Where are the affordable dinners?
I wrapped up my happy three-week trip in Toronto with a fond memory of delicious Asian meals, long overdue gatherings and autumn-like nice weather – and returned to Hong Kong.
Still jetlagged, I was able to meet some good old friends – first day from the United States, second day from the United Kingdom and third day from Australia - who made a quick summer visit to this city.
Next in line are guests from Shanghai, Boston and London, where, if I may borrow the word from a friend, one would take a year to visit all her friends in the phonebook.
Of course, local residents are going out for summer vacation after a three-year absence mainly – based on my impression – to various Asian destinations most notably Japan.
That sprang an interesting question: are there more people coming to this town? Or rather more people going out this year?
One doesn’t need to be a scientist to figure out that retail outlets and restaurants are bleeding.
Times Square, the iconic shopping arcade in Causeway Bay, saw a two per cent drop in revenue in the first half, according to the interim result by its parent Wharf REIC. Worse still, Wharf chairman Stephen Ng remarked that overall retail sales may continue to be under pressure, following a somewhat "disappointing" post-Covid recovery in the second quarter.
Consumption is just not returning because of the poor economy, and also because of the strong US dollar, to which Hong Kong dollar is pegged.
That also hurt Castelo Investment, which has closed nine restaurants such as Jaspa’s in Kennedy Town and Sai Kung and Wagyu Lounge in Happy Valley, delivering shocks to the residents that they could survive the pandemic but just not long enough.
One answer that can explain the somewhat awkward economic situation comes from my retired sister who goes to Shenzhen almost every week for food and shopping.
Thanks to the border opening, the easily accessible rail transport and particularly Meituan restaurant discount, she finds many restaurants at a small fraction of the meal bill she pays in Hong Kong.
I am still not adjusting too well to the 25 per cent or even 30 per cent of the restaurant bill I checked in Toronto. But looking at my two dinner bills with my visiting friends in town this week, I think I might suggest we shall have a longer dinner, take a high-speed train for a more spacious yet less costly restaurant.
-- Contact us at [email protected]
-
Integration of GIS and BIM can drive development of smart city Dr. Winnie Tang
The China Association for Geospatial Industry and Sciences (“the CAGIS”) released the Top Ten Highlights of China's Geographic Information Industry in 2023, which provides much inspiration. The
-
Equip young people for the future Dr. Winnie Tang
In late February, the inaugural flight of an air taxi from Shenzhen Shekou Cruise Homeport to Zhuhai Jiuzhou Port took only 20 minutes with an estimated one-way ticket price of 200 to 300 yuan per
-
Are we raising a generation of leaders, or of followers? Brian YS Wong
The essence of education is defined not by the facts it imparts, but the potential knowledge it inspires students to individually pursue on their own. Put it this way – the ideal form of education
-
The urgent need for reforms to sex education in Hong Kong Sharon Chau
Nearly one in every four university students (23%) in Hong Kong has been sexually harassed, according to a 2019 report published by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). A 2019 study found that
-
STEAM should be linked to real life Dr. Winnie Tang
In the 2017 Policy Address, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education was proposed as one of the eight major directions to promote I&T development. Since then, funding has