‘Dai ga sik faan’: Instagram food blogger on how moving from Hong Kong to London inspired her to share recipes from home
- Karen Law, 22, discusses the joy of making her favourite Cantonese dishes – some inspired by her grandmother’s cooking – and sharing them with the world
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Karen Law is the Hongkonger behind Dai Ga Sik Faan, an Instagram account where she shares recipes for classic Cantonese cuisine. Photo: Jonathan WongFor Hongkongers living abroad, nothing is quite as satisfying as cheesy baked pork chop rice or a fresh pineapple bun. But going home to enjoy these dishes is not easy if you live on the other side of the globe.
Karen Law, a 22-year-old food blogger from Hong Kong now based in London, knows all too well the feeling of homesickness. In 2020, she started an Instagram account called Dai Ga Sik Faan, a beloved Cantonese phrase meaning “let’s eat, everyone”.
Law is known for her simple and cosy cooking videos featuring easy recipes for Hong Kong staples, such as KFC-inspired mushroom gravy rice and pineapple bun toast, a unique spin on the classic baked good. Within about two years, her account has garnered more than 66,000 followers.
“A lot of Hong Kong people who live abroad would sometimes message me saying, ‘I haven’t seen that dish in a long time’ ... it means a lot to me,” she said.
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Let’s eat, everyone!
When Law started living on her own after moving to Britain to study business, she realised it was expensive to eat out all the time. “So that is when I decided to start cooking more seriously,” she explained.
She started her Instagram food blog to share her culinary journey with friends and family, but after realising the internet did not have many authentic recipes in English for her favourite Hong Kong dishes, she wanted to fill that gap. “I enjoy creating and sharing Asian recipe videos, especially Cantonese cuisine, because my culture and the food I grew up eating have a special place in my heart,” Law said.
Though she does not plan to work as a full-time content creator, promoting Cantonese food to those who cannot easily access it remains her passion.
She shared that most of her followers were living in Western countries: “They appreciate and value content like mine because it’s harder for them to have access to Asian food easily ... So they would be more inclined to learn how to make these dishes at home.”
Her top posts include recipes for Hong Kong-style dan dan noodles, black sesame dessert soup and Chinese savoury sticky rice. Despite the popularity of her videos, Law isn’t just catering to what will go viral.
For example, scallion oil noodles are a popular dish on Instagram Reels – she explained, “It’s satisfying to watch when you pour hot oil [on the scallion], and I think everyone likes it.”
But she clarified that she didn’t just want to recreate these trendy foods: “I try to think of recipes that I think people will like, but most don’t know about.”
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Her muse in the kitchen
Born and raised in Hong Kong, the food blogger fondly remembered being captivated by the culinary skills of her grandmothers, who were both confident in making delicious meals without needing to follow recipes.
“I’ve always looked up to both my grandmas as a source of inspiration when cooking. Whenever I crave comfort food, I think of [them] cooking because it gives me a sense of nostalgia and warmth and reminds me of the times I grew up eating their food,” said Law.
She is most proud of her recipe for Hakka-style meatballs, a dish her grandmother often made when she was a child. Law recreated it from memory. “I remember the exact taste of the meat, but it is hard to get the taste right. But after maybe five trials and errors, I finally made it similar to hers,” she said.
“I used to have it all the time as a kid when my grandma was able to cook, but I only started becoming interested in cooking years after [she stopped],” the food blogger pointed out, lamenting that she could not learn how to make it from her grandmother in person.
“When I told them [my grandmothers] about my food blog and how I have a large audience watching me cook ... they were really impressed and proud at the fact that I learned all of this by myself,” shared Law.
“They did not understand that I could learn how to cook online and not necessarily have someone stand next to me in a kitchen to teach me.”
Even as Law now lives in London, her account has been a way to feel closer to home.
“Hong Kong is where I spent my first 18 years ... It’s also where most of my friends and family are. So no matter where I go, Hong Kong will always be my home.”
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