Where Fleur and Chan’s love story began
- The intersection Hill Road and Des Voeux Road West, Shek Tong Tsui
Yuen-Ting: "Why are you crying?" Fleur: "Is this Shek Tong Tsui?" Yuen-Ting: "It's all changed now. This was the Kam Ling Restaurant… a long time ago."
Fleur and Chan's haunting love story begins at Kam Ling restaurant. Fleur is in the middle of performing a woeful Chinese opera song when Chan walks into the restaurant. He is immediately captivated by her, and the feeling is mutual. Their chemistry is palpable, and it isn't long before Fleur finds herself falling madly in love with Chan.
Fleur is distraught to discover that in 1987, Kam Ling is but a distant memory; it's long been replaced by another restaurant.
Fancy feasts no more
Kam Ling was a Shek Tong Tsui fixture for six decades, from 1900 to 1960. As the restaurant was right across from the Yi Hung Brothel, it was no surprise that Hong Kong's elite came from far and wide to enjoy fine foods and live entertainment.
In the 1930s, Kam Ling restaurant moved a few buildings away, and Kwong Chau restaurant came into its place. The tong lau (shophouse) it was housed in was demolished in the late 1980s, just before Rouge was filmed.
Sun Tong, the restaurant you see in the movie, closed up shop in the late 1980s. It was then replaced by Kam Tong restaurant, which, in turn, closed down in 2002, marking the end of over a century-long line of restaurants standing at this spot. Today, you'll find a residential building here.
Onscreen lovers, offscreen friends
Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung became friends at the start of their careers and remained close for over twenty years. They co-starred in a total of four movies. Apart from 'Rouge', the duo dazzled filmgoers in the rom-com 'Behind the Yellow Line' (1984), the romance film 'Last Song in Paris' (1986), and the gender-bending comedy 'Who's the Woman, Who's the Man?' (1996).