Hi, I’m Rachel Yu.

I am a Cantonese teacher & language lover, polyglot, line cook, world traveller and powerlifter. I was born and raised in Hong Kong.

My native language is Cantonese, I also speak Mandarin, English, Spanish, as well as some Japanese and Tagalog.

Before founding Cantonese After Hours, I worked as a line cook in a hotel. After a while, I quit my job as a cook to backpack around Central America for a few months, where I learned Spanish and discovered my love and passion learning foreign languages.

In June 2025, when I returned to Hong Kong from my adventure, I decided to start teaching Cantonese while continuing to learn Spanish and two more other languages, Japanese and Tagalog.

The Cantonese language, learning other languages and meeting lovely individuals are three of my biggest passions, and nothing makes me feel more fulfilled than combining my passions together and making a living out of it while helping other people.

Outside of teaching…

I am a powerlifter.

I love to bake, banana bread is my specialty!

I hitchhiked across Central America for 3 months, where I had some of the most life-changing experiences in my life.