Gwangdeoklong Sauce Garden – Gudong
Created: 1947
Operated: Sauce Garden
Address: Kwu Tung Lot 95 about 754-755A
Producer: soy sauce, soy sauce, bean paste, lotus paste
With the Government's development of the Northeast New Territories and the imminent resumption of land at Sheung Shui Ko Tung, the public is particularly concerned about the departure and retention of the local sauce garden. At present, there are still four sauce gardens left in Kwu Tung, among which Yue Wo, Chiu Lee and Tiu Yuen all have stores, but Kwong Tak Long specializes in wholesale, and most Hong Kong people have not heard of their names.
Founded in Hong Kong by Foshan Ponzi, Kwong De Long Sauce Garden has a history of more than 70 years. Before moving south to Hong Kong, the family had already run a sauce farm in their hometown. At the beginning of its establishment, the drying yard was located in Kowloon City, and later moved to Yeung Uk Road, Tsuen Wan. In the 70s, when the government developed the new town, Kwong Tak Long moved into Sheung Shui Kwu Tung. In the early days, Sauce Garden was also engaged in retail and wholesale, and once set up a shop on Peel Street in Central, but unfortunately the business was not satisfactory, so it had to close the retail business and concentrate on the development of the wholesale business.
As early as 1997, the government announced plans to reclaim the land in Kwu Dong, which added to the gloom on the future of the sauce garden, and it is understandable that the business will be more conservative. However, the local catering industry was booming that year, and the products were well received by restaurants of all sizes, so the sales volume rose and the annual income often exceeded 10 million yuan. However, with the changing tastes of Hong Kong people, the number of local tea houses has been declining, and the market demand is not the same.
At present, there are four kinds of soy sauce products, including light soy sauce, crude soy sauce, bean paste and lotus paste. Soy sauce is widely used, and it is indispensable in the kitchen of the tea house, so it is naturally not a problem to sell it. Crude soybean is a type of soy sauce made from soybeans that have not been soaked in soy sauce, giving it a unique flavor. As for lotus paste and bean paste, it is used in dim sum making, including lotus paste buns, bean paste buns and shou buns, etc. On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, tea houses and bakeries are preparing to make mooncakes, and the demand for lotus paste and bean paste is even stronger, so the sauce garden will hire casual workers to help.
Excluding casual workers, Sauce Garden employs about six to seven people and provides three meals and accommodation. The dormitory is located in a corner of the sauce garden, close to the entrance gate, and the staff is still living in it. The drying field undoubtedly occupies the largest area, and the clay pots are lined up one after another, mainly brewing soy sauce noodles, and the top of the tank is put on the wax green silk lid, and the manufacturing method is very traditional. Mr. Pang, the person in charge of the sauce garden, pointed out: "The water vapor of this kind (wax green can lid) can be dissipated, which can be insect and waterproof... After passing through the drying field, you will arrive at the office building, and visitors who want to buy the products of the sauce garden may wish to enter to inquire for details. The waffle and the factory are also located at the back of the sauce garden, both of which are important production areas, and visitors are not advised to enter without permission. When it comes to the location of the sauce garden, there are several sauce gardens in the vicinity of Guangdelong.
Mr. Lo Kin Tak explained why the sauce gardens are so concentrated in Gudong, and that the original sites of many sauce gardens belonged to the same plot of land at the earliest, and then several sauce garden owners jointly purchased them, and then arranged the details of the land division internally. At that time, in addition to Guangdelong, there were also Juli Sauce Garden (1936), Tiaoyuan Sauce Garden (before the 1870s), Julong Sauce Garden, Yuehe Sauce Garden (1945) and Tonghe Sauce Garden. Julong and Tonghe closed down in the early years, and the land was successively acquired by other sauce gardens.
The products are largely the same among local sauce gardens, but each has its own division of expertise. Yuehe owns Hutchison Distillery, which makes wine vinegar without pretense, has been making sugar ginger for many years and has been exported to Europe and the United States, has been exported to Taiwan for many years, and is particularly famous for its dark soy sauce, and the Summer Palace Craft Brewing is favored by celebrity chefs. Kwong Tak Long produces bean paste lotus paste and supplies it to local tea houses. Each has its own way, peers are not enemy countries, there is more friendship between the sauce garden, among which Guangdelong and Yuehe are both from Foshan, and the founder is also surnamed Pang, although it is not a relative, but the friendship is very good, for example, after Yuehe launches a new product, it will also give a sample to Guangdelong to try the taste, the two actually cherish each other.
At present, it is not far from the deadline for land resumption, among the four sauce gardens, Yuehe is trying to find land to move the factory, the temporary intention of Juli and the source is unclear, and Guangdelong is waiting for the land to be reclaimed. Kwu Tung Sauce Garden has always insisted on local brewing, and at the same time, Hong Kong people are actively buying Hong Kong-made sauces, and Hong Kong manufacturing is valuable and marketable. It's just that Hong Kong is not what it used to be, and it is no longer a market decision to stay or stay in the industry. The sunset is coming to an end, and the "expiration date" will expire soon.
Price reference list:
Light soy sauce: $25/bottle
Crude oil soybean: $25/catty
Bean paste: $22/catty
Lotus Seed Paste: $34/catty
*All of the above products are only available at Sauce Garden