‘Night Vibes Hong Kong’: Wan Chai waterfront carnival draws crowds, but lack of English signs leave some hungry tourists guessing

Hong Kong’s “waterfront carnival” returned to form on Saturday night after a slow start the day before, with a steady stream of visitors flocking to the market to sample vendors’ street snacks and take in the sights.

Stalls located along Wan Chai’s waterfront and offering snacks such as steamed pork and shrimp dumplings, satay skewers and hot dogs welcomed crowds of patrons two hours after they opened for business at 3pm. A local band also performed on stage from 7pm to set the mood.

Vendors told the Post they were relieved to see more attendees after the previous night’s slow start. But some tourists said they were struggling to figure out what to eat due to a lack of bilingual signage.

Friday marked the beginning of the carnival’s second phase, after the final part of its first leg was suspended when Typhoon Koinu encroached on Hong Kong last weekend. The night market will continue until Sunday and run the weekend after.

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Authorities launched the carnival, along with two other events in Kennedy Town and Kwun Tong, as part of its “Night Vibes Hong Kong” campaign to help boost the economy and get people out and about again.

Vendor Christopher Przemyski, who was selling items such as hot dogs, lobster rolls and alcoholic drinks, on Saturday said he had noticed a significant uptick in crowds after local media reported on the event.

Most of the electricity issues that had plagued vendors during the first phase had also been resolved, he added.

“No issues, no complaints. The government did not have the experience to try to do something like this, so it takes a bit of time,” Przemyski said. “The most important thing is to attract people to Hong Kong.”

The vendor said he had slashed his prices by 30 per cent from the first weekend as customers appeared to be more conscious of costs.

Hongkonger Edwin Chan said he considered the HK$35 (US$4.47) he paid for a corn dog to be a reasonable price, but conceded that food at the carnival was generally more expensive than items on offer at similar events in Thailand and Taiwan.

The 30-year-old interior designer said he felt the night market was a good start to promoting tourism but was not enough to bring in travellers from overseas.

“I don’t think it’s enough. The government should do more to invest in tourism, like festivals or something like that,” he said. “Here you can see Korean and Taiwanese food, so I don’t think tourists will be attracted just for that.”

A German tourist and businessman who only gave his name as Tom said he stopped by the event after spotting the carnival lights while on a ferry from Kowloon.

He said he liked the atmosphere but had initially struggled to find something to eat as some of the stall signs were not in English.

“Some are in English and some are only in Chinese. It looks good, but if you cannot read it, you have no idea what it is,” he said.

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Alex Ing, a vendor selling iced teas and other beverages, said attendance the night before had been hurt by a lack of continuity amid the extreme weather, but expressed optimism that business would pick up as crowds poured in after 6pm.

The proprietor added that, like most of his fellow vendors, he was focused on using the carnival to promote his business, rather than making a profit.

Ing also said he hoped the government would further develop its night market concept to lure bargain hunters away from Shenzhen and encourage them to spend their cash in Hong Kong.

“We want to change that mentality,” he said.

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The first phase of the Wan Chai carnival ran from September 27 to October 2, overlapping with mainland China’s National Day “golden week”, when more than a million travellers crossed the border to visit Hong Kong.

Some shopping centres are also hosting their own after-dark bazaars in tandem with the scheme.

The government’s bid to promote the nighttime economy also included the return of the National Day fireworks display on October 1, while the Wine and Dine Festival is due to launch later this month.