A report released by the Audit Commission yesterday finds that land designated for hawker food markets in Hong Kong is being squandered.
The Director of Audit said that, on average, 61 percent of stalls at Cooked Food Hawker Bazaars were vacant at the end of 2014.
He added that some stalls have been left unused for decades – two of them for 29 years!
The commission is recommending the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to shut down some of the food markets and free up the land for other use.
But before you start panicking, these are not to be confused with Cooked Food Centres, which are attached to public markets.
There are 11 Cooked Food Hawker Bazaars scatted throughout Hong Kong. They were created in the 70s in an effort to rid Hong Kong of the roadside dai pai dongs.
However, with the government no longer issuing licenses and banning their transfer after an owner dies, the number of licensed food hawkers has diminished.
The idea of revitalising the hawker tradition has been gaining traction in recent years. In 2012, a consultation report was presented to the Legislative Council calling for the government to reconsider their stance on issuing hawker licenses to keep a staple Hong Kong tradition alive.
That obviously had a massive impact (sarcasm if you’re American).
And no-one could forget John Tsang’s suggestion in this year’s budget of finally introducing food trucks to the city.
Just don’t take away our food nirvanas, guv. How else can us poor saps enjoy cheap eats in this otherwise overpriced prism of pretension?
Photo: Billy Clarke via Flickr
