The story of Fullcup Planet Café begins with the closure of another café, Pak Kung, a classic cha chaan teng that had stood on a quiet corner of Ma Tau Kok Road in To Kwa Wan since the 1950s. On its last day in 2012, as Pak Kung’s owner removed a statue of Kwan Tai — the Chinese god of war commonly placed in shops for protection and prosperity — he met a passerby who made an unexpected offer: to rent the space if the demolition stopped immediately.
That passerby was Fullcup’s owner, who asks to be identified only as Mr. Ng. For more than a decade, he has breathed life into the old Pak Kung space, retaining traces of its former inhabitant and old-fashioned Hong Kong charm while also offering something decidedly new. But this latest chapter in the life of the café may soon come to a close: Fullcup and the building that houses it is now slated for demolition.
For now, it’s still possible to enjoy its retro features. At the shopfront stands an iron gate adorned with carved floral patterns and the Chinese name of the historic café, a style once popular among merchants in the 1950s and 60s, later replaced by rolling shutters. Inside, ceiling fans turn slowly above vintage floor tiles, iron-framed windows and traditional booth seating with small wooden tables.
Ng was 27 when he quit a job in advertising to open the first version of Fullcup, an upstairs café on Dundas Street in Mong Kok. Now in his 50s and known for his long ponytailed hair, he says it was an “impulsive decision” to rent Pak Kung; he was driven by a simple wish to save the vintage features. “I didn’t have a clear idea of what to do with the place,” he says. “But I had already offered to rent it. I thought I would figure it out afterwards.”
A world apart
First operating as a Cantonese restaurant, Fullcup Planet evolved into a café serving Japanese-style food during the Covid-19 pandemic, with a playful twist in its name. “Fu1 kap1 (呼吸) in Chinese means ‘breath,’ which sounds similar to ‘full cup’ in English and ties into the idea of savouring coffee — the first step in enjoying it,” says Ng.
But why “Planet”? “I added it when I revamped the shop,” says Ng. “At that time, I always said that even immigrating to another country wouldn’t help with all the issues on earth; we would need to leave the planet,” he chuckles.
Stepping into the café, soft music and the aroma of coffee draw you away from the hustle and bustle. The space is filled with a jumble of items from Hong Kong’s last century, as if time has frozen. Many eclectic knick-knacks come from Ng’s personal collection, tied to his childhood in the 1970s and 80s.
“I would say the café follows a maximalist design style,” he says with a laugh. One of the most eye-catching pieces is an old red post box with Queen Elizabeth II’s royal cypher — although some of these have been preserved in the streets, they were all painted green after the 1997 handover. Also reflecting the colonial era are portraits on one wall of a young Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away in 2021 and 2022, respectively. “I’ve seen them since I was little,” says Ng. “The [queen’s] portraits were everywhere, from libraries to police stations.”
The other displays are also staples of his childhood, including nostalgic toys made in Hong Kong, everyday items like retro rotary telephones, alarms, clocks, household goods, and a variety of posters, books and CDs. Hanging above are colorful lanterns; if you look closely, you’ll find pages from Wah Kiu Yat Po (華僑日報) newspapers dating back to 1966. This paper was one of the city’s most popular Chinese-language newspapers, published from 1925 to 1995 before closing due to financial difficulties.
It’s not just newspapers: “I also have many publications from the past, like magazines and booklets,” Ng explains, adding that he didn’t collect these items to sell, but purely out of personal interest.
Community spirit
Ng has become fond of To Kwa Wan after having run Fullcup Planet there for more than a decade. Sitting outside the café, he points to the nearby Ma Tau Kok Gas Plant. Built in the 1930s, the plant supplied gas to residents for over 80 years and now stands as an icon of the city’s industrial history. “Look at this gasometer; it looks like a nuclear power plant. Some foreigners ask me what it’s for, and I tell them it’s for launching missiles,” he says playfully.
Further away is a tong lau that curves around the corner of To Kwa Road and Ma Tau Kok Road. “Don’t you think it’s strange? This building is curved like the one that appears in Inception,” says Ng, referring to the science fiction film by Christopher Nolan from 2010. “This neighbourhood is so jeng3 (正, amazing), it feels surreal.”
Not only is the district’s architecture and atmosphere impressive, so is the human touch of the tight-knit community that lives here. In the café, pots of plants line the iron-framed windows and sit on every table, each one a gift from local residents. “Because I will share them with the coffee grounds, people naturally come to me with a plant in return,” says Ng. “This is the good thing about an old neighbourhood.”
But these historic buildings and communities may soon disappear from sight, along with Fullcup Planet. The area around Ma Tau Kok Road is part of an Urban Renewal Authority project launched in 2022. One of the key goals of the plan is to build a waterfront promenade that connects to the Kai Tak Development Area and extends the shoreline in Kowloon East. Earlier this month, Ng received a notice from the authorities regarding the redevelopment plan, and the café may have to bid farewell as early as next year.
“Reporters often asked, ‘Do you feel wistful that the shop has to close because of the redevelopment?’” he says. “I always said, ‘No, not at all.’ Because I have poured my heart into it — fully, wholeheartedly, and passionately.”
For Ng, running a business has never been just about making money. He notes that the Cantonese word for business, saang1 ji3 (生意) can be literally interpreted as sang1 wut6 dik1 ji3 ji6 (生活的意義) — the meaning of life. “So doing business is really about creating meaning in life,” he says. “It must meet three conditions: it should support your livelihood, allow for your passion and creativity, and enable give and take.”
The story of Fullcup Planet Café is approaching its end, but who knows — it may give rise to a new beginning, just as it came to life because of the closure of Pak Kung. Whatever happens, Ng plans to save all of the vintage decor. “I have tried everything I wanted to do in this small place,” says Ng. “There is nothing left I feel the need to hold on to or play further. I don’t feel regretful at all — it’s time to start a new chapter.”
Fullcup Planet Café is located at G/F, 91 Ma Tau Kok Road, To Kwa Wan