Mouthing Off | Millennials’ love of casual dining revives food courts – but of the hip, artisanal, and pricey kind
- Hong Kong’s newest food court, BaseHall in Jardine House, has a cool design and hip culinary talent, but do you really want to pay HK$128 for a laksa?
- Hawker food stalls and cooked food centres are enjoyable to eat at because they are authentic and appeal to all
Here’s another sign of Covid-19’s devastating effect on the Hong Kong restaurant scene: the hottest new opening this summer is a food court.
The thing is, that’s not a term most retail operators want to use. It’s far too down-market for any shopping development that aims to project prestige and luxury.
The trend among malls in Hong Kong business districts to eliminate fast and cheap meal counters began a little more than 10 years ago. Pacific Place turfed out their popular food court for a Lane Crawford Home store. IFC and Elements deliberately didn’t leave space for multi-vendor dining areas.
Not even McDonald’s is really welcome any more. Their outlets have been relegated from prime high-traffic locations to remote back lots. Think about where you have to go for McNuggets now if you’re at Elements, IFC or Pacific Place. Even a classier concept like Food Republic has retreated from Cityplaza in Taikoo Shing.