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■龍門大酒樓結業前一晚，熟客齊集，享受最後的晚餐。資料圖片
「一登龍門身價倍，品嘗美食盛意濃」。有60年歷史，位處灣仔旺地的龍門大酒樓，正如對聯所述，除了美食，最令人稱許的就是深厚人情味。但「天下無不散的筵席」，龍門大酒樓11月30日終於走到結業前的最後一夜，以一場夜宴與新知舊雨告別。熱鬧歌舞下賓客觥籌交錯，笑容依舊卻瀰漫不捨，熟客紛拍照留念，其中詠春大師葉問的4大弟子也趕來緬懷，回憶師傅以蓮蓉包退敵的妙論。
其中店長鄧鏡雄曾經離開，卻去而復返，前後在龍門度過16個寒暑，昨晚酒樓結業在即，他繼續緊守崗位，硬漢子不言悲，再不捨他也沒有落淚，只娓娓道出與龍門的淵源，直言龍門薪酬不算很高，留住他只因那份濃濃的人情味，龍門的精神、龍門的點滴，都將永留他的心中。
一代詠春大師葉問，原來也是龍門的熟客之一。他的第一代弟子，昨晚聯袂前往緬懷師父的點滴，弟子之一的劉功成笑言師父一到酒樓就會點蓮蓉包，更笑言龍門點心最新鮮，如遇襲擊，除以筷子退敵外，也可向敵人拋出新鮮出爐、熱辣辣的蓮蓉包，以作防身。
Sentimental Gourmets Bade Farewell to Lung Moon Restaurant
"Enter the Dragon Gate(Lung Moon)and be someone special. Enjoy the tasty dishes served with heart and soul." The Lung Moon Restaurant, located in the busy Wanchai district, had been open for business for 60 years. As the couplet suggests, besides delicious food, the most admirable element of the restaurant was its strong sense of neighbourliness. Alas, as the Chinese saying goes, no banquet lasts forever. The restaurant opened for the last time on 30 November 2009 before its closure. That night, the restaurant hosted a banquet to say goodbye to old and new friends. Buoyed up by all the singing and dancing, guests drank toast after toast to each other. Though still with laughs and smiles on their faces, the guests were unwilling to bid farewell to the restaurant. Regular patrons took pictures to remember the place. The four most senior disciples of Wing Chun master Ip Man also came to memorize the moments when their late master joked about fighting back enemies with lotus seed paste buns(lin yung bao).
Manager Tang Kan-hung, who had once left the restaurant but later returned, had worked there for a total of 16 years. On the last night before the closure of the restaurant, he duly performed his duties. Although he did not want to part, the tough guy showed no sign of sadness and did not shed a tear as he gave a vivid account of the history of Lung Moon. He was forthright in saying that the pay was not good and it was the strong sense of neighbourliness that had kept him there. He said that the spirit of Lung Moon and his life in the restaurant would be in his memory forever.
Ip Man, a kung fu master of the Wing Chun school, was also a regular diner in Lung Moon. On the last night of the restaurant, his first generation disciples had a gathering in the restaurant to memorize traces of life with the master. One of the disciples, Lau Kung-shing, recalled joyfully the times when the master would order lin yung bao once he got there. He remembered the kung fu master's saying that as the dim sums served by Lung Moon were fresh from the kitchen; people could defend themselves by not just using chopsticks, but also by throwing the hot and freshly steamed lin yung bao at enemies. ■Translation by開明
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