Attaché Dispatches No. 7

Welcome to Issue 7 of Attaché Dispatches. This is a big one - I'm finally lifting the lid on the project I've been teasing you with for months. So strap in.

In this Dispatch:

I’m sitting in a tucked-away booth of a cha chaan teng in Wan Chai, the frenetic heart of Hong Kong island. Around me is scattered the detritus of a full-blown production — lights, cameras. Right on cue, a piece of toast leaps out of a toaster and arcs into the waiting hand of a cook who catches it without looking. Action.

We’re back in Hong Kong. I don’t need an excuse to come return here — I’ve been eight times in the last two and a half years, occasionally with a pretty flimsy pretext. But this time is different. We’re here filming the pilot of our new project, the one I’ve been teasing you with for months. 

The show, tentatively titled Counter Culture, is very much related to Attaché (in the “same universe” as the Marvel kids say), but it’s an altogether bigger, more ambitious, and more complex beast. As I write this, I’m surrounded by a jungle of filming equipment — seven cameras (including a 16mm camera which I gather a few of you were very excited to see), rolls of film, light meters, tripods, camera sliders, and microphones. Exponentially more than has ever been involved in any of the eighty Attaché shoots to date.

We also undertook a pre-production/research trip for this pilot — a standalone visit to Hong Kong in November 2025 purely to scout locations, meet with producers, and research our subject further. No filming at all. Again, we’ve never done a pre-production trip for Attaché — it seemed like an unnecessary (and unaffordable) indulgence. And frankly the secret ingredient of Attaché has always been serendipity, a magic which a rigorous production structure would almost certainly extinguish. But Counter Culture is different: it’s a detailed look at a specific subject in a fixed environment. In other words, we couldn’t just wing it when we got here. And I’m still adjusting to that shift as it unfolds around me.

Meanwhile, here in Capital Cafe, the bustle continues around us with only a passing curiosity about what we’re doing. Workers and waitstaff squeeze between the leg of a tripod and the edge of my table, refusing to let our invasion, albeit modest, interfere with the perpetual ebb and flow of service. There are customers that need serving, tables that need cleaning.

The kitchen crew, in their cramped but orderly battle-station, look like the cast of a Hong Kong action film: the old man, the tough but pretty woman, the man-mountain, the small mouthy one. They're all here. And they’re incredibly patient with us as we meddle with the delicate cogs of their well-oiled machine. They don’t flinch when a camera lens invades their prep space. They agree to repeat tasks or movements that for them are the quotidian necessities but to us are once-in-a-lifetime moments.

Suddenly the café is hit with a rush of delivery orders due to today’s tempestuous weather. Office workers want their cha chaan teng fix but no one wants to venture out in the sideways rain. Lemon teas, iced coffees, and milk teas are neatly lined up on the formica counter with long receipts, the printer whirring incessantly. The kitchen team who were relaxed and jovial just a short time ago are now locked in and focused, churning out boxes of eggs and bacon, macaroni soup, and pork chop rice to be delivered across the city by rain-poncho’d men on scooters.

Those who are brave enough to make the pilgrimage sit in booths and at tables with colourful menus placed between the table and the glass tabletop. They’re office workers and delivery drivers and students and retirees. Performance review conducted over noodle soup, the racing form sheet studied with a milk tea and pineapple bun. The soundtrack in this music-themed cafe is ‘90s Cantopop — Edmund Leung, Ekin Cheng, Eason Chan.

And that is what we’re here to capture. The food, of course, because it’s beautiful and delicious and interesting. But also the cooks who make it, the waitstaff who serve it, the places that surround it, and the customers who are fiercely loyal to whichever of Hong Kong's 6,000 cha chaan tengs they have pledged their allegiance. We’ll feature several in the pilot.

With some luck and with your support (more on that later) we hope to take this celebration of casual eateries global. We think there are so many stories to be told about the places where we all gather. But for now, we’re focussed on bringing this pilot to life in a variety of formats (hence all the cameras) on a variety of platforms (hence all the hard work). You will of course be the first to know about any and all developments, including how to be directly involved. It’s an idea we’ve been tinkering with for years and I’m really, really excited that it’s finally happening.

Everywhere I ate - This list will feel incongruous, given the destination. But I think it’s a reflection of Hong Kong as a food city. It’s not just local cuisine, which of course is wonderful — there is representation from all over the world here (even solid Tex-Mex), and of excellent quality. And I come to Hong Kong so frequently that it feels ok to stray from the path of local cuisine and experience everything the city has to offer. So I did. I appreciate that some of these lists can be overwhelming so I’ve starred my top picks with asterisk. I’ll do this from now on.

The “very best” travel gear? - I like the Wirecutter, the NYT’s consumer product review site, very much. I have for a long time. It’s my first port of call when I’m in the market for pretty much anything. That being said, I’m usually sceptical about travel gear lists — they tend to skew towards the expensive and unnecessary. But this list is very solid. I have their top pick for checked luggage, the Travelpro Platinum Elite Medium Check-In Spinner (lol at that name). I’m also a huge fan of anything Peak Design produce. Admittedly I’m not in the market for a travel clothesline but I certainly would have been in my smelly, smelly youth. Thoughts on this list?

Attaché Discounts - Every now and then companies give us discount codes for their products or services. A lot of the time I’m not in the market for what they provide or, frankly, the product sucks. But occasionally nuggets of value slip through the noise and I’m delighted to pass them on to you.

Next episode - You’ll be relieved to hear that while Counter Culture has taken up a lot of our time and energy, it has not usurped Attaché. Far from it. Our San Francisco episode is in edit as we speak and we’ll be back out on the road next month to film more episodes. So get those YouTube notifications turned on!

📩 Remember, you can get in touch with me simply by replying to this email.

I’m working on a few Attaché projects outside of episodes and Counter Culture. Things to bridge the gap between the sporadic nature of the show and the desire to stay engaged as a community. I guess this newsletter falls under that umbrella, too. Anyway, I’m excited to share these tinkerings with you in due course.

Until next time…