Tasty deals for Hong Kong July 1 handover celebrations include HK$7.1 egg tarts, cheap pork chop rice. Photo: May TseHong Kong is set to celebrate the July 1 handover anniversary with a host of handouts despite the dining sector facing difficult times in terms of operations. The offers include discounted pork chop rice, HK$7.1 (90 US cents) egg tarts and special hotel buffets.
The city’s catering industry on Wednesday announced a list of celebratory offers to mark the 27th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return of Chinese sovereignty on July 1 – the second year the sector is participating in the campaign.
About 2,000 restaurants are taking part in the discount campaign, with the Fullerton Ocean Park hotel joining the mix this year.
But the number has fallen short of a target of 3,000 participants that catering sector lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan had expected.
“I still have a few days. My staff and my colleagues here can try to get more to work up the numbers,” Cheung said.
He also acknowledged the sector was facing challenges, resulting in selective offerings by businesses rather than discounts across their entire menus.
“If I had asked across the board, probably only 50 restaurants [would be] participating ... it is hard to take 29 per cent off your bill and be able to pay rent, salaries and all your food costs,” he added.
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The retail and catering industry has struggled to recover from the pandemic, with Hongkongers flocking to cheaper destinations such as Japan and neighbouring Shenzhen for their weekends and holidays.
Besides F&B offerings, the government on Wednesday also released a list of discounts from the retail and transport sectors for the July 1 holiday.
It includes free rides for children aged three to 11 on MTR trains, free tram rides, discounts for Ngong Ping 360 tram tickets, and free admission to permanent exhibitions at the Science and Space museums.
More than 2,000 restaurants are offering selective deals with prices related to “7” and “1” in accordance with July 1.
The Fullerton Hotel, for example, is slashing 29 per cent off meals at all its four on-site restaurants, or at 71 per cent of regular prices, from June 28 to July 7.
From June 29 to July 1, Tai Cheong Bakery will sell egg tarts for HK$7.1 each, while cha chaan teng chain Tai Hing is also offering a 29 per cent discount for its entire menu on July 1 at all locations, except its airport branch.
Conglomerate Maxims will also sell its signature baked rice with pork chop in tomato sauce at 29 per cent off at all its MX and Food2 chains.
Asked about the expected boost to business from the campaign, Cheung said it was not a consideration in his calculations.
“I never tabulated, and I never asked,” he said. “We want everybody to be happy when they come into our restaurants.”
Latest government figures showed retail sales in March dropped 6.9 per cent year on year, followed by a further decline of 14.7 per cent in April.
Hong Kong Retail Management Association chairwoman Annie Tse Yau On-yee had recently predicted the sector’s sales could decline by a low double-digit percentage for the entire year.