Shatin Floating Restaurant

Hi Susan

I don't know the location but will make a stab at it. This photo looks as though it has been taken from the western side of the water - the opposite side to where the current restaurant is located. The near background hills look like Yuen Kok Chau when it was still an island. If I'm right then that would put the old restaurant site somewhere near to the south of the current Shatin Sports ground.

I suspect that all the water up to and including around the restaurant is now solid ground thanks to reclamation.

Of course it's just a guess until I can find some photos to compare it with.

Cheers

Phil

Actually, Tai Wai station at the moment has a Shatin photo exhibition on both East Rail platforms (not sure about Ma On Shan line). The columns that support the platform canopies are adorned with blow ups of locally donated photos from the 1960's. Worth a browse if anyone is up that way.

I saw one of the old restaurant yesterday with a much shorter jetty, so I'm wondering if the restaurant was moved around fro place to place?

It'll be interesting to hear if they ever did move around. Even if it wasn't a "harbour cruise while you eat" kind of moving around, they may well have been relocated at different times.

If you read Thomas' comments about the floating restaurants in Aberdeen you'll see they've relocated once, around the corner from their original home (photos of old location here), and one took a much longer trip all the way to Australia!

In your photo above it looks as though there was also a (floating?) restaurant on the opposite side of the harbour.

"In your photo above it looks as though there was also a (floating?) restaurant on the opposite side of the harbour."

Are you talking about the illuminated archway on the pier on the left hand side?

Funnily enough I noticed that Tai Po station also has a similar photo display (pretty sure it wasn't there last week) so I wonder if this is going to be done at all east Rail stations?

"Yes," said Winnie the Pooh.

"I see now," said Winnie the Pooh.

"I have been Foolish and Deluded," said he, "and I am a Bear of No Brain at All."

Thanks Phil, archway it is!

There are more photos of the restaurant at the bottom of this linked page:

http://hkclweb.hkpl.gov.hk/doc/intranet/eