[Big read] Why Hong Kong’s legendary dim sum halls are vanishing

(Edited and refined by Josephine Hong, with the assistance of AI translation.)

Fulum Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurant, a time-honoured Cantonese restaurant on Ming On Street in Hong Kong’s old district of Hung Hom, was known for its live seafood cooked to order. During the day, it also served traditional handmade dim sum and classic Cantonese dishes. Its affordable pricing made it a regular haunt for neighbourhood residents for many years.

But on 30 June, the restaurant abruptly posted a notice about its closure. Regulars were shocked to find its doors shut.

Fulum Group, the restaurant’s parent company, is a well-known Hong Kong restaurant chain. According to the group’s website, the Fulum Fisherman’s Wharf brand was established in 2001 and had a history of 25 years. The closure of its Hung Hom branch marks the end of the brand’s entire operation. Fulum Group’s other Chinese restaurant brands, including Fulum Restaurant, Fulum Palace and Sportful Garden Restaurant, remain in operation.

News of the closure sparked an outpouring of disappointment among locals, who lamented online that they had lost yet another place for yum cha (饮茶, a Cantonese dining tradition).

Nearly 300 traditional restaurants disappear over seven years

The demise of Fulum Fisherman’s Wharf is just one sign of the decline of Cantonese restaurants in Hong Kong. A research report released by the city’s Legislative Council in June showed that the number of Cantonese restaurants fell sharply from 1,790 in 2018 to 1,500 last year, a drop of 290, or 16%, in seven years.

By contrast, the number of restaurants serving Beijing, Shanghai and other regional mainland Chinese cuisines rose by 7% over the same period. Japanese restaurants, takeaway outlets and coffee shops also increased in number, while the number of tea beverage shops surged by 76%.

The Legislative Council report said the changes may reflect a shift in Hong Kongers’ preference towards more casual dining. But this has also raised concerns about the loss of traditional dining options and the waning competitiveness of some local cuisines.

The report cited industry insiders as calling on the Hong Kong government to adopt more comprehensive and targeted measures to revitalise the local food and beverage (F&B) sector and strengthen its competitiveness.

It also cited South Korea, where a dedicated agency under the relevant government department trains chefs and promotes Korean cuisine, while the government certifies outstanding Korean restaurants overseas.

The decline of Hong Kong’s Cantonese restaurant sector shows no signs of slowing down. According to Hong Kong media tallies, at least 14 well-known or chain Cantonese restaurants closed across the city in the first four months of this year alone. Among them were Cantonese restaurants in public housing estates that specialised in birthday banquets and family reunion meals.

Highly rated restaurants also scaling back

Some highly rated Cantonese restaurants that have operated for decades, such as Lei Garden and Super Star Seafood Restaurant, have also sharply reduced their footprint in recent months, closing several branches.

Cantonese restaurants originated in Guangdong and combine yum cha with banquet dining, typically serving communal meals at round tables that can seat up to 12 people.

As yum cha is one of the most representative features of Hong Kong life, Cantonese restaurants are more than just places to eat. For many years, they have also served as important venues for social interaction, preserving cultural traditions and strengthening community ties.

Edward Leung, chair of the Hong Kong Feast and Retreat Association and a former Legislative Council member, told Lianhe Zaobao (LHZB) that the number of Cantonese restaurants in the city had declined in recent years mainly because of the heavy operating costs of these traditional Chinese restaurants and the difficulty in attracting young customers.

He said Cantonese restaurants that relied on pre-prepared dishes were easily eliminated because their food lacked distinction, while Hong Kongers and mainland visitors now placed greater emphasis on atmosphere and dining experiences, with higher expectations than before.

Leung added that the growing popularity of travelling north to spend money in recent years had dealt a clear and sustained blow to Hong Kong’s Cantonese restaurants.

He said, “Cantonese restaurants in Hong Kong heavily rely on families dining together on weekends. But mainland restaurants are bigger and cheaper, and offer a sense of novelty, so many Hong Kongers choose to travel north.

“At the same time, Hong Kong’s F&B sector faces across-the-board increases in rental, energy and ingredient costs. Amid the weak local spending power, restaurants cannot raise prices and can only offer discounts or cut ingredient costs. This creates a vicious cycle for operating conditions.”

Indeed, the Legislative Council report showed that total restaurant receipts in Hong Kong in the first quarter of this year were 7.2% lower than in 2018 and had yet to recover to pre-Covid levels. Chinese restaurants were hit the hardest, with receipts plunging by nearly 30%. The figures also show how Hong Kong residents’ spending spree in the mainland is hitting the city’s F&B sector

Cross-border dining is one problem, poor service is another

However, Hong Kong university lecturer Gordon Fan told LHZB that there are many reasons for the Cantonese restaurant sector’s decline. While the trend of Hong Kongers travelling north to spend money had dealt a major blow, poor service standards were another frequent source of public criticism.

Hong Kongers often share posts on social media and online forums recounting unpleasant experiences at Cantonese restaurants.

Common complaints include rude service from waiters, such as scowling, ignoring customers’ requests or even brusquely rushing diners to finish their meals and leave before the afternoon break. Some restaurants place snacks that customers did not order on their tables and charge for them, while set meals can sometimes cost more than ordering the same items on its own.

Diners also frequently complain about cleanliness and dining conditions, often criticising the cramped seating, noisy surroundings and declining food quality, including subpar dim sum or signature dishes.

Fan recounted a recent lunch experience at a fairly large Cantonese restaurant in Kowloon. He and his friends were asked by the receptionist to take a queue number and wait outside. On learning that more than half their party still had not arrived, the receptionist immediately scowled and rudely prevented them from entering. 

