"I persist to come here every morning, nothing has changed, the service, environment, decorations, dim-sums remain the same," an 80-year-old woman, Wong Chui says.

When you enter Longhua Teahouse, you can hear sounds of moving fans, chirping of birds from outside, and chatting and laughter inside. Immediately, everything is back to the "good old days", which is such a big contrast with nowadays' new-type teahouses. This is also the main reason why customers still appreciate Longhua Teahouse.

Without modern decorations, luxury dishware and even without air-conditioners, Longhua Teahouse remains what it used to be. Entering the teahouse, you would be greeted by a nostalgic atmosphere, tables, fans, chairs, furnishings, even the ornaments and decorations are all the old types of the 1960's, as if you are in an antique exhibition hall. Ho Ming Tak, owner of Longhua, talks endlessly when mentioning about the old times; he says, "This photograph is taken by a well-known photographer Yun Wai Man in 1970. And this table is..."

Longhua Teahouse also maintains to provide the old-style service. For instance, there are only six waiters in the teahouse. Customers operate everything by themselves, like searching for a table, making tea and taking the dim-sums. This is exactly the way Longhua Teahouse has served its customers from the day of its opening till now. Customers are like hosts in Longhua Teahouse, which bring them the feeling of being at home and drinking their own morning tea. Wong says, "This is also why a lot of old people consider Longhua as another home where they feel enjoyable and homey."

Ho mentions that everything is completely the same, even the 10 featured dim-sums on the menu.

Ho says, "We simply avoid acting like other teahouses when competing with them. The more we change, the more we lose. Our advantage is our traditional features!"

Ho expresses that they will always insist on preserving their unique traditional features to keep old customers; on the other hand, they hope to attract more youngsters by trying to expose them to the traditional teahouse culture in Macau. Also, Ho adds, "We always welcome art students or local artists to show their works inside the teahouse. This really attracts youngsters to come and enjoy the art pieces."

However, when he mentions the glorious history of Longhua, he sighs, "We are facing the greatest difficulty. In the past, we had 50 to 60 workers but now only have six left." He explains, "Our workers are very old and they have retired one by one. But, due to the shortage of labor, it is very hard to employ new workers."

In the 1960's, the morning tea began to become popular in Hong Kong. In 1962, Ho's father, Ho Fong, grasped the golden opportunity and founded Longhua Teahouse, which was one of the earliest teahouses in Macau. Located in Rua Norte Do Mercado Aim, Lacerda No.3, Longhua Teahouse quickly became the golden brand in the city's teahouse business.

Ho says, "I will try my best to keep the tradition because it remains the only old-style teahouse in Macau. Also, this is another home for the old customers.... Longhua's competitive advantage lies in clinging to the hearts of these customers."

<END>