Mouthing Off | Red Lobster joins Five Guys and The Cheesecake Factory in Hong Kong – but should we even care?
- Red Lobster is run-of-the-mill seafood sold at an accessible price point, and there many other seafood options
- Is there an assumption that a famous international brand has to automatically be better than something local?
The Red invasion is here! That is, the American casual dining chain Red Lobster that opened in December in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay shopping and dining neighbourhood.
I admit I was quite interested in its arrival. In the United States, the chain is hugely popular, including with singer Beyoncé, who name-dropped the restaurant in her hit song Formation.
People love the generous platters. They can’t get enough of the “endless shrimp” promotions and TV ads with happy people dunking lobster claws into bowls of melted butter.
As for me, I wouldn’t exactly say I am a fan – honestly, I can’t even remember the last time I ate at one – but I am curious about how this franchise will do in a Cantonese city full of savvy seafood connoisseurs.
I doubt middle America possesses the same discriminating palate as Hongkongers. They’re not spoiled for choice like us, and don’t have our access to refined Japanese sashimi and seafood havens in Sai Kung and on Lamma Island.