CRI听力:Recipe to Start a Restaurant in Hong Kong

Alan Chan is a native of Hong Kong. He quit a promising job in the banking sector and opened a boutique Taiwan-themed restaurant last year.

"We don't want to bring Taiwan food directly from Taiwan to Hong Kong, so we want to give a twist, where accommodating the Hong Kong crowd. We use some very renowned Taiwan food, say fired chicken, we turn it into chicken waffle. The food itself speaks, then that turns into word of mouth."

Customers in Hong Kong are spoiled and picky because they can easily find alternatives to feed their appetite, so food quality is the priority. Victor Arminjon owns an Asian noodles restaurant and says the right business partner is also important to guarantee a successful restaurant.

"I spend more time making sure my team is happy than my customers are happy, because with no team, there's nothing. Customers don't forgive you for your inconsistency at all. So if you are good one day, you have to be good from now on."

Butchers Club Executive Chef Aarik Persaud says to compete in Hong Kong's already very competitive food and beverage industry, you have to differentiate from the market.

"You need to be able to push through your marketing and social media and your message. Sell yourself, shout louder than the next guy, I mean there are another half a dozen of places you can buy 100 dollars burger. Going out talking to people and communicating, telling your stories, talking about our business, creating that personal connections with the guests is extremely important. "

After two years of operation, Butchers Club is extremely popular and has five restaurants in Hong Kong. Its owners have ambitious plans for expansion both at home and abroad. In a place where it seems like restaurants open and close by the minute, this is a rarely seen success. Aerik says there is no substitute to hard work, and it is important to appeal to people's taste buds.

For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.