Night Market Stalls Due to Power Supply

Struggling "night vibes" in Wan Chai from power issues

"Night Vibes Hong Kong" has kicked off in a bid to get more people out in the evenings and spending their hard-earned money, but so far it's been a struggle for vendors thanks to not enough power supply.

There are some 90 vendors, 44 of which are selling food and drinks along the Wan Chai Promenade, but on the first day there were issues with the unstable electricity supply. As a result vendors had trouble heating up food or taking electronic payments.

The night market meant to evoke dai pai dongs

One was Singaporean skewer shop Satay Pop. "They told us it would be fixed at 3pm, then it was 6pm, and now, it's still nothing," said owner Anson Lau.

Another was Christopher Prezemyski, owner of Bistro Concepts, which has several eateries in Sai Ying Pun, and at Wan Chai he was selling lobster rolls, sushi, tacos and pulled pork sliders with alcoholic drinks.

"The only issue is, I still don't have power, which is actually a little disappointing. We only have basic power for the fridge, but for our hot foods, it's still not working."

He was unable to reheat or steam some of his food offerings as he had prepared to cook with electricity, though the government had allowed vendors to cook with an open fire, in a bid to evoke a dai pai dong atmosphere...

It seems like the Hong Kong government hadn't thought out the logistics of having 90 vendors and the amount of power needed in an area that only has a few spotlights along the harbourfront. 

Government officials hope this helps revive HK

To add insult to injury, vendors were shocked when they were told not to run their businesses on the evening of October 1 when a National Day fireworks display will finally be put on after a five-year absence.

On that day the open-air market will be open from 10am to 4pm and then the vendors will have to close for crowd control measures.

They said the move was "ridiculous". One vendor said it was ironic that the night market was to entice people to come out, and that the market and the fireworks complemented each other.

With the night market closed that night, vendors would be forced to watch the fireworks as people walked past their "closed" stalls.

It's quite amazing that Hongkongers are willing to take a chance on setting up stalls like this and encountering so many issues. Is it because they are desperate to make a buck or they see the potential in a government-run initiative?