“I’ve been working with my father my whole life. We moved to Vancouver in 1997. We already had some friends who moved a few years earlier. Chinatown was a place where Chinese people could find everything they need, so we opened a herbal store here since that's what we did back in Hong Kong. We have a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor here too. It's my father!
“When I was growing up, my father always wanted to drink traditional Chinese tea, but I always wanted Hong Kong Milk Tea. Now I still like Hong Kong Milk Tea, but my kids want Bubble Tea! It's funny how each generation wants to drink their tea differently. I'm glad that there are still young people coming here to learn more about Traditional Chinese Medicine. I have a customer who I’ve known for 20 years. She started coming here when she was very young, and she recently visited again with her baby!"
"It's an important part of Chinese culture. When Chinese grandmothers and mothers ask us to have dinner, and we say we cannot come... they will sometimes say 'At least come home for soup!' That means that they care for us. Most Chinese soups are made with traditional ingredients and remedies that boost our health. Even when we are adults and have our own kids, they will always care for our health."
Family-run Yuen Tai Hong 源泰行 (530 Main Street) opened in 1998 and are specialists in Chinese herbal medicine.