A Michael Lo catch up

I met up with Michael Lo yesterday for lunch. For a variety of reasons. One to pay for and pick up my jade ring which I bought in July at the jewellery fair. And to find out how he and his family are doing and how HK is now faring.

We met at La D’Oro which is next to his shop at Mandarin Gallery. It is a Michelin starred restaurant and it had such a reasonably priced set lunch at $38, which included coffee or tea. Food is decent and I think they are an Italian restaurant and so specialise in pastas, which I am avoiding so as to lose weight!

He says HK is doing better but that is primarily because the Chinese government is encouraging people to spend more by providing incentives and rebates. Good restaurants in HK have shut down and he himself takes a taxi to Shenzhen to eat sometimes because the food there is a lot cheaper and with more options.

I think this is a bit like Singapore and Malaysia currently. Except the problem will get a lot worse when the MRT linking both countries is completed next year.

HK is also attracting tourism by promoting concert tourism. These tickets come bundled with hotels and so they are clearly aimed at Mainland China visitors. Still their stock market is picking up with lots of new IPOs and financial activities starting to grow.

Let’s see if HK regains its buzz again.