dai pai dong, n.
Inflections:
Plural unchanged, dai pai dongs.
Origin: A borrowing from Chinese. Etymon: Chinese daaih pàaih dong.
Etymology: < Chinese (Cantonese) daaih pàaih dong < daaih great, big + pàaih plaque, licence plate + dong stall, so called because stalls selling prepared food were required to display their government licence on a larger sign than other street vendors, but also analysed (probably by folk etymology) as showing pàaih row, line-up (and accordingly sometimes written with the corresponding character), on account of the stalls lining the roadside.
Hong Kong English.
A traditional licenced street stall, typically with a small seating area, selling cooked food at low prices; (now more generally) any food stall of this type.In 1956, in an attempt to regulate food stalls, the Hong Kong government stopped issuing ‘large’ licences to stall-holders. This led to a decline in traditional dai pai dong, but the name was adopted by non-licenced premises of a similar type.
1983 N.Y. Times 16 Oct. xx12/2
Dai pai dong are everywhere in Hong Kong and Kowloon.
1992 South China Morning Post
(Hong Kong)
(Nexis)
1 Oct. 5
Dai pai dongs used many fuel cans for winter hotpots.
1996 J. Brown Hong Kong & Macau: Rough Guide 95
Still a decent venue for a night out—packed with places to eat and drink, from dai pai dongs on the street corners to restaurants and bars.
2015 China Daily
(Hong Kong ed.)
(Nexis)
19 Mar.
Hong Kong's famous dai pai dong—a slew of stalls selling cooked food with limited outdoor seating.
1983—2015(Hide quotations)