When all of Fan’s friends had arrived and they were seated, no one served them tea even after waiting for five minutes. They called for the manager, who then barked at a waiter to set their table. Resentful at being shouted at, the staff took out his frustration on the customers.

Fan said he and his friends felt helpless. They had already waited a long time and did not want to leave, so they stayed for the meal. Yet the waiter neither cleared away the empty bamboo steamers and used dishes nor refilled their teapot throughout the meal. Even when the teapot lid was left lifted off to signal that they needed a refill, no one attended to them. The group agreed that they could eat better food on the mainland next time for the same price and, more importantly, avoid such shabby treatment.

Fan lamented that yum cha was a weekend ritual for many Hong Kong families and friends to gather and catch up, and a distinctive part of the city’s culture. As Cantonese restaurants gradually fade from Hong Kongers’ daily lives, he fears that yum cha, once an integral part of life in the city, may also slowly disappear.

Edward Leung, however, said that when some Cantonese restaurants in Hong Kong closed, new kinds of eateries took their place. The overall number of restaurant openings in the city had in fact continued to rise over the past few years, so the contraction of the Cantonese restaurant sector had little impact on Hong Kong’s employment rate or economy.

But he noted another phenomenon: some Cantonese restaurants had taken out loans under the government’s Special 100% Loan Guarantee Scheme during the three years of the pandemic. When business failed to recover after the pandemic and repayments became due, some simply chose to close, creating a negative public perception.

From an industry perspective, Leung said that Cantonese restaurants had always been a pillar of Hong Kong’s F&B sector, meeting much of the demand for family gatherings and banquets. Their gradual decline would, in the long term, make it harder to pass on the skills of dim sum chefs and other traditional culinary trades, to Hong Kong’s detriment.

Youths choosing smaller tea houses over banquet halls

As the industry struggles, restaurant operators are experimenting with new ways to attract customers.

Recognising that younger consumers are increasingly uninterested in traditional large yum cha or banquet-style restaurants, some chain operators have begun replacing sprawling venues with smaller, more casual tea houses.

Businessman Leung Fai-lung, who returned to Hong Kong from Australia, has opened seven Cantonese dim sum restaurants across the city with friends in recent years.

He told LHZB that traditional restaurants gave people the impression that “you must sit around a table with a large group”. But as dining in small groups has become popular among young people in recent years, their restaurants focused more on tables for two or four. The strategy had proved effective, with such diners accounting for the largest share of their customers.

This has also left Leung Fai-lung optimistic about the prospects for Hong Kong’s F&B sector. He said that yum cha remains a Hong Kong tradition. Although the restaurant sector had faced competition from Japanese, South Korean and mainland Chinese establishments in recent years, there was still a market, and they would consider opening more outlets.

Some traditional operators are also exploring new dining occasions. During the FIFA World Cup, for example, some teahouses extended their opening hours to screen matches and promote “morning tea and football” sessions.

During the tournament, early-morning tables for match viewing at the century-old teahouse Lin Heung Lau were in high demand. Wong Chi-yin, its design and marketing director, told China News Service that the teahouse had created special meal packages for football fans, with the World Cup lifting revenue by 10% to 20%.

Some Cantonese restaurants have also begun waging aggressive price wars. At least three restaurants in a Tsim Sha Tsui shopping centre launched dim sum promotions, with individual dishes priced as low as HK$7 to HK$9 (US$0.90 to US$1.15). The wide selection included fresh abalone dumplings, conpoy dumplings in superior broth and braised pork knuckles.

The promotions yielded immediate results. Long queues for yum cha formed outside the mall before it opened at 9 am. An elderly diner told the media that the restaurant not only had a pleasant setting and affordable prices, but also served high-quality food.

Good pricing is not enough

Edward Leung, however, said discount wars were a desperate short-term tactic to attract and retain customers. They reflected the intense pressure on Hong Kong’s F&B sector but were not a viable long-term strategy.

He said Hong Kong’s Cantonese restaurant industry must recognise that it cannot compete with mainland operators on price, so instead improving the quality becomes crucial. Restaurants should focus on innovation and the dining experience, making yum cha something customers can once again look forward to.

Leung’s family runs a Cantonese restaurant in Mong Kok. He said the restaurant was committed to culinary refinement, carefully selecting premium seasonal ingredients. Its head chef also reinterpreted classic signature dishes, preserving the essence of traditional craftsmanship while introducing contemporary flavours that leaves a lasting impression on diners.

Leung’s family is similarly optimistic about Hong Kong’s F&B market and will open a new Cantonese restaurant in Central in September.

He said the new restaurant would blend Cantonese, Sichuan and Japanese cuisines, bringing together the freshness prized in Cantonese and Japanese cooking with the robust flavours of Sichuan cuisine to offer customers a new culinary experience. He added, “Beyond the food itself, we will also focus on creating the feel of a Chinese-style izakaya or tavern.”

Leung said that successful restaurants in Hong Kong generally placed great importance on “storytelling”. It was not just the quality of the food that mattered, but the entire dining experience, which should feel like a “short trip”. Cantonese restaurants likewise need to tell a story, including by bringing back pushcart dim sum service and using retro decor to attract customers.

He noted that Hong Kong had many time-honoured and century-old restaurants that received little attention until a closure was announced, only then did customers flock back in droves. The Hong Kong government could emulate Japan’s earlier “endangered foods list” campaign, combining food with storytelling to promote and save traditional flavours. This could create a sense of urgency that “it’s now or never”, attracting locals and travellers alike, and breathing new life into old restaurants that had been forgotten.

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “人渐散茶变凉 传统厨艺难传承 港粤式酒楼逆风中求存 创新转型盼守住老味道”.

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