Hong Kong restaurateurs revamp traditional dining as closures reshape industry

Martin Lee, chief operating officer for Chinese and Western restaurants at Maxim’s Group, says challenges facing the sector are opportunities for innovation.

Photo: Edmond So Hong Kong’s traditional Chinese dining landscape is undergoing a structural overhaul, with a leading restaurant operator pivoting to experiential dining and smaller footprints amid a wave of closures and residents heading across the border for shopping and dining.

Traditional dim sum and Chinese restaurants have been closing across the city, including three Star Seafood Restaurant branches in districts such as Wong Tai Sin, and the 35-year-old Metropol Restaurant in Admiralty.

Martin Lee, chief operating officer for Chinese and Western restaurants at Maxim’s Group, said the industry’s current difficulties had provided an impetus for operators to innovate, noting that employers were usually reluctant to overhaul their business models when the market was thriving. “I feel that the food and beverage industry has its own survival space in every era,” he said. “The catering industry is constantly changing, but transformations always follow major events, from Sars [Severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak] to the [Covid-19] pandemic. “When times are good, even if you want to, your colleagues [and bosses] feel there is no need to change. “You only have the opportunity to transform when times are bad … when things are not working out, you are slightly forced to step up.” Maxim’s Group currently operates about 2,000 food outlets, with around 800 located in Hong Kong.

Lee said the company would maintain 51 Chinese restaurants in the city by the end of the year while gradually transforming its legacy brands.

The company planned to launch a premium, seafood-focused Chinese restaurant at Landmark in Central by late April, while also securing an 8,000 sq ft space in Taikoo Shing, Lee said.

The company opened a new restaurant called Canto Spice in Mong Kok’s Langham Place two months ago.

Occupying more than 5,000 sq ft, it features a contemporary design aimed at meeting the needs of changing demographics, in contrast to traditional banquet-style venues. “I think the trend of northbound consumption has not diminished even today, two years after it started,” Lee said. “We feel that Chinese cuisine will undergo a relatively major transformation in these one to two years.” Lee added the group’s footfall had dropped by 7 to 8 per cent since northbound consumption took off following the border re

原文链接: 南华早报