For more than four decades, the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Hong Kong (HK) has been one of the most iconic landmarks of the city. Located by the ocean, many tourists regularly flock to the area just to catch sight of it.
Earlier this month, however, the Jumbo Floating Restaurant’s kitchen barge capsized.
The incident occurred just two days after its managing enterprise announced they would no longer operate the restaurant.
Despite calls by lawyers and residents to preserve the vessel, their efforts turn out to be in vain.
The floating restaurant has since been towed away, with many citizens bidding it farewell.
According to The Straits Times (ST), tugboats towed away Hong Kong’s famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant around noon on Tuesday (14 Jun).
Source: Reuters
For the past 44 years, the floating restaurant sat at the same spot off Aberdeen Harbour and hosted high-profile visitors like Queen Elizabeth II and actor Tom Cruise.
Source: Anne and David on Flickr
The 76-metre-long restaurant was also featured in several movies, including Steven Soderbergh’s pandemic film Contagion.
On Tuesday (14 Jun), Reuters shared footage of the restaurant being towed away. Many residents also gathered to watch as the vessel drifted past, bidding emotional goodbyes.
Source: Reuters
Speaking to reporters, one citizen said she had fond memories of meals at the restaurant and paid homage to the unique dining atmosphere on the vessel.
Another resident told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that he expects the vessel to return in the future.
Despite calls from residents and lawmakers to keep the restaurant running, its managers were unable to operate the eatery, especially after its kitchen barge sank on 1 Jun.
Days before that on 30 May, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises announced they would move the restaurant out of HK for repairs and storage, reports Yahoo News.
They cited the expiry of their license in June as well as depleting funds for maintenance as reasons for the move. The pandemic hadn’t helped matters as well, causing a steep drop in interest for the restaurant.
On 31 May, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam also rejected suggestions for the government to bail out the restaurant.
The combination of these circumstances left the operators with no choice but to tow away the restaurant, taking a piece of HK’s culture with them.
Having been around for close to half a century, Jumbo Floating Restaurant must’ve meant a lot to residents of the city — we can only imagine how painful it must’ve been so see such an iconic landmark being towed away.
Hopefully, the restaurant will return to the city once again so younger folks, too, can experience what it’s like to dine at the unique eatery.
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Featured image adapted from Voice of America on Facebook.
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