If the walls of the Luk Yu Tea House could speak, they would be able to tell stories of many different generations of Hong Kong people. Designer, brand consultant and artist Alan Chan recalls fond memories from childhood when his father had finished selling fruit and would wake him up to join him for tea in the morning. Founded in 1933, the Luk Yu Tea House has always been well known to serious tea drinkers who prefer tea and the accompanying dim sum to be served in the traditional way. The tea house’s long history, colonial décor and Qing-style rosewood furniture evoke a sense of nostalgia for the old Hong Kong as a crossroads between East and West, and indeed many restaurants known for their China chic design theme in Hong Kong and abroad have been influenced by the Luk Yu’s interior. The Luk Yu Tea House remains Chan’s favourite place to socialise - where he starts a new day by taking a sip of Pu-Erh tea with his own twist, a little brown sugar.
A designer, brand consultant and artist, Chan and his company have received more than 600 local and international awards during his over 51 years in advertising and design. He was named the World's Outstanding Chinese Designer by the Hong Kong Design Centre in 2017.
Chan has been involved in the fine arts as well as commercial design since 2000, and his work exhibited in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Kyoto, Singapore and Chicago as well as Milan. It is bought by museums and private collectors worldwide.