Mending holes in the Sham Shui Po neighbourhood— Lunch with Ming Gor (明哥), Owner of Pei Ho Counterparts (北河同行)

1rVZ2PIuoMmwKVOYeeOgnZA scaled
Lunch with Ming Gor has raised 69 volunteer hours

Sometimes the most meaningful and inspiring conversations happen over casual meals. The Time Auction Blog is a snippet of our meetings with people who have found passion in their life and career, where we get a glimpse into their mentality behind their ventures.

Best known for providing low-priced lunch boxes for Hong Kong’s grassroots, Ming Gor (明哥) of Pei Ho Counterparts calls himself the “wok-mender” of Sham Shui Po — the “wok” standing for the Sham Shui Po community.

Having arrived in Hong Kong as a stowaway in 1979, Ming Gor has always had a soft heart for helping the underprivileged in his neighbourhood. In 2008, the restaurant collaborated with Society for Community Organization (SoCO) to sell meals for a mere $5 — initially as a way to bring more business, but it eventually grew into a much larger effort.

Since then, in addition to providing meal coupons for low income families, they’ve expanded to distributing over 1,000 free boxed meals a week to the homeless, grassroots elderly and single-elderly in the Sham Shui Po and Yau Ma Tei districts. All this thanks to support from the Hong Kong community and the restaurant’s own profits.

We met with Ming Gor at his cozy restaurant where he served us lunch. There, we learned of his visions for a Hong Kong where everyone can be a giver.

1sxqeOhsuXL2wj nmOw a1w scaled
1uGC27xCmyne546uPCh73GQ scaled
1 KB8fL5kDcPNq0h LwjGUA scaled

Is there a principal that you abide with?

My motto is “One for all and all for one”. Take the initiative to help others! You never know, a small act of kindness can go a long way.

Other than that, I insist on being politically and religiously neutral.

There should be no judgements.

I don’t care which party or religion you represent. As long as you step into this restaurant, you are my customer and I will do my best to serve you. If our society can learn to put aside our prejudices, it will be a much more peaceful place.

17lgpHLFx oWgF6Ju kqSzA scaled
1n6zwKXPtmdIxC1V3tzBKMg scaled

What motivates you to keep running this restaurant?

After all these years of doing charity, I finally realise that huge profits were never destined for me. That’s because I’m such a softie. When I see the single-living elderlies, I can’t help but think to myself, “Who will care for them?” I just want to ensure they get enough food and are taken care of. That’s why I stand firm on keeping our prices low, so the less fortunate could afford them.

I don’t expect any rewards nor titles in return.

Everyone’s abilities vary, but when it comes to helping others, all that matters is a caring heart! I’ve always wanted to help people. This restaurant gave me the exact opportunity to do so. My job keeps me fulfilled and joyous. That’s all I need to keep myself going.

1ITZlv2GW2UErCxYKFWmgrw scaled
1qqk5RzHEQBumhlMIHMGUTg scaled
1tmN0eKw13Zjz2BDTCvzNhw scaled

What action do you want us to take away from meeting you today?

Never hold grudges against anyone. Learn to forgive.

There was this one time when I was going around under the flyovers, offering meal boxes to the homeless. One of them was mad about this and refused the offer, because he thought I was giving away leftovers. I explained to him our campaign but to no avail. He stood up and tried to fight me. Not wishing to get into any conflicts, I walked away and continued distributing the meal boxes to others.

I did not let his actions discourage me though. The other day, I went back to the same spot and again offered him food. He accepted it with gratitude.

The past dispute was forgotten, and we are on good terms till this day.

14GPiEBIiwJydtIQaPPLgBQ scaled
1Dhx6eOpZVV7q97LWOr8OYA scaled

How has this campaign changed you?

When I first started this business, I was 60. I turned 55 this year, and will be turing 54 the next. Charity work really makes a person younger. My work fills me with youthfulness and energy. As the Chinese saying goes,

“One is more blessed to give than to receive.”

One does not need all the wealth in the world to be happy. For me, living a simple life and the ability to care for others is all that I need.

1W841LAsG0k2h4Ttk23pfrw scaled

Thank you Ming Gor for donating his time and raising 69 volunteer hours to The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Group, The Hub Hong Kong, Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong and more!

Big thanks to our photographer Tommy Ball from KaChick for the awesome photos!

For more amazing opportunities, visit Time Auction to volunteer and meet inspiring mentors!

This article originally appeared on our blog on Medium: https://timeauction.medium.com/mending-holes-in-the-sham-shui-po-neighbourhood-lunch-with-ming-gor-%E6%98%8E%E5%93%A5-owner-of-pei-ho-6af149731206

Updated on 8 April, 2021
Share on

Volunteer Your Skills for Worthy Causes

Ever thought you could volunteer with your skills?

