"We had a bit of an intense night at Carbone yesterday, we think we were in compliance with the current regs and we are checking with our lawyers."
One of its restaurants is Carbone, a New York-style steakhouse above Lan Kwai Fong in Central that pays homage to the mid-20th century. Suited waiters may entertain guests with funny comments as they dine on American-sized portions of food, mostly meats, pastas and sides, while desserts are presented on a trolley.
Carbone is above Lan Kwai Fong in Central |
Apparently the staff were each fined HK$5,000 (US$637) for contravening the latest Covid-19 regulations of not inspecting guests' rapid antigen tests.
However, the restaurant did not violate any rules -- it is a restaurant and not a bar or nightclub, which now require each patron to present a negative RAT result before entering.
So why did the FEHD and police raid this place? Did they not know it was a restaurant and not a bar?
Did FEHD do their homework on Carbone first? |
While Black Sheep Restaurants are checking with their lawyers, there isn't much they can do -- the FEHD can pretty much flaunt its power without much oversight or accountability.
It's intriguing none of the guests were fined, but the staff were, and it seems Carbone was the only restaurant targeted last night.
The incident must be sending chills to every restaurateur in Hong Kong -- which guest wants to endure an experience like that when they're already paying big bucks for a good dinner?
Is this raiding restaurants and screaming at guests going to be the norm now? If so it will definitely turn off people from wanting to dine out again.
A police raid at another restaurant recently |
If it is the new normal, surely more people are going to be fed up by this and want to leave Hong Kong...
The government seems intent on killing its own city. And it's doing a really good job of it.
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