There was a real buzz around Tartine’s opening night last night, though for all the wrong reasons.
A small baying mob stood in front of the fancy open sandwich restaurant on Lyndhurst Terrace, holding signs in both English and Chinese accusing the restaurant’s co-owner, Arthur de Villepin, of not paying them for decoration work.
So far there’s been little coverage of the unrest – which apparently didn’t stop the opening night party-goers having a great time inside – apart from some hilarious commentary on the Fuck Yeah Noms Facebook page.
According to one witness, the restaurant owners asked the police to disperse the protesters, but the officers simply replied that they should pay them if they want them to go away. Nice to see Hong Kong’s finest finally getting some good press this week.
As well as ribbing the resto for its “tiny ass sandwiches”, the chat also amusingly offered alternative head shots of de Villepin compared to the rather grainy black and white photocopy held aloft by the protesters.
Here’s a few for your amusement:
Coconuts HK tried to contact the management of Tartine for a comment, but has been rebuffed several times.
We can therefore only speculate about what they might have to say.
In an interview with the SCMP in 2014, Arthur de Villepin – whose dad Dominique de Villepin served as the prime minister of France between 2005 and 2007, FYI – seemed to be pretty down to earth.
“When my family celebrated my fifth birthday, I cried and asked my mum why there were no elephants around,” he said.
Maybe that’s how the decorators feel about their wages…
