Review | Little Red Sweet movie review: Simon Yam, Stephy Tang in undercooked Hong Kong family saga

A family and their dessert shop are turned upside down by illness in a film that chooses nostalgia over substance

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Stephy Tang and Simon Yam in a still from Little Red Sweet (category I, Cantonese). Directed by Vincent Chow, it co-stars Jeffrey Ngai.

Published: 5:45pm, 26 Feb 2025Updated: 5:52pm, 26 Feb 2025

2.5/5 stars

If you are looking for a new film that epitomises some of the trends prevalent in Hong Kong cinema and offers a taste of its current state, you can’t go too far wrong with Little Red Sweet.

This well-meaning family drama – the feature debut of director Vincent Chow Wing – tackles the familiar themes of generational conflict and urban redevelopment. It also features nostalgia for a home-grown food recipe and a passing thought about emigration.

Stephy Tang Lai-yan plays May, the daughter of happily married couple Cheung Hing (Simon Yam Tat-wah) and Sau-lin (Mimi Kung Chi-yan).

Hing and Sau-lin own a traditional Chinese dessert shop that has operated in a humble neighbourhood in Kowloon City, Hong Kong, since the 1980s. The film, which is set over several years in the 2010s, derives its title from their signature red bean soup.

The story begins on one of the happier days for the Cheung household, with May about to start her new job as a flight attendant. The four family members – the other is May’s younger brother, Kai-cheong – eat breakfast together. As Kai-cheong, Jeffrey Ngai Tsun-sang plays a sibling of a character played by Tang again after doing so in the 2024 Lunar New Year comedy Table for Six 2.