Restaurants in Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong, struggle to survive amid coronavirus pandemic travel curbs – ‘Every day, we wait for customers but they don’t come’

Once the beating heart of Tsim Sha Tsui, Chungking Mansions is a shadow of its former self, as a slump in tourist arrivals leave businesses hanging by a thread

‘We are losing money daily and don’t know how long we will survive,’ says one restaurant owner who has seen business fall more than 80 per cent

Reading Time:2 minutes

Camilla Hung says business at Hung’s Chinese Restaurant, on the ground floor of Chungking Mansions, is down more than 80 per cent. Many restaurants in the complex are struggling to survive. Photo: Kylie Knott

Published: 3:15pm, 15 Oct 2021Updated: 1:25pm, 16 Oct 2021

Tears well up as Hongkonger Camilla Hung talks about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the restaurant she and her husband have operated for the past seven years.

“We open seven days a week, from 11am-11pm. Every day, we wait for customers but they don’t come,” says Hung.

Hung’s Chinese Restaurant is on the ground floor of Chungking Mansions, the complex of five 17-storey blocks on Nathan Road in the Kowloon district of Tsim Sha Tsui, that’s long been a magnet for tourists seeking budget accommodation and a cheap meal.

Like many of the 40 licensed restaurants in Chungking Mansions, a drop in tourists visiting the city as a result of Covid-19 – made worse by strict quarantine measures for inbound travellers – has taken a toll.

Kalai Slevi prepares a dish at Karaikudi Akka. Photo: Kylie Knott

Raju Alim, manager of The Delhi Club in Chungking Mansions, says a lack of tourists is hurting business. Photo: Kylie Knott

“We are losing money daily and don’t know how long we will survive,” says Hung, adding trade in the past two years is down more than 80 per cent. “I’m in my 50s … what will I do if we close?”