Secrets from the World’s Toughest Dining Scene

Hong Kong is renowned for being one of the most challenging cities to operate a restaurant – a melting pot of changing tastes, cutthroat competition, and unpalatable economics. At the epicenter of its culinary world, with connections to at least half of its hottest tables, is publicist Geoffrey Wu.

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Wu’s 10-year-old consultancy firm, The Forks and Spoons, works with some of the most celebrated restaurants and bars in town, including the two-Michelin-starred TATE Dining Room and Ando, one of the most coveted reservations in town.

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‘I wouldn’t say we’re better at our job than other people. I’d say we’re different,’ he tells CNN Travel in The Baker and The Bottleman, a new casual bakery and natural wine bar by celebrity British chef Simon Rogan, where he’s agreed to share some of the secrets of Hong Kong’s dining scene.

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Wu’s journey began after being expelled from the University of Science and Technology in Hong Kong for ‘skipping too many classes to play cards at McDonald’s.’ He joined Amber, the acclaimed French restaurant under the helm of Richard Ekkebus, as operations staff in 2005.

Over the next few years, he took on various marketing roles for different companies – but always found himself drawn back to the food and beverage industry. In 2012, he opened his F&B consultancy firm.

The Challenges of Hong Kong’s F&B Industry

Hong Kong is frequently named as the world’s most expensive rental location. Its residents are among the biggest spenders on dining out, especially pre-Covid. Food imports are extremely expensive, making it a significant challenge for restaurants to stay afloat.

According to a recent government survey, Hong Kong households spent an average of HKD60,539 (or US$7,761) on meals out and takeaway food in the year of 2019 to 2020 – about double what New York-area households spent on average on food away from home during the same year.

‘It’s such a condensed market,’ says Wu. ‘People always talk. Hong Kong customers are also very knowledgeable. If you don’t get it right from the get-go, you have to revamp many things. The question is – will the customers give you a second chance? There are so many choices that chances are they’d go somewhere else.’

Building a Successful Restaurant in Hong Kong

Wu emphasizes the importance of making sure the opening is a strong one. With good word of mouth, businesses will come. It’s that simple.

Case in point: Bluhouse. It opened in June and dinner reservations are full through October and November at the time of writing.

The F&B industry in Hong Kong has evolved rapidly in the last decade, thanks in part to the arrival of Michelin Guide in 2009 as well as the rise of social media and the local food community.

Chefs in Hong Kong have experienced a shift in their roles. ‘Some 20 years ago, chefs mostly just cooked and served food,’ says Wu.

‘Now in 2022, there is also this thing called relationship building. Chefs have to show their faces. They have to touch the tables and take pictures with guests. The job of a chef is much bigger than before. It all goes back to a need for human connection.’

And it just makes good business sense – guests are more likely to return to a restaurant where they have established a relationship with the chef.

The problem, of course, is that chatting with diners doesn’t come naturally to all chefs. That’s where Wu comes in.

‘We just encourage and encourage and encourage them,’ he says.

He cites Manav Tuli of modern Indian restaurant Chaat – which is also located at the Rosewood – as a success story. Chaat opened in 2020 and won its first Michelin star two years later.

Unique dishes like Tuli’s showstopping tandoori lobster – Indian food with a Hong Kong seafood twist – and a team of knowledgeable staff which communicates the stories of the food beautifully are some of the reasons Chaat is one of Hong Kong’s hardest to book restaurants.

Tables are released two months in advance and swept up in minutes.