Hong Kong’s Western Frontier

The extension of the MTR’s Island Line has brought new life to three of Hong Kong’s oldest neighborhoods

It’s a bit past noon in Hong Kong and the scene at Sun Hing is typically chaotic. Customers jostle for a seat and flag down waitresses carrying steaming bamboo towers of quail egg dumplings, black sugar cake and beef balls. Construction workers share tables with students and somehow, despite the bustle, a couple of men have managed to unfurl newspapers and retreat into the daily news.

Fifteen hours later, the scene is very different as packs of twentysomethings look to cap the night’s revelries with post- booze dim sum. For years, Sun Hing was a symbol of working-class Kennedy Town, a no-nonsense place for yum cha that was known for its exceptionally good custard buns. Now it has become a late-night destination for young people, mirroring the neighborhood’s transformation into a trendy lifestyle destination.

Expect the change to accelerate. More than 30 years after the MTR’s Island Line first opened, a new extension has finally reached three historic enclaves on the island’s western edge. With journey times