Hong Kong, 17 September 2025: In the classic comedy series Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Terry returns to a rapidly changing Newcastle upon Tyne after five years away and is taken by best mate Bob on a tour of their old haunts. Except most of them have been demolished, including the Roxy Ballroom, which has made way for a new civic centre. “Hell’s teeth, is nothing sacred?” wails Terry, aghast that another teenage hangout has been razed by the wrecking ball. Developers, he discovers, have no time for nostalgia.
Hong Kong’s likely lads (and ladies) are having similar pangs of regret amid a wave of restaurant closures. The last remaining branch of seafood eatery Super Star has shut down, leaving some 50 employees in limbo; congee chain Ocean Empire Food Shop is another casualty, closing amid claims of HK$8 million in unpaid wages; popular bakery Taipan Bread & Cakes, with a string of outlets across the city, has also folded.
More will follow. Metropol in Admiralty, adored by dim sum devotees, will bid farewell to its last diner later this month. Wanchai icon Cinta-J – a home from home for Filipinos with its traditional food and Tagalog music – is doing likewise as its landlord seeks to sell the building. In this instance, at least, there is hope: owners Bryan and Cris Lee are determined to reopen elsewhere.
Latest figures show Hong Kong has 16,864 valid restaurant licences, a drop of 1.55% on this time last year, marking 12 consecutive months of year-on-year net declines. The F&B sector’s jobless rate is 6.4%, almost double the city’s average. The industry is “undergoing a reset and a survival-of-the-fittest process” amid economic uncertainty and job insecurity, observes Cathie Chung, research executive with property giant JLL. Tina Lam, owner of the Lady 13 Kitchen chain, calls it the toughest time she has known after 20 years in the business.
Crippling rents, which hit not only eateries but retail outlets and other businesses, are an issue. Former city leader CY Leung has challenged landlords to “adjust their mentality” amid a 40-year-high vacancy rate for commercial properties. “It is sheer self-delusion if landlords think they can get the rent level they want by leaving premises vacant and waiting,” he reasons. Lawmaker Peter Shiu agrees and suggests landlords could be more flexible, such as offering tenants a longer rent-free period.
But there are other factors. Our city’s F&B sector faces huge competition from Shenzhen, where the cost of running a dining business can be 50% lower than here. Cheaper prices and high service standards across the border are hugely attractive to Hong Kong families, notes Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades president Simon Wong. “Local customers traditionally account for 90% of restaurant revenue. But with 600,000 to 700,000 residents crossing the border monthly, many eateries are struggling to stay afloat.” He also highlights that our city is attracting 20% fewer visitors than before the pandemic, and those that do come are spending less.
As consumers count their dollars, our city is seeing an increase in “this-this rice” outlets. These serve no-frills Cantonese dishes for just HK$30 to HK$40, with customers pointing to their stir-fried favourites and saying “this, this”, with a portion of rice included. It means high volume and low profit margins in a sector that is increasingly cut-throat. “Just being able to stay in business is a triumph,” laments one restaurateur.
It seems there are no easy solutions. With the high F&B jobless rate, unions have called on the government to limit importing catering workers to safeguard opportunities for locals. They believe industry operators are using the labour importation scheme to hire cheap staff. Not so, respond restaurateurs, who insist the recent arrivals inject much-need new blood and improve service standards. “If we had been able to import labour sooner, I believe the recent wave of closures could have been avoided,” opines catering sector lawmaker Tommy Cheung. Junior labour minister Ho Kai-ming agrees. “This is a structural change we have to face,” he argues, while suggesting unemployed F&B workers should enrol in Employees Retraining Board courses to make themselves useful in other industries.
No food, but still plenty to digest in my latest Law & More podcast, this one featuring academic and author Judith Sihombing, who has been mentoring law students for more than four decades. In our fascinating chat, Judith looks back on her upbringing in rural Australia, early years in the legal profession, time spent teaching in Malaysia and her distinguished career in Hong Kong. You can listen here.
Finally, amid our catering sector’s struggles, some wonderful news for Hong Kong foodies. The historic Kam Kong Restaurant, founded in 1909 and a Central landmark until it closed in 1980, has reopened at a new location in Mong Kok. Strictly old school, it features traditional dim sum trolley service and classic dishes handmade by specialist chefs. You will not be surprised to hear diners are descending on it in droves.
Whatever happened to the Kam Kong Restaurant? It has – with a nod to those nostalgic lads Bob and Terry – made a comeback that once seemed less than likely.
Until next time, everybody!
Colin Cohen
Senior Partner
Boase Cohen & Collins
