July 1, 2026 | Restaurants roll out promotions that draw long lines of people in person. A $40 Hong Kong-style café meal has been reduced to $28. Diners: We’re doing great!

To celebrate the 29th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return, more than 3,400 eateries participated in the food and beverage sector’s July 1 return discount event. This newspaper’s reporter observed the situation around Causeway Bay today (1st). Malls in the Causeway Bay area had brisk foot traffic, and some restaurants offering 7.1 discounts had long lines extending beyond their premises. Some members of the public said the promotion was attractive and they would spend more today. Other tourists said the government’s publicity was insufficient, and suggested promoting more on Xiaohongshu.

A child schedules the itinerary around the discounts: lunch, the science museum, then the Ferris wheel

Around 2 p.m. today, this newspaper’s reporter visited two chain restaurants in Causeway Bay to observe the scene. The chain restaurants with July 1 discounts had a tea meal that was originally 40 yuan, but now costs only about 28 yuan to “pay the bill,” and at one point the queue extended to nearby storefronts. Ms. Lo, who was queuing to have afternoon tea, said upon hearing from the reporter that there was a discount that she blurted out, “We’ve made it.” However, she said that she had come by the free tram earlier, and the carriage was extremely crowded—she would rather “pay two dollars for the ride.”

Mrs. Tsang, who came specially to “eat roast goose,” praised the strength of the discount, saying, “It’s rarely so good like this.” She said, based on her experience of spending in northern China, that even after deducting the discount, consumption in Hong Kong is still more expensive than in the Mainland, but she would still “spend a bit more” today. She also planned to take the tram more over the next two days, but hoped that buses would join the discounts in the future, since “bus fares are quite expensive on weekdays.” As for today’s free admission to “M+,” Mrs. Tsang said she would not go because the weather was too hot and the crowds were heavy.

Chen, the child who came along with his father, was familiar with the various July 1 discounts. He said after lunch he planned to go with his father to the Tsim Sha Tsui Science Museum, then take a ride on the Ferris wheel, and finally take the tram home. He felt that today’s discount strength was more than sufficient.

Residents urge “more” add-ons; a daughter-in-law hesitates after seeing crowds

Some residents also hoped the discounts would be “enhanced.” Ms. Chan, who was dining at a restaurant, said she had not known in advance—she simply “came over to eat.” She believed that the one-day discount period was too short and provided limited help to the market, and that “the price difference is actually not that much.” She felt that extending the discount period would better help stimulate residents’ spending.

It was quite hot, and some people in the queue decided to leave. Grandma Lau said she usually goes out to eat, so today she would also “go out to eat,” but “it’s packed; I want to leave.” When asked whether she would patronize a restaurant with discounts later, she said, “I don’t even know where there are discounts—I’m completely not sure.”

Besides residents, there were also tourists queuing. Mainland tourists Ms. Zhou and Ms. Xie also did not know about the July 1 discounts. They said they chose this restaurant because they saw many people lining up. They believed the discounts would help stimulate consumption, but that the Hong Kong government’s promotion was insufficient; they suggested more promotion on Xiaohongshu, a social platform in the Mainland. However, Ms. Zhou also said that the discounts instead caused too many people and unbearable crowding, adding that in the future she would choose to avoid coming to Hong Kong for July 1.

Foot traffic around Causeway Bay was also decent. Even though there were no July 1 discounts, some malls offered free coffee vouchers for members. Some malls also provided July 1 exclusive discounts at their Kai Tak branch.

In addition, there were plainclothes and uniformed police officers patrolling multiple locations around Causeway Bay, and there were also 3 to 4 officers stationed at MTR entrances. At 2:30 p.m., 102-year-old “Uncle Wong,” who had taken part in social movements, appeared on Causeway Bay Tung Lo Road while holding a walking stick. He said that after coming to Causeway Bay today, seeing his “old friends” made him very happy, and he also chatted with passersby.