While many Hongkongers have left the city over the Christmas holiday, hundreds of others have flocked to the annual Hong Kong Food Festival in Wan Chai for the first of a five-day fair featuring gourmet seafood, snacks and other delicacies.
“I’m going to buy whatever catches my eye today, I don’t have a particular budget,” Angel Wong, a 40-year-old customer service worker, said. “I don’t think I can get away from spending at least HK$600 [US$77] to HK$700.”
Wong, who has attended the event at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre for more than 10 consecutive years, said she decided to stay home during Christmas as she wanted to avoid the crowds in mainland China or overseas.
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“If you’re travelling, you would pick the periods that are cheaper and less crowded,” she said. “You’re going to the same places anyway, it is not like [those places] will only be there for a limited time.”
Wong is not alone. Others remaining in Hong Kong during the holidays include 32-year-old engineering sector worker Jason Lo.
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“I don’t have a habit of going to the mainland and we will not be travelling overseas during this period,” he said. “We may go during the next holiday period, but [for Christmas] we’ll stay in Hong Kong to spend money here this year.”
Lo, who is attending the food fair with his wife, said he plans to spend between HK$1,000 and HK$2,000 on frozen food items.