Mystery deepens as owners say Hong Kong floating restaurant has not sunk
Loss-making business still afloat but rescue work extremely difficult due to depth of water, say owners
Hong Kong’s distinctive Jumbo Floating Restaurant, established in 1976 by the smuggler turned gambling impresario Stanley Ho Hung-sun, led a storied life. The 80 metre-long restaurant, designed like a Chinese imperial palace, featured as a backdrop to films by Jackie Chan and Steven Soderbergh and hosted guests including Queen Elizabeth II and Tom Cruise before closing in 2020 as the city reeled from the Covid pandemic.
It seems that in death it has not lost the power to grab headlines. Hongkongers bade the restaurant farewell last week as it was towed out of Aberdeen harbour. Its owner, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises (ARE), did not disclose its destination, but Hong Kong’s marine department later said it was due to be taken to a shipyard in Cambodia.