Feast or FamineHong Kong third wave: Korean restaurant opening went ahead a day before dine-in dinner ban kicked in

Michelin-star chef Kang Min-goo of Mingles in Seoul tells Susan Jung about the trials and tribulations he has gone through to open his first restaurant overseas

Hansik Goo managed one dinner service before being restricted to lunch service only, and came up with a takeaway menu in time for this week’s brief dine-in ban

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South Korean chef Kang Min-goo’s restaurant Mingles in Seoul has two Michelin stars. Hansik Goo in Central, Hong Kong, his first restaurant overseas, opened a day before dine-in restrictions began. Photo: courtesy of Instagram

Published: 10:30am, 1 Aug 2020Updated: 10:30am, 1 Aug 2020

The announcement earlier this week that the Hong Kong government was implementing stricter measures to slow down the third wave of coronavirus cases should not have come as a surprise.

Nobody was happy about it, of course, because it was potentially devastating to businesses that were suddenly being required to temporarily shut their doors.

However, we are pleased that the government is finally – very, very slowly – closing a few of the loopholes that have allowed the virus into the city through the 33 categories of exempt visitors (get on with it already!).

The new measures meant that all food and beverage establishments were prohibited from serving meals at any time on the premises – they could only sell food for takeaway.

The interior of chef Kang’s Hansik Goo restaurant in Central, Hong Kong.

The government did a U-turn on part of the regulations only one day after they took effect on July 29, and as of July 31, restaurants can once again continue to open between 5am and 6pm, although a maximum of two diners can sit at each table.