Hong KongJumbo floating restaurant, one of the symbols of the fragrant port country, suffered when it lost millions of dollars because of Covid-19.
The world’s largest floating restaurant, Jumbo, will depart from Aberdeen Harbor, Hong Kong in June, with an unknown date. After shutting down due to the epidemic situation, the restaurant has lost millions of dollars in the past two years. The location where Jumbo moved to continue operations has also not been announced.
This is sad news for locals, as well as international visitors who love Hong Kong. For many people, Jumbo has been an icon, pride and lavish destination not to be missed since 1976, when Macau casino magnate and billionaire Stanley Ho opened the restaurant. 76 m long and three stories high with a total area of nearly 4,200 m2, Jumbo is The world’s largest floating restaurant.
The main entrance of the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen on June 2. Image: SCMP
The restaurant has the palace style of the Ming Dynasty, the construction cost is about 3.8 million USD. This place specializes in seafood and Cantonese cuisine. Diners can choose from more than 60 kinds of fresh seafood, including lobster, crab and many kinds of fish… Some other famous dishes are roasted suckling pig for nearly 30 USD, steamed bird’s nest with coconut milk for 43 USD. .
In its heyday, diners flocked here to enjoy lavish parties. This place has welcomed many famous people such as Queen Elizabeth, actor Tom Cruise and Chow Yun Fat. The restaurant is also a filming location for classic movies like The Man With The Golden Gun in the James Bond films and The World of Suzie Wong.
Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Atlantic Airways, enjoys dim sum at the restaurant in 2004. Photo: SCMP
But since shutting down in 2020, the restaurant has struggled to regain its lost luster. The restaurant reported a loss of up to 12.7 million USD when there were no customers because of Covid-19.
In fact, financial problems existed before the pandemic: the tourism and food and beverage industries were already negatively impacted by the volatile social landscape. Not to mention, during two years of complete closure, the host company still has to spend millions of dollars to maintain facilities – becoming a financial burden.
The restaurant’s current condition worsened when the restaurant’s kitchen on an isolated ship capsized. Investigations are underway to find out what caused the 30-meter-long vessel to tilt nearly 90 degrees.
A 30 meter long kitchen barge connects to the iconic partially submerged Jumbo floating restaurant in Aberdeen, Hong Kong June 1. Image: AFP
In the midst of the news that Jumbo is about to leave the city, lovers are calling for the restaurant to be saved. Some experts hope the government will take over or find a new operator for the restaurant.
Mr. Minh (Follow SCMP)
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
