Hong Kong dining discounts not to everyone’s taste but Chinese restaurants report brisk business on handover anniversary
- Outlets saw boom in business, with sevenfold increase in sales for some dishes, Association of Restaurant Managers spokesman Jonathan Leung says
- Some patrons unaware of discounts, while others say they were a pleasant surprise but did not make much of a difference
Residents and tourists were unimpressed with the long list of July 1 perks offered by food outlets as part of Hong Kong’s handover anniversary celebrations on Saturday, but large Chinese restaurants and dim sum chains reported brisk business.
Association of Restaurant Managers’ spokesman Jonathan Leung Chun, who also runs Seafood Delight Group, said business was booming on the 26th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule, with certain dishes that had a 29 per cent discount seeing a sevenfold increase in sales. The discount, or “paying 71 per cent of the price”, is a play on “7/1”, referring to July 1.
“Honestly, business has not been great for the past few holidays, with many Hongkongers choosing to travel abroad,” he said. “This weekend, we felt there was a major difference.”
The number of food outlets offering perks and discounts as part of the anniversary celebrations represented about 12 per cent of the 12,800 restaurants in the city, based on official data as of April 18.
In the popular Lan Kwai Fong entertainment district in Central, about 10 restaurants and bars were offering discounts on wines, champagnes, weekend brunches, seafood and meat dishes on Saturday and Sunday.
