I found this photo a couple years ago while scanning my mom’s and grandparents’ slides. When I came across this one, I sat there for what seemed like an hour.
It came from a box of slides my grandparents took in 1965. The Chinese reads “Hua Sheng Restaurant/Cafe”, which to my amateur eye means “born in China” or “Chinese”. But when I type it into Google Translate, it says “Watson”. (In Cantonese, it would be pronounced “wah sung”, so there you go.)
No matter, I love the cafe’s architecture. The rounded facade, outdoor seating, and yellow umbrellas remind me of an old school canteen/cafeteria where I used to eat at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The weathered exterior and creeping ivy only add to the Hua Sheng’s character. Or whatever it was called!
That’s really cool. Is the building still there today?
It is! A friend wrote in on my Facebook page that it’s now the headquarters of the Central Bank of Macau, which goes by its Portuguese name. So the outdoor seating must be gone now. My friend also said that the restaurant was owned by Australians in the 60s and was called Waltzing Matilda, which kind of sounds like the Cantonese Wah Sung! I live for little historical tidbits like this!