About
How does one meditate on a piece of tofu? What do dried vegetables speak of? What is a mussel’s cultural identity? These are the profound questions explored by Hong Kong poet Leung Ping-kwan (Ye Si) in his food poems. In celebration of his literary heritage during his birthday month, “Tastes of Verse” weaves Leung’s evocative poems into the fabric of Sheung Wan.
Poems are thoughtfully paired with each participating venue, highlighting a drink, ingredient, or story, transforming everyday encounters into moments of poetic discovery. We invite you to meander through Sheung Wan to look for the hidden poems, reflecting on the synaesthetic poetics you experience on the way.
Past events included a Poetry Reading at DIO | Cafe Bar, where special cocktail and poem pairings accompanied the sharing, and a dinner at Dong Kee, where a curated menu featured flavours and ingredients mentioned in Leung Ping-kwan’s poems. Both events offered multisensory experiences of Leung’s writings, inspiring meaningful conversations on translation, migration, and the interconnections between food and culture.
「食事風景」 是一個關於詩歌與城市的計劃，旨在將梁秉鈞的食物詩帶回上環的日常空間。透過將這些食物詩置入真實的生活場域，我們試圖創造出打破感官邊界的聯覺體驗，在香港交疊的文化圖景中，重新發掘日常縫隙裡的詩意。
我們曾於 DIO | Cafe Bar 透過雞尾酒與詩歌的配對進行感官對話，並在棟記的餐桌上，將詩中的文字重組成具體的本土風味。這些多重感官的實踐，不僅是對梁秉鈞文字的立體閱讀，更啟發了關於翻譯、遷徙，以及食物與文化交織脈絡的深度對話。
About Leung Ping-kwan
Leung Ping-kwan (1949–2013), widely known by the pen name Ye Si, was a leading Hong Kong poet, novelist, essayist, academic, and photographer. He left Hong Kong in the late 1970s to pursue his studies in the US, with special focus on the relations between modern Chinese poetry and Western modernism. Upon his return, he taught at The University of Hong Kong and later at Lingnan University. He devoted his whole life to writing, research, and teaching.
Spanning five decades, Leung Ping-kwan’s writing career began in the early 1960s. He wrote in a variety of genres, and his works have been extensively translated into a number of languages, including English, French, German, Portuguese, Swedish, Japanese, and Korean. He also tried his hand at other art forms, including photography and film. Throughout his life, he had entered into countless dialogues with photographers, visual artists, choreographers, musicians, fashion designers, among many others.
梁秉鈞 (1949–2013)，筆名也斯，香港著名詩人、小說家、散文家、學者、攝影師。七十年代赴美留學，研究中國新詩與西方現代主義的關係。返港後曾任教於香港大學及嶺南大學，畢生致力寫作、研究、教學。
也斯六十年代開始創作，五十年來從沒間斷，著有多本不同文類的作品集，更被譯成英、法、德、葡、瑞典、日、韓等多國語言。他亦曾從事錄像及攝影創作，多年來更曾以詩創作與不同藝術媒體對話，與本地及海外的攝影、視覺藝術、舞蹈、音樂、時裝設計、戲劇等的創作人都有不同的合作計劃。
Acknowledgements
We are grateful for the generous support of Betty YY Ng, as well as Kay from DIO, Mr. Au from Sang Kee, Mrs. Luk Mei-Yee from Wah Lok Cafe, and all participating venues.