Choi Sing Toi groeide op in Hong Kong. In 1974 – hij was toen 18 jaar – is hij naar Nederland gekomen en werkte daar in verschillende restaurants. Via gemeenschappelijke vrienden leerde hij zijn vrouw Ye Hong kennen. Zij is afkomstig uit Zhejiang in de provincie Wenzhou. Ze was op familiebezoek in Bredene. In 1994 zijn ze getrouwd en in 2003 startten ze hun eigen restaurant in Brugge. Ze hebben drie kinderen die in Brugge en Gent studeren en tussendoor meehelpen in de zaak. 

 

This is a series showing the everyday life of the Choi Family. They're from Hong Kong, and have been running their own Chinese restaurant in Belgium for many years now. The restaurant looks almost exactly the same as the thousands of other Chinese restaurants in Europe.  I was curious to meet this family in the kitchen and in their own space. 

 

Choi Sing Toi grew up in Hong Kong. In 1974 – 18 years old – he came to the Netherlands and worked there in different restaurants.  Through mutual friends, he met his wife Ye Hong.  She was visiting relatives in Belgium. She was born in Zhejiang in the province of Wenzhou.  In 1994 they got married and in 2003 they started their own restaurant in Bruges: Golden Harvest. They raised three children who are studying in Bruges, Gent and Brussels. In the weekends the children have to help in the restaurant. Mr. and Mrs. Choi live a quite isolated life with no activities outside the kitchen, the restaurant or the living room. They work hard. When they finish serving lunch, they clean up and take some rest, or they do some household. The children grow up in parallel lives: they have their own friends and western life style, while their parents seem to live in a little Hong Kong in Bruges, Belgium. 

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