Discover volunteer projects where you can use your skills to support causes – all while building your resume, gaining references and making a difference!
Discover Projects
【2024義工活動】點樣加入義工行列?5大義工服務種類推介
你對「做義工」嘅認識有幾多?好多人都未必熟悉除咗賣旗籌款同探訪老人院之外,仲有咩其他類型嘅義工服務。究竟坊間有邊啲做義工嘅途徑,可以搵到適合自己嘅義工機會呢? 其實香港大大小小嘅慈善團體或非牟利機構  (NGO) 都會招募義工,而非牟利機構嘅義工服務範疇亦非常多元化,包括技能義工 (Skilled-volunteers),善用義工嘅個人技能同專長服務社會。你可以根據唔同嘅服務種類,或者按自己嘅喜好、關心嘅社會議題選擇義工機會。以下係5種常見嘅義工服務範疇同機構簡介畀你參考: 目錄 (一):動物福利 (二):長者服務 (三):青年發展 (四):環境保護 (五):社區服務 技能義工配對平台推介 常見嘅義工服務範疇(一):動物福利 如果你係狗奴、貓奴,或者鍾意動物,不妨考慮做動物義工!除咗有機會親身接觸毛孩之外,仲可以利用自己嘅一技之長,支援NGO嘅日常運作。雖然根據政府公佈的數據,動物棄養嘅數量有持續下降趨勢,但因近年的移民潮影響,保護動物慈善協會表示棄養寵物個案兩年升近三倍。因此,很多關注動物福利的團體都十分需要義工加入服務行列。 義工服務性質:清潔籠舍、照顧動物、活動推廣等 香港動物基金 Hong Kong Paws Foundation 香港動物基金係一間完全依靠慈善捐款同義工支持嘅動物福祉組織,希望拯救被虐待、遺棄同走失嘅動物。 香港愛護動物協會 SPCA (HK) 香港愛護動物協會係本港首間兼顧動物福利各方面嘅慈善團體,提倡善待動物,同時打擊同防止虐待動物。 Bring Me Home (Suppaw) Bring Me Home (Suppaw) 係一個寵物社交網站,亦係香港首個無償動物領養平台。 嘉道理農場暨植物園 Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden 嘉道理農場暨植物園為需要支持的農民提供農業援助,幫助他們過上獨立嘅生活; 並為公眾提供休閒同教育體驗。  Team for Animals in Lantau South (TAILS) 南大嶼山動物保護隊為有需要的貓狗提供救援、醫療、絕育、養育、庇護、寄養同領養服務,包括那些 流浪、被遺棄、受傷、虐待同忽視既貓狗,大力提倡動物福利,相信教育可以創造有利於香港動物嘅變革。 立即發掘更多! 常見嘅義工服務範疇(二):長者服務 隨著香港長者人口上升,越來越多關注老人家嘅機構都招募緊義工,希望為老友記送上更多關懷。 義工服務性質:家居維修、網頁設計、文字翻譯等 […]
Stop Learning and You’re Dead — Dinner with Antony Leung, Group Chairman & CEO of Nan Fung Group
Sometimes the most meaningful and inspiring conversations happen over casual meals. The Time Auction Blog is a snippet of our meetings with people who have found passion in their life and career, where we get a glimpse into their mentality behind their stories. Antony Leung is a man who has taken on many shapes: CEO […]
Food for the mind & body — Lunch with Peggy, Founder of Grassroots Pantry
Any foodie who is health conscious would probably have been to Grassroots Pantry on Hollywood Road. It was a bliss to meet with Peggy Chan, Chef and Founder of Grassroots Pantry, who provided us not only with a taste of her delectable vegetarian dishes but also plenty of food for thought at this “very instagrammable […]
To Hotel or to AirBnB? That’s the question— Lunch with David Udell, Asia Pacific Group President of Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Sometimes the most meaningful and inspiring conversations happen over casual meals. The Time Auction Blog is a snippet of our meetings with people who have found passion in their life and career, where we get a glimpse into their mentality behind their ventures. The hospitality industry has changed immensely over the past decade, especially with […]
Building Self-momentum from Cancer to Recovery — Lunch with Andrew McAulay, Chairperson, Kadoorie Farm & Botanical Gardens
Sometimes the most meaningful and inspiring conversations happen over casual meals. The Time Auction Blog is a snippet of our meetings with people who have found passion in their life and career. Andrew McAulay is the epitome of ‘chill’ we’ve all been looking for in our busy day-to-day. During our lunch with him, we were […]
Community Spotlight: Anne Wong, Finance Professional
Curious about what volunteerism and Time Auction events are all about? Meet our community who has shared their memorable experiences in their volunteering journey and meetings with our featured guests! Meet Anne Wong! Anne has been working in the banking and financial sector for years and took a career break in 2016. During this period, […]
Lunch with Francis, Project Director at Horizons Ventures
Horizons Ventures is a Hong Kong based venture capital firm with focus on disruptive and technology-focused start-ups. It has funded some very well-known tech companies including Skype, Siri, Facebook, Spotify and more. Prior to joining Horizons Ventures as Project Director, Frances has started 2 start-ups with 1 company being successfully sold to Facebook. We had […]
Top