Photo of the day No. 4 - Mister Softee Ice Cream Van

13 Feb

Hong Kong Icon at the Clock Tower, TST, Hong Kong

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Photo of the day No. 4 - Mister Softee Ice Cream Van

Hong Kong Icon at the Clock Tower, TST, Hong Kong

The iconic Mister Softee Ice Cream Van located 15 yards away from the equally iconic KCR Clock Tower next to the Star Ferry in TST Kowloon - amazing ice cream!

click on the image to enlarge

I have been scoffing Mister Softee ice cream in Hong Kong since January 1972, it is a Hong Kong Icon and I was saddened to read that the chap who introduced Mr. Softee to Hong Kong Mr. Ho King-yuen died recently aged 98, his legacy lives on. (I should point out that he did have a couple of business partners - Ted Drew and Tong Hok-jyun.)

Mr. Ho worked for the Dairy Farm Company in Hong Kong prior to setting up his ice cream company, he certainly knew ice cream and apparently when in London in 1969 he studied the ice cream van business and decided that Hong Kong needed them! he was right.

I should also point out that up until 2010, the vans used the name on the vans Mister Softee, now it says Mobile Softee! I will always think of them being Mister Softee (the name of the US Company that owns the brand) I have also noticed recently some new vans plying their trade, a lot of the vans in operation always looked a bit worse for wear which was part of the charm!

Please read the Localiz article for more details on the change of name (see link below)

Learn more | All of my images of Mister Softee Ice Cream Vans

There is always the minor detail to consider, is it a truck or van? - I have always used the term van - I photograph trucks and vans and my 20,000 truck images tell me that this is a van and not a truck, I guess either description is fine.

The Mister Softee van that I always frequent is the one parked 15 yards away from the KCR Clock Tower next to the Star Ferry Pier in Kowloon, it is the pitch from heaven, Mainland Chinese Tourists who are almost 80% of people visiting Hong Kong have taken a shine to this ice cream and naturally it has popped up on social media in China which means there are long queues even in foul weather.

I should point out that I am not a foodie, nor do I do food tours and I am not going to deconstruct Mister Softee Ice Cream, my whole life I have eaten ice cream and no doubt that the gourmet brands I get from the supermarket or convenience store arguably taste better but it is not just the taste, there is just something magical on a hot summers day lining up for a Mister Softee cone, it really hits the spot every time.

Learn more | A history of Mister Softee Ice cream in Hong Kong - excellent article by Localiz

I strongly recommend that you read this awesome article by Localiz online lifestyle magazine in Hong Kong, it is very well researched and saves me a job!

The Hong Kong Street Food scene has always been tightly regulated and over the past 30 years it has gotten much, much worse and more than once these ice creams vans came very close to being pulled off the roads, petty bureaucracy means that you hardly ever see food trucks, despite a plan by the Government to re introduce them a few years back in 2017, it was a resounding failure and it was all down to the outlandish cost of putting a single truck out there and paperwork that was a nightmare, all under the guise of protecting the public from dodgy food sold on the streets.,

It is always about hygiene and strictly enforced by the FEHD (Food and Environmental Health Department) whose “operatives” hunt in packs and the only thing missing from their uniform are jackboots and a gun, they are despised by anyone running food shops, restaurants, market stalls and anyone willing to defy regulations and sell street food from carts.

Fortunately Mister Softee (Mobile Softee) had one of the last food hawker licences issued decades ago which is why they have always been around but that has not stopped the Government from trying to put them out of business.

So when you are in Hong Kong, do stop and have a Mister Softee ice cream cone.