The cheap and wonderful dining world of Shenzhen has dealt its neighbour Hong Kong a sharp blow in its recovery as thousands travel north weekly to exploit the city’s cheap dining deals, high food quality, and merited service.
Hong Kong has endured two consecutive months of double-digit decreases in retail sales in April and May, lost 700 restaurants in the first half of 2024, and become awash in financial pressures to reclaim ground lost to Shenzhen.
Those travelling to Shenzhen on weekends and public holidays can have their cake and eat it too: a hotel seafood buffet with oysters and lobsters in Shenzhen will cost you HKD181 and up, a meal at a Korean beef hot pot restaurant comes to about HKD100 per person, a Middle Eastern afternoon brunch deal costs HKD73, and you can drink two cocktails for HKD75 at a downtown rooftop bar.
There is no surprise 1.51 million Hong Kongers this year at Easter, 1.3 million during the Dragon Boat Festival in June, and 1 million during the July 1st long weekend made trips across the border to Shenzhen and neighbouring cities. As Gary Ng of investment company Natixis SA estimates, Hong Kongers could spend nearly HKD84 billion in Shenzhen and Guangdong province this year.
Hong Kong-based restaurant operators, like Angelo McDonnell, CEO of Cafe Deco Group, recognise the financial hardships plaguing the F&B industry. Deals and discounts are being wielded by restaurants to invigorate local consumption – and fast.
Operating 37 restaurants, notably Chatime, Duan Chun Zhen, Stormies, and Uogashi Nihonichi, Angelo is upbeat on winning Hong Kong’s heart on service and reasonable pricing. “The trend has slightly affected our Group’s business especially over weekends or [public holidays]. [However,] the effect on weekdays is not obvious as we do have loyal customers who supported us throughout the years.”
Cafe Deco Group has expanded rapidly into new malls AIRSIDE and The Southside, enthralling diners with newness. “At some outlets such as AIRSIDE CAFE [and Stormies], we have launched Happy Hour deals to attract people who want to wind down after a long day of hard work, or a discount on self-take-away on food items at Pho Dle Bar when they want to dine at home.”
Long-term relationship building is the game for Angelo as the group recently launched the Cafe Deco Group Privilege loyalty program, allowing diners a 5% discount for Red Card members and the ability to earn CDG$ and redeem dining vouchers when VIP customers dine at their 20 brands.
Numbering a similar count of venues in the city, Black Sheep Restaurants, one of Hong Kong’s most recognisable dining groups, has largely weathered the hit of Shenzhen mania, due to what the city cannot compete with here locally: experiential dining and strength of Western concepts.
“I don’t think our guests come to us to be fed or get drunk. Our guests come to Black Sheep for an experience – that is our competitive advantage,” Marc Hofmann, the group’s Managing Partner, says.
Fine Italian food, steakhouses, upscale Cantonese venues can all be located in Shenzhen, competing in price with Black Sheep’s starry venues, yet experiential Punjabi, Sri Lankan, Greek, and Vietnamese dining cannot. Marc states “we are in the business of storytelling first, and running restaurants second.”
Similar to any nascent trend quickly embraced by diners, Marc believes the Shenzhen hype will slow down, so too with Hong Kong’s hunger for cheap deals. “Can you remember the last time you had a great deal that you experienced? You probably cannot, because deals are a short term transaction. We are here to play the long game. Our work is to invoke emotions and provide unforgettable experiences.”
As fine-dining goes, Adam Catterall, head chef of one Michelin-starred sustainable-forward restaurant Roganic Hong Kong, argues that the restaurants’ close relationships with suppliers, use of locally-grown produce, and strength of the scene point to the city beating Shenzhen in the high-tier dining space.
“In Hong Kong, we are trying to provide an experience that you cannot get in Shenzhen.” The restaurant sources vegetables, fruit, and protein from local farms in Hong Kong for their tasting menus, supporting homegrown producers. “What sets us apart from other [fine-dining] restaurants in Hong Kong [and Shenzhen] is that we use everything we can grow here.”
Roganic Hong Kong has recently introduced a more affordable eight-course short tasting menu for HKD780, in addition to their original 12-course HKD1180 menu, offering the same flavours at a reasonable price point. “Since we opened, we have always had a reputation of being an affordable fine dining restaurant.”
