Hong Kong restaurateurs revamp traditional dining as closures reshape industry

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.”