By Rita Lim
March 1, 2024
Food enthusiasts and local eateries are geared up for the much awaited Restaurant Week, a biannual culinary celebration that promises to satisfy both the taste buds and the wallets. The event, running from February 20th to March 24th 2024, is one of the city’s largest dining events with over 280 restaurants participating, rolling out special menus at pocket-friendly prices.
The concept of “Restaurant Week” was first founded by American restaurateurs Tim Zagat and Joe Baum in 1992. The initiative began as a week-long promotional event in New York City and quickly gained popularity, expanding globally to various cities such as Hong Kong. To partake in the event, diners must reserve seats at the participating restaurants by using the online dining guide and restaurant reservations platform, DiningCity. All participating restaurants will offer discounted lunch or dinner sets at different price categories, allowing diners to enjoy a fine dining experience without worrying too much about the hefty price tag.
The event also serves as a perfect opportunity for adventurous foodies to sample dishes from the city’s diverse culinary offerings. Linda Wong, a 20-year-old food enthusiast , expresses her excitement about the event,“I think Restaurant Week is an amazing opportunity for us to explore unfamiliar cuisines,” she remarks,“I always wanted to try food from different regions of the world and through Restaurant Week I am able to do so at a much cheaper price.” Linda discovered the event a few days prior to its commencement through a promotional post on Instagram. Since then, she has actively used Dining City’s app to book reservations at participating restaurants. “So far I’ve tried French, Argentinian, and Lebanese cuisines. I never tried these (cuisines) before so I am pretty thankful for Dining City’s event.” Says Linda.
Instagram promotional post for Restaurant Week Spring 2024 by Dining City
Penny Wu, a 19-year-old student from Taiwan also agrees that Restaurant Week presents a valuable opportunity to explore the culinary scene in Hong Kong. Penny was invited by a fellow foodie friend to dine at an Argentinian restaurant that is participating in Restaurant Week. “I’ve never really tried food outside of my comfort zone so this event allowed me to broaden my palate.” Penny recounts. “I am glad I did as the food was exceptional.”
Restaurant owners are also looking forward to the event as it brings a range of benefits. A staff at La Pampa Argentinian Steak House notes that restaurant week attracts a larger crowd. “We participated in this event last year and the business was good. This is also why we are participating in this event this year.” The staff member shares. Another staff member at TokyoLima, a Japanese and Peruvian fusion restaurant, echoed similar sentiments. “We’ve been a participant of Restaurant Week ever since the restaurant opened,” The employee explains “Joining this program is a strategic marketing move as it allows customers to learn about us and our other promotional initiatives.”
Indeed the Restaurant Week has proven to be a successful platform for restaurants to showcase their offerings to a broader audience. Christina Wong, a 20 year old university student, discovered TokyoLima during Restaurant Week. “If it wasn’t for Restaurant Week, I probably would not have tried the restaurant.” She confesses, “The location is quite difficult to find so without this event, it’s quite unlikely for me to try it.”
Overall, the increased footfall and exposure not only generate revenue for the food and beverage industry but also create a supportive ecosystem for existing establishments to thrive and for new restaurants to emerge. “It (Restaurant Week) can drive consumption, and encourage consumers to try new restaurants,” states 26 years old food influencer Tanaka Kotaru, who runs the account @foodiegogoooo with over 200k followers on Instagram. Having been a food blogger for over 4 years, Tanaka is well familiar with the culinary scene in Hong Kong. “The event provides great resources for Hong Kong’s food and beverage industry.” Tanka shares, “It allows the existing restaurants to operate and new restaurants to be developed.”
Full list of participating restaurants and exclusive online booking is available via the DiningCity App or Hong Kong Restaurant Week website.
Feature image by Rita
Edited by Floria and Rachel