"Stand up to the storm. Seize the opportunity at the peak, and cope with difficulties at low tide." This is the motto of Mr. Hui Wai Kin, Secretary General of the Pork Traders General Association of Hong Kong, who is a motivated and committed fresh meat store owner sailing in the fresh meat industry for decades.

At the age of 12, Mr. Hui began his career as an apprentice of fresh meat buyer.  After years of hard work, he climbed up to become a professional pork buyer hired by a number of butchers, and gradually becomes well known in the industry since then. In 1986, Mr. Hui opened his first fresh meat stall, Yip Hing Meat Co., which later moved from Ap Lei Chau to Gage Street in Central. He has witnessed the highs and lows of traditional markets and fresh meat industry for 30 years.

Rare Local Black Pigs Welcomed by Veteran Restaurants

Mr. Hui said fresh meat practitioners must strive to provide quality products and genuine services to their customers. In addition to selling quality local pork and beef, Yip Hing has also been offering the popular homegrown black pigs in recent years. Mr. Hui said that among the 4,400 local pigs supplied daily in Hong Kong, only about 75 of them are black pigs. Under limited supply, most meat shops are usually allocated with one or two black pigs a week at most, while his shop is supplied with five weekly, which tells the extraordinary status of Yip Hing in the industry.

"Black pigs are precious because it needs about 6 extra months to breed as compared to regular pigs. They have a tastier flavor and are usually more expensive. Both kinds of pigs can be fully consumed that almost every part of them, meat, skin, ears, bones, tongues, feet, organs, and blood, etc. is edible, nothing is wasted. To pick the best fresh meat, one only needs to look at the butcher’s table and see if it is dry, as only non-fresh meat will drip because they would be sprayed or soaked into water to maintain a fresh color."

Yip Hing has gained its reputation after years of hard work in the industry. It has accumulated a number of loyal customers from the dining groups including Maxim’s, Lei Garden, Chiuchow Garden Restaurant, etc. Though Mr. Hui joked that he is now in the state of semi-retirement, and Yip Hing has been inherited by his daughter, May, he plays a very active role in the meat industry and their stall at Graham Market. He usually takes charge of the external affairs whilst May, the internal affairs; and such makes a good complementary mix for the father-and-daughter partnership. While continuing to supply the best fresh meat to customers every day, they have never stopped to actively contribute to the growth of the industry.