Beyond changes in menus, concepts, and deals, paying for your food matters, greatly, between the two cities. The convenience of operating WeChat Pay or AliPay to seamlessly pay for any meal on your smartphone in Shenzhen trumps Hong Kong’s old school ways. Enamoured by Hong Kong diners for two decades, American chain restaurant Ruby Tuesday has challenged how technology and genuine smiles comes into play with the dining scene battle.
“At Ruby Tuesday, we have 90,000 people in Hong Kong using our mobile app,” Leslie Bailey, managing editor of Ruby Tuesday in Hong Kong, comments. Since developing the app in early 2020, diners are able to browse the menu at all 10 locations, favourite menu items, pay using contactless payment, call servers over for assistance, and collect new dining offers.
Training and development of service at the chain is vital to compete with Shenzhen’s standard, the executive operator says, often seen as more polite and accommodating than Hong Kong. “All we ask the team to remember is quality, passion, and pride. That’s what Hong Kong consumers are looking for. We provide our guests with quality food served with passion and a smile in an environment we take pride in.”
Since 2003, Ruby Tuesday has amassed 400,000 members joining their membership program, enjoying 50% off food and drinks over two years for just HKD1,500. From 2019, the chain grew from four restaurants and 385 members of staff to 10 restaurants and 408 members. The strong membership discount can be seen to have directly boosted growth in the chain.
Moses Lee, a Hong Kong-based marketing professional, ventures north monthly to Shenzhen for weekend trips to Western brand hotels and fine-dining establishments. Given his residence in Sheung Shui, accessibility draws him to Shenzhen; likewise with many Hong Kongers, making a trip to the border is a matter of routine transport.
“With limited choices of entertainment and eateries in my area, the diversity in Shenzhen is appealing for me to hang out there during weekends. My job also requires me to connect with people and business partners in the GBA area, contributing to my frequent travels to the area too,“ Moses tells Foodie in an emailed response.
Where Shenzhen succeeds, and Hong Kong lacks, is the abundance of regional Chinese cooking. Moses finds Shenzhen to be a young city with “chefs and [a] population from many different provinces within mainland China. The choices of Chinese cuisine are very diverse, be it Northeastern, Peking, Shanghainese, Sichuan, Shantou, Yunnan, Shanxi, or traditional Cantonese.”
He also finds service to be “more attentive and hospitable” as compared to Hong Kong, due to the lower cost of labour in mainland China.
Instagram food blogger Cacioebaebae joins a clan of budding local foodies in supporting Hong Kong dining when the city needs it the most. From her “Kong girl” roots, she sees her “unwavering support” for Hong Kong’s food and beverage industry linked with a “deep attachment” “to the humble noodle shops [and] grander, more expansive restaurants [of the city].”
“I am reluctant to witness the fading away of these restaurants, which have become integral parts of the local community and hold such enduring significance,” she says.
Cacioebaebae finds the border dining war as a battle between trends and personal touch. “The concept of dining in Shenzhen resembles the act of watching a movie. It maintains a perpetual state of consistency and entertainment, but this repetition would eventually lead to a sense of tedium and we will inevitably get bored.”
“In contrast, dining in Hong Kong bears resemblance to attending a theatre performance. The entire dining experience might be meticulously orchestrated, yet within this well-arranged perimeter, there exists an intriguing facet – an ever-present possibility of encountering something novel, distinct, and refreshing. This approach embraces a more personal touch and allows for moments of humanity and spontaneity, which, in my view, hold a greater value than a strictly mechanical dining encounter.”
For Cacioebaebae, originality and crafting unique dining experiences that embrace Hong Kong’s culture and history will stand to compete with Shenzhen’s price and quality. Moses finds that Hong Kong’s ever-evolving bar scene and offerings of international and Michelin-starred dining lead as our competitive advantage over Shenzhen.
As restaurant businesses and chefs adapt with required changes to compete with a roaring Shenzhen, is it a bad thing that a little competition has come to push Hong Kong into a reinvention?
The city and its residents are often paralysed with nostalgia, relishing financially secure times during the golden 1980s, post-SARS revival, and pre-COVID years. Now, with a local retail upheaval and a challenger strengthening over the border, innovation and forward-thinking is required to stand taller.
The cliches of Hong Kong’s dining scene – genuine and hearty service, a mix of Eastern and Western dining venues, and options from casual street food to elegant fine-dining – prove that the city is not ready to fall under the mercy of Shenzhen, but rather stake a new challenge to reclaim a familiar title as Asia’s top dining destination.
