Our Heritage Story
Our Heritage Story
"Honoring decades of deep legacy, tracing our footprints from a master craftsman's workshop to global kitchens."
The Origin of a Craft
Mr. Lui Ming was born in December 1930 in Heshan City, Guangdong Province. Born into a prosperous family that made a living through farming, Mr. Lui Ming was not content with the status quo. At the age of 19, he decided to have a fellow villager introduce him to work in a Guangzhou factory to learn the trade, successfully mastering the craft of making traditional steamers and flour sifters.
The "Great Escape" Era
At the age of 32, Mr. Lui Ming traveled via Macau's waterways and sneaked into Hong Kong, coming ashore at Sai Kung. Arriving penniless at the time, he could only temporarily stay at a friend's house. He eventually found odd jobs at a shop specializing in flour sifters (bamboo baskets) on Shantung Street in Kowloon, leveraging his craftsmanship to sustain his livelihood.
Entrepreneurial Journey
Determined to start his own business and no longer live under someone else's roof, Mr. Lui Ming rented a partitioned room of less than 100 square feet on Reclamation Street to serve as a place for rest, research, and production of steamers and flour sifters. This marked the very origin of Ming Sang Steel Bamboo Steamer Receptacle Factory !
Mr. Lui Ming observed that the traditional steamers and flour sifters on the market required highly complex manual procedures, which severely throttled production output and resulted in short product lifespans. Leveraging his foundational craftsmanship and operational experience, he successfully engineered various semi-automated tools and streamlined workflows to optimize manufacturing. At the peak of this operational innovation, his system enabled a production throughput of 40 steamers per hour!
The Fruits of Relentless Effort
Driven by his uncompromising dedication to product quality, Mr. Lui Ming successfully earned the recognition and trust of numerous dim sum restaurants, traditional tea stalls, and professional chefs. As business grew, Mr. Lui Ming relocated his operations to Tin Sam Tsuen in Yuen Long. There, he converted a former pig farm into a specialized production facility optimized for steamer manufacturing, while hiring and training a dedicated workforce to expand production capacity.
A Customer-Centric Philosophy
Mr. Lui Ming opened his first shop, "Ming Sang Steel & Bamboo Steamer & Flour Sifter," at 275 Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei.
The Improvement of Steel-Rimmed Steamers
Driven by a user-centric philosophy, Mr. Lui Ming upgraded the traditional bamboo-joint rim of traditional bamboo steamers into a stainless steel rim, becoming the pioneer who created the very first stainless steel-rimmed steamer in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, demonstrating true customer empathy, he also developed all-stainless steel steamers in unique sizes specifically tailored to fit the most popular household rice cookers of that era. This breakthrough design empowered everyday citizens to seamlessly steam dishes while cooking rice simultaneously.
The Golden Age of Industry
As Mainland China entered the historic era of reform and opening-up, Mr. Lui Ming decisively expanded operations by relocating the production plant to Guangzhou, establishing the factory site in the Baiyun District that remains active to this day. By the early 1990s, with the strategic assistance of his son, he successfully scaled the business, promoting and exporting the steamers and flour sifters of their established brand, "Ming Sang," to numerous international markets across overseas countries.
The Artisan Spirit
Though having weathered decades of changing times, Mr. Lui Ming is now 96 years old, yet he still maintains a mindset of continuous improvement and lifelong learning. He constantly experiments with new manufacturing methodologies to perfect every single steamer, while passing down his master craftsmanship and extensive entrepreneurial experience to mentor the next generations.
Carrying Forward the Past and Opening Up the Future
In 2015, Mr. Lui Ming's grandson, Jimmy Lui (呂天凱), returned to Hong Kong from overseas to comprehensively master factory operations and the local wholesale business. He recognized that baking enthusiasts faced a market with very limited choices in terms of tool brands and styles. Capitalizing on his family factory's robust production resources, he took the initiative to manufacture a diverse range of professional baking tools that were stylish, durable, safety-certified, and available in multiple sizes—all at accessible, market-friendly prices.
The Birth of the "MingBan Mart" Brand
In early 2021, Mr. Jimmy Lui officially and successfully registered the brand "明品" (MingBan). While preserving the signature bamboo and stainless steel steamers of the original "Ming Sang" heritage line, the brand expanded into manufacturing premium-grade stainless steel and aluminum alloy baking tools. Upholding the empathy-driven and customer-centric artisan spirit that his grandfather always championed, he continues to drive the legacy of this iconic brand forward into the future!
Steamer Legend · Ming Sang Steel Bamboo Receptacle Factory
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【Hong Kong Craftsmanship】Going Global with His Invented Steel-Bamboo Steamers: 92-Year-Old Master Lui Ming Continues to Explore New Inventions Every Day
【Feature】A Lifelong Passion Crafting Extraordinary Bamboo Artistry (Alternatively: 【Special Report】How Absolute Dedication Shaped an Extraordinary Bamboo Craft)