In the last of a three-part series on Hong Kong’s ailing SME sector, Cannix Yau and Oscar Liu find some businesses making the best of desperate times to strike out in new directions, while others hope for more support to help them rise anew. Find the previous parts here.
Dennis Lau Yat-hin, the third-generation owner of Hong Kong’s Wing Nin chain of cart noodle restaurants, was brimming with pride at his newest outlet in Jordan as he rattled off his big plans.
“We’ve prepared to invest more than HK$11 million [US$1.4 million] to open six more outlets this year, on top of the original four eateries,” he said.
“For the next three years, my goal is to open 30 outlets as the first step, though I think we can actually open 50 more.”
The chain’s new flagship restaurant opened in Jordan in June. A wooden cart stands against a giant mural showing the founders – his grandparents – selling cart noodles in Yuen Long in the 1960s.
Customers come for the signature noodles with their choice of toppings from a wide assortment including curried beef brisket, braised pig skin, cubed pig’s blood, fish balls, squid and much more.