A floating restaurant is set to reopen in Hong Kong in 2024, more than two years after the famed Jumbo Floating Restaurant closed down and then capsized en route to Cambodia.

The Tai Pak Floating Restaurant, which shut down over a decade ago, is expected to reopen in the third quarter of 2024, its new owner said on Thursday.

Tai Pak Floating Restaurant Pier in Aberdeen.
Tai Pak Floating Restaurant Pier in Aberdeen. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP.

The boat, which was the sister vessel of Jumbo, was acquired by New Bond Limited in August last year.

The announcement was made by Wong Tai-yu, one of the company directors, during an inauguration ceremony for the Aberdeen Promenade Fishery Association on Thursday.

“We aim to serve citizens with the principle of providing high-quality goods at a fair price and putting customers first,” said Wong.

“We also aim to use a unique furnishing style to attract visitors from across the globe.”

Tai Pak Floating Restaurant Pier in Aberdeen
Tai Pak Floating Restaurant Pier in Aberdeen. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP.

Jumbo, once a major tourist attraction, was hard hit by the city’s tough Covid curbs which saw visitor numbers dry up. It departed for Southeast Asia under tow to undergo what was said to be maintenance.

Wong Tai-yu
Wong Tai-yu, one of the directors of New Bond Limited, the company which bought Tai Pak Floating Restaurant in August last year. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP.

The vessel capsized in the South China Sea in June last year near the Xisha (Paracel) Islands.

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Jumbo Kingdom had three floating restaurants at one point. Sea Palace was sold to the Philippines in 1999 and transferred to Qingdao in China in 2011.

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Candice is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press. She previously worked as a researcher at a local think tank. She has a BSocSc in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester and a MSc in International Political Economy from London School of Economics.