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Alice Wu

Is Hong Kong still a foodies’ heaven? Or has that gone down the drain along with our reputation as a shopping paradise?
It’s hard to let go of those titles, so much a part of Hong Kong’s identity. We were, for a long time, a place associated with great food. We were a shopping mecca. The city that never sleeps.
Over a nightcap with a childhood friend back in Hong Kong to visit family, I had what has become quite a familiar conversation about our beloved city.
“Wow. We are the only ones here.”
“Yeah. Nowadays, people head home by 10pm, latest.”
“Hong Kong is so quiet. I saw all the empty shops in Causeway Bay too.”
“Times have changed. It’s definitely not the way it was when we came back for summer break when we were young.”


“Did you see the news of another restaurant shutting down?”
Yes, I did. And last week it was reported that Jin Man Lou in Prince Edward and Star Seafood and Roasted Goose Restaurant in Wong Tai Sin had also put up notices of closure. By the end of the week, they will no longer exist. Both restaurant closures were related to high rent. The demise of so many restaurants is simply awful.
Former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying, a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, has been trying to talk sense into landlords. Last month, he called on them to cut rents or risk missing out. This month, he warned of the “sheer self-delusion” of holding out for high rents.
Leung has been highlighting what restaurants and retailers have cited as one of the issues making it impossible to keep going. Jin Man Lou, for instance, said its landlord had demanded a rent increase that made it too hard for it to continue operations while an employee at the Star Seafood restaurant said its landlord had refused to lower the rent.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has been calling for Hong Kong’s traditional industries to innovate. It’s change or die – we get it. But, unlike Leung, Lee has not really addressed the elephant in the room: rent. If we understand Leung correctly, he is in effect telling landlords they must change their ways or businesses could perish in this economic environment.


Piling onto the debate is Executive Council member Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, who represents the catering sector in the Legislative Council. Last week, he blamed the catering industry’s troubles on a lack of foreign workers: “If we had been able to import labour sooner, I believe the recent wave of closures could have been avoided.”
Unions, however, are calling for a review of the labour import scheme amid job losses. The unemployment rate in the catering sector, for instance, is notably higher than the city’s jobless rate. Was Cheung’s view too much of a generalisation? Absolutely.
The disruption of Covid-19 caused a labour shortage. If the catering industry had been able to import the labour it needed early on, restaurants would have been able to meet service levels – or so restaurant industry leaders’ argument seems to go.
But that would not have turned the tide in consumer behaviour and lifestyle habits, particularly Hongkongers’ regular trips to the mainland for leisure. Being cooped up for so long shifted consumer priorities – the convenience of crossing the border for a different experience proved too tempting for many. The excursions became a habit. That’s the harsh reality.


Bringing imported labour into the debate does nothing to help the sector innovate. There are still thriving restaurants. Last week in Kowloon City, I enjoyed a very nice Thai dinner in a restaurant so packed it put out makeshift tables on the street.
Hongkongers still enjoy eating out, but probably not so much at chain restaurants and not too late into the night. Businesses have had to scale down operations and yes, landlords need to be realistic. When there are fewer businesses on our streets, there are fewer people out and about, especially at night. It’s a depressing sight. Who can blame Hongkongers for taking a break where businesses are still thriving?
High rents have knock-on effects on our economy. And when people are out of work because of business closures, the economic bad news only gets worse. Resuscitating old labour disputes by blaming shutdowns on a lack of imported labour is a distraction at best. Our inability to come to terms with reality will make things more painful than they already are.
The government is considering trying to get Hong Kong onto Unesco’s “City of Gastronomy” list. But right now, we need to do something about all the empty restaurants and shops – they don’t give the impression of a thriving, buzzing Hong Kong.


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Frenzy around Hong Kong Palace Museum’s Egyptian show offers food for thought

New Central Kowloon Bypass, transport links to boost Hong Kong’s competitiveness: Paul Chan

Hong Kong economy

Tackle unrealistic rents or watch Hong Kong turn into a ghost town

An empty congee shop in Johnston Road, Wan Chai, on May 8. Ocean Empire Food Shop, a well-known Hong Kong congee restaurant chain since 1992, has announced its complete closure. Photo: Jelly Tse

Elevated rents ‘big problem’ for Hong Kong restaurants as closures mount

In May, 33-year-old congee restaurant chain Ocean Empire shut all its outlets. Photo: Jelly Tse

Industry leader Simon Wong has said the decline in tourist spending will hinder the restaurant sector’s recovery. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Why can’t Hong Kong retail landlords cut rents for struggling tenants?

Pedestrians pass empty shops in Causeway Bay on July 7, 2025. Photo: Sam Tsang

Vacant shops are seen in a shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui on June 27, 2025. Photo: Dickson Lee

As tourists return, Hong Kong has second chance at getting balance right

“Hong Kong: Through the Looking Glass Miniature Exhibition” at The Peak Tower on April 23. This event, supported by the Tourism Board’s pilot scheme for characteristic local tourism events, showcases 24 miniature art pieces, including Kai Tak Stadium, Kowloon Walled City and Night Vibes: Temple Street. Photo: May Tse

Hong Kong should support its hawkers, not let them disappear

Ninety-two-year-old licensed hawker Chan Tak-ching tends to her stall in Hong Kong’s Lai Chi Kok district on July 7. Hong Kong should heed calls to revamp its rules governing hawker licences. Photo: Sun Yeung

Opinion

Hong Kong Opinion

News

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy

Society

Rent levels are triggering a wave of shop and restaurant closures, causing job losses and making the city less attractive


Rent levels are triggering a wave of shop and restaurant closures, causing job losses and making the city less attractive.


Hong Kong property

Retail properties

Retailing

Consumers

Hong Kong tourism

Food and Drinks

China

Leung Chun-ying (CY Leung)

Tommy Cheung Yu-yan

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Rent levels are triggering a wave of shop and restaurant closures, causing job losses and making the city less attractive

Rent levels are triggering a wave of shop and restaurant closures, causing job losses and making the city less attractive