29th October 2026 – (Hong Kong) The shake‑out in Hong Kong’s dining sector has deepened, with Chinese banquet chain East Ocean Lafayette appearing to have closed its final outlet after the branch at Maritime Square in Tsing Yi remained shuttered for several days. Passers‑by reported the site had its gates down, fuelling speculation that the restaurant had ceased trading. Customer service at Maritime Square confirmed the venue was not operating today but said it had not received formal notice on the restaurant’s future, adding to uncertainty over the brand’s status.
East Ocean has been contracting for some time, with its HomeSquare shop in Sha Tin exiting in March this year. If the Tsing Yi site has indeed ceased trading, the brand would be left with no stores in operation, effectively amounting to a full closure. The apparent end comes despite a promotional push earlier in the month, when the Tsing Yi restaurant marketed “handcrafted dishes” and offered a HK$28 crispy roasted chicken and a HK$38 steamed grouper, allowing diners to add selected small plates based on table size in a clear bid to drive footfall. The shutdown rumours so soon after those offers suggest the discounts were insufficient to stem losses.
The episode highlights both the financial strain surrounding the Tang family’s former hospitality assets and the broader recalibration underway in Hong Kong’s food‑and‑beverage market. With landlords’ rents, staffing costs and outbound consumption weighing on operators, chain‑format banquet restaurants have been retreating as the market favours leaner concepts. According to Legislative Council research released in June, the number of Cantonese banquet restaurants fell by 16 per cent between 2018 and 2025 to about 1,500, matching the tally of Japanese restaurants, while cha chaan teng cafés declined by 7 per cent to around 2,340 over the same period. Traditional herbal tea shops saw a sharper contraction, dropping by 28 per cent to roughly 310.
