HOKO’s taste of home

Helmed by Kode Media director Nicolee Tsin, this energetic and quirky short film celebrates the feeling of coming home that visitors experience at HOKO, a Hong Kong cafe in Brick Lane, London, also known as Cha Chaan Teng. 

The spot, titled Home Again, stars a diverse and charismatic cast, representing the cafe's welcoming and open-minded atmosphere. Tsin pays close attention to small details, making subtle nods to HOKO culture from its menu to the lucky cats, and even the plastic orange chopsticks. 

Inspired by her own experience of dining at the cafe, Tsin created the film to capture the feelings of comfort and nostalgia visiting HOKO evokes for herself and other Londoners with East and Southeast Asian heritage.

"When I finally sat down to enjoy my first cup of HK milk tea at HOKO, memories instantly flew pass me. It’s proper. Not just the sweet, bitter taste of the buttery milk that instantly alarmed my lactose tolerance but the smell, the chaotic atmosphere, the orange plastic chopsticks and brown cups, the ching-lish, every detail transported me back home and I wanted to create a time capsule that captured that feeling," explained Tsin. "A time capsule where I, my friends and family here, anyone whose feeling far away from home could revisit again and again."