ABOUT
The Predecessor of Cha Chaan Teng - 「Bing Sat」
“Bing Sat” first started in Canton (Guangzhou) around 1950s to 1960s. “Bing Shi” used to only sell ice-cream, coffee and tea and pastry. Hong Kong “Bing Sat” could only legally operate as “snack licence”. They can only sell drinks, sandwiches and pastries, and were not allowed to operate as a full cooking kitchen. As time past, many of the “Bing Sat” were able to obtain full restaurant licence, which then transformed into modern Tea Diner (Cha Chaan Teng).
In the 1950s to 1960s, to meet the needs of blue collar workers, “Bing Shi” imitated Western Steak House and started selling low-priced steak and set meals. Moving on to 1970s and 1980s, the economy blooms, “Bing Sat” became common among the middle class people. The spending ability increased, and to cater for the demand of the people, “Bing Sat” started expanding their variety of food, which eventually transformed into Modern Tea Diner (Cha Chaan Teng)
茶餐廳的前身 - 「冰室」
冰室起源於廣州，在香港流行於50、60年代。以前的冰室會售賣雪糕、凍奶、冰水，兼營咖啡、奶茶等熱飲和西餅麵包，香港冰室由於法例限定持有「小食牌照」，只能售賣飲品、三文治、糕餅等，不能供應炒飯、小菜等主食。之後有不少香港冰室領到食肆牌照，轉型為茶餐廳，雖稱為「冰室」但運作模式及供應的食品與茶餐廳一樣。
50、60年代，為迎合工薪階層的需要，冰室模仿高級西餐廳提供廉價西式簡餐，在名字上，出現了咖啡室、茶冰室、冰廳、咖啡廳、等。到了70、80年代， 經濟起飛，冰室更加平民化，有能力消費的人增加了，為了迎合客人口味，冰室開始轉型，除了小吃外，加入了粥、粉、麵、飯類，成為『茶餐廳』。