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The inscription at the gable reads: 宴瓊林酒樓 (Yin King Lam Restaurant) [Google translated]
The restaurant moved on the 17 October 1906 from Possession Street to Des Voeux Road West, Shek Tong Tsui (source).
The date of the photo is possibly earlier than 1930.
Update: the date was set to c.1908 (see comment below).
Date picture taken
1908 (year is approximate)
Gallery
Comments
Yin King Lam Restaurant (1906-c.1911), Des Voeux Road West
This photo was likely taken between 1906 and 1911.
Yin King Lam Restaurant (宴瓊林酒樓), the name literally means "Banquet in Jade Forest", was one of the earliest and famous luxury Cantonese restaurant first opened in 1886 at Possession Street. Following the relocation of Hong Kong Island's brothels from Posession Point to Shek Tong Tsui in the early 1900s, the restaurant moved to Des Voeux Road West near the Hill Road nullah on October 17, 1906, as shown in the photo. It was closed sometime on or before 1911, as the place where it located was subsequently used by the To Yuen (陶園) Restaurant (and Hotel) which opened that year.
The photo was also likely taken before the completion of the former Whitty Street Tram Terminus adjacent to the site, as the tramway loop on the Connaught Road West is not visible. While Chinese Wikipedia claims the terminus began operations in 1909, no source or citation is provided to support the date.
References:
Cheng, Po-hung. Dining in Hong Kong Over a Century (百年香港中式飲食), pp. 42-43.
"Yin King Lam's Relocation Advertisement" (宴瓊林遷舖新張廣告). The Chinese Mail (香港華字日報), October 17, 1906, p. 2.
Note: The date stated in the newspaper used the Lunar Calendar.
Re: Yin King Lam Restaurant
Hi cwyip911, thank you for these additional information. I also was wondering about the bare surroundings, but didn't think further about it.
Your statement about the missing tram terminus is quite convincing, so my estimate for a date is 1908.
Re: Yin King Lam Restaurant
The case of the "Ying King Lum" Restaurant suing a patron for debts owed after the business had closed down can be read in the Hong Kong Telegraph 12 August 1908 here.
In the article, mention had been made of the closure of the business after Chinese New Year in 1908 and removal of the restaurant's signboard as a place of business.