Even Hong Kong’s Michelin-starred restaurants are offering takeaway menus as coronavirus forces diners to stay home
- Eateries are taking a big hit as Hongkongers avoid eating out amid social distancing measures, fears over coronavirus
- Some Michelin-starred restaurants are offering takeaway, home catering as bookings hit by months of protests, Covid-19 pandemic
Some of Hong Kong’s most exclusive restaurants are doing what was once considered unthinkable, in response to the coronavirus pandemic: offering takeaway menus.
From ornate Cantonese dining halls to brasseries serving fine French cuisine, several of the city’s Michelin-starred restaurants are designing menus so diners fearful of venturing out during a surge of new coronavirus cases can still enjoy their favourites at home.
The Ying Jee Club, a Cantonese restaurant in the Central district with two Michelin stars, began offering a takeaway menu this week that includes five- and seven-course set meals for two to four people featuring wok-fried Wagyu beef with leek and black pepper, double-boiled matsutake mushrooms with Chinese cabbage and the restaurant’s signature crispy salted chicken. The restaurant is also offering some dishes – the ones that travel better – from its à la carte menu.
Chef Siu Hin Chi, who has earned Michelin stars at three different restaurants in Hong Kong since 2009, said the restaurant has quietly prepared takeaway items for its regular customers in the past, but decided to offer a takeaway menu for the general public as more people are staying home because of concerns over the health crisis.
“I think the current coronavirus will change the [food and beverage] landscape globally, not just in Hong Kong, as people will look for more quality when they dine out, regardless of whether it is fine dining or casual dining,” Siu said.