“I guess people don’t know yet that the market has reopened. I think more people will come again tomorrow when people start talking about it online again,” local snack vendor Chan Ming said.

Cherry Lee, a legal sector employee in her 30s attending the event, said she had heard a lot about the first phase of the carnival but was unable to stop by at the time.

“A few of my friends were curious as well, so we decided to come after work,” she said.

The government launched the carnival, along with two others in Kennedy Town and Kwun Tong, to help boost the city’s nighttime economy and get people out and about again.

Some shopping centres have hosted their own after-dark bazaars in tandem with the scheme. The Wine and Dine Festival in two weeks is part of the programme, as was the return of the National Day fireworks display on October 1.

The first phase of the Wan Chai carnival ran from September 27 to October 2, overlapping with mainland China’s National Day “golden week”, when more than a million travellers crossed the border to visit Hong Kong.

It was intended to start up again from October 6 to 8, but was cancelled last weekend as Typhoon Koinu skirted the city and triggered a No 9 storm warning.

The second phase of the night market will run from Friday to Sunday and continue over the next weekend.

On Friday night, the event was illuminated by rows of lights and massive glowing signs after the first phase grappled with power supply problems, with the newer iteration including a children’s dance performance on stage.

Many vendors at the time said the lights kept flickering and there was insufficient power for cooking food, despite the stall owners paying extra for the service.

Vendor Christopher Przemyski, who was selling items such as tacos, lobster rolls and alcoholic drinks, described business on the first day of the second phase as slightly more upbeat, despite the lights turning off several times while he spoke.

Discussing last weekend, Przemyski said he and his team were caught off guard when authorities asked them to dismantle their stall at around 6pm on Saturday as Koinu drew closer.

“It [was] so late on a Saturday night, how could I find people to go all the way there to take everything down?” he said.

Quintin Xiu, 44, said he had enjoyed the market when it was held over the holidays last month and had decided to stop by again.

“The vibe is really cool, and I enjoy snacks,” he said.

But those heading to the carnival this time will miss out on the drone show from the first phase, which will not appear this weekend or the next.

Over at Belcher Bay Promenade in Kennedy Town, hundreds visited the night bazaar, which also reopened after its typhoon-linked closure last weekend.

The green-themed market is open from Friday to Sunday, with 50 to 60 stalls selling handicrafts, ornaments, stuffed animals and snacks.

Emma Lau, a vendor of aroma products, said the reopening did not attract too many people, compared with two weeks ago.

“My business is doing okay so far, but maybe because it’s a weekday, not a lot of people are coming in,” the 27-year-old stall owner said.

“It was super crowded at the Mid-Autumn Festival. But back then the visitors were mostly tourists, and today basically only locals have come.”

Lau said she felt the reopening was not well publicised.

“A customer told me she didn’t even know the night market would be open tonight before she happened to come here. I hope there’ll be more exposure of this event.”

Tea leaf vendor Franky Chan, 39, said business was satisfactory, although there were not many customers.

“Customers tonight are quite willing to buy,” he said. “After 7pm, the crowd got bigger and the vibe got better. I expect business will get better over the next two days because of the weekend.”

At around 8.30pm, an African band started to play the djembes on a stage next to the stalls, and people gradually gathered around.

A spectator surnamed Ma said the lack of a buzz at the bazaar was disappointing.

“It isn’t very crowded and busy tonight. I don’t feel many night vibes here,” the 35-year-old marketing worker said. “I went to the night carnival in Wan Chai a couple weeks ago. It was more buoyant.”

Another visitor surnamed Tsoi said he was not very optimistic about the measures introduced to promote the nighttime economy.

“I think it’s hard for Hong Kong to restore its nightlife as before,” the 32-year-old financial researcher said. “People are not confident about the economy, so they won’t have as much motivation to spend as before.”