Several weeks ago, as I was grabbing a sweater before heading out to dinner with my husband, I glanced at the tag inside the collar. I knew my grandma had bought this sweater in Hong Kong back in the 60s, but realized I had never looked closely at the tag.
Ambassador Hotel. I remember my grandma saying that she and my grandfather had stayed there. I found this postcard (right) of the Ambassador’s groovy coffee shop. It’s certainly possible to still find Chinese coffee shops from back then, but sadly this one and the hotel are no longer.
Back in the day, the Ambassador had been sandwiched between the Imperial Hotel (which still exists) on Nathan Road and the Far East Mansion, which housed the hotel’s shopping arcade, on Middle Road. Far East Mansion is still there (next to Hermes House). I just love the names of these buildings. Asian exotic side-by-side French couture!
As much as I love old postcards and photographs, I’m grateful to own a souvenir from back then–especially one that’s so practical.
I have recently bought a gorgeous green beaded cardigan that was originally purchased from the same place (identical woven label too) – the person I bought it from said her Aunt Beryl bought it from the store in the early 1960’s – so I was thrilled to find your post! What a wonderful era – those orange chairs in the cafe are fabulous!
i knew both far east mansions and the ambassador well, a sort of second home in the 70s. there was a tailor’s / tourist shop ‘plaza’ in fem which belonged to charlie aslan’s dad, an armenian businessman. they lived in the building. there was a bowling alley, brunswick bowl, on the ground floor of the multi-storey carpark across the road to hang in and the middle road playground for when we were really skint. another great toy in the immediate vicinity was the scenic lift in the sheraton – you could get off on any floor and use and abuse the sofas conveniently placed for our relaxation – lol – fond memories
What fantastic memories! Oh, the luxury to have a bowling alley in Tsim Sha Tsui! And a playground for that matter. I guess people go to Kowloon Park now for recreation.
I had afternoon tea in the Ambassador’s first-floor cafe a few times. But I never even noticed it being demolished, and I was surprised to see the new building in its place a few years ago.
Hermes House is still there, but I think it’s named for the mythical messenger (it was a Cable & Wireless building) rather than a fashion brand!
Thanks so much!! How wonderful that you were able to enjoy the Ambassador! I love afternoon tea but only had it at the Pen and Mandarin in HK. Oh, yes, of course Hermes House would be named after Greek mythology! I guess with so much brand awareness in Hong Kong, I figured it was fashioned after the French designer!