She Wong Lam, still serving snake meat to Hong Kong diners after 130 years

Pointing to the large wooden sign that reads She Wong Lam hanging in the middle of the old Sheung Wan snake shop, Mak Dai-kong says, "This wooden sign alone is more than 120 years old. The business is at least a decade older." The 85-year-old Mak has been working at the shop since he was a teenager.

"She Wong Lam was started by a man named Lou Tai-lam. He was from Xinhui [a district in Guangdong] and grew up without a father. At 11 or 12 years old, he began making a living running errands for shop owners, including the owner of a snake shop.

"The owner took pity on him, and eventually he began working there as an apprentice. Later, he set up a small snake stand in Sheung Wan and called it Lam Kee, after his own name," says Mak.

"It was just a space under some stairs, but it became quite popular with some well-to do people. One of them made him the sign that says She Wong Lam [Lam, the king of snakes]."

After moving out from the staircase stand, the shop travelled around Sheung Wan. Its previous location was 85 Jervois Street. Mak says they had a branch on Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok, but it has closed.