Pandemic victim, Hong Kong water restaurant towed

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Hong Kong (AP) — Hong Kong’s Harborfront on Tuesday after the landmark floating restaurant, which served Cantonese cuisine and seafood to Queen Elizabeth II, Tom Cruise and millions of other dining guests, was closed by the Pandemic. Was towed from.

The parent company of Jumbo Floating Restaurant was unable to find a new owner and lacked the funds to maintain it after the COVID-19 months limit.

Designed like the Chinese Imperial Palace in Aberdeen Harbor, the huge floating restaurant was known for its Cantonese and seafood cuisine. Since its establishment in 1976, it has welcomed more than 30 million guests.

However, the pandemic forced the jumbo floating restaurant to close in 2020 and all staff were dismissed. Parent company Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises said millions of dollars were spent each year inspecting and maintaining water restaurants, even though the restaurant wasn’t open, putting a financial burden on shareholders.

“We don’t expect (jumbo floating restaurant) to be able to reopen in the near future,” the company said. The potential deal to keep the restaurant open was hampered by high operating costs, he said.

The tugboat towed the restaurant on Tuesday, but it wasn’t clear where to berth next. The company planned to move to a low-cost site that could be maintained.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam had previously rejected the offer to bail out the restaurant, despite a request from lawmakers to maintain the iconic landmark.

Mr. Lam plans to invest taxpayer money in the restaurant because the government was “not good” at running such a facility, even though Congressmen asked him to save the restaurant last month. Said not.

Some Hong Kong residents remembered the heyday of the Jumbo Kingdom and expressed disappointment when they saw the restaurant go. It was famous for its gorgeous banquet dishes such as roasted suckling pigs, red shrimp, and double-simmered bird’s nest, a Chinese delicacy.

Wong Chiwa, a boat operator at Aberdeen Harbor, said a crowd of Japanese tourists would visit the restaurant during the glorious times of the Jumbo Kingdom in the 1990s.

“When the visitors arrived in large groups, the streets were full of parked cars,” he said.

Angkor Singh, 71, said Hong Kong has lost something unique.

“If the restaurant leaves today, there is definitely a sense of loss, not just for the people living in the area, but for Hong Kong as a whole,” Shin said.

“For the past few decades, I’ve been to many places around the world to take pictures, but where else in the world is there such a water restaurant? I don’t think it’s left. . “

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