Cafe back in its heyday, they had this handy taxi card.

Henry's Cafe HK Taxi Card

 

And if that didn’t work for you, here’s a handy map of Henry’s Cafe.

Henry's Cafe Hong Kong

This following photo, found on Gwulo, which explores Old Hong Kong shows Chung King Arcade, but in the top left of the photo (where you see the word BEER, you will make out the words underneath “Henry’s Cafe”.

Henry's Cafe Sign from Road (1956)

This following photo, from the angle of Nathan Road, taken in around 1956 also shows another view, this time the Henry’s Cafe sign is viewable on the top right of the photo.

Henry's Cafe Chung King Arcade 1956

Chung King Arcade was demolished in 1959 to be replaced by Chungking Mansions. It’s thought that Henry’s Cafe relocated to Peking Road, at least based on one photo and Henry’s Cafe signage. This is about a 10min walk from the original location. In this photo, Henry’s Cafe signage is visible on the right, as part of the “Tiger Beer” sign. This is the neon Henry’s Cafe sign that is seen in the Orson Welle’s movie, Ferry to Hong Kong.

Henry's Cafe 1959 Peking Road

The fully lit neon sign for Henry’s Cafe, neon signs being a Hong Kong classic, appearance in the 1959 Orson Welle’s film, Ferry to Hong Kong is at the 47min 16second mark as part of a montage of the Hong Kong streets. You can see it on the right side in the image below capture from the film. This would appear to be the new Cafe on Peking Road based on the previous reference photo. Unfortunately, the sign is long gone – a victim of Hong Kong’s constant transformation.

Henry's Cafe Neon Sign 'Ferry to Hong Kong'

If you want to learn more about Mabel (Ma) Lowcock who ran Henry’s Cafe, learn more about the Lowcock Hong Kong family history here; or you can learn more about Henry Lowcock who the Cafe was named after on this page. 

Also, I found out (alas) that Henry’s Grill in Hong Kong is not related; the restaurant is named in honour of  The CEO of Rosewood Hotel Group father’s name – Mr Henry Cheng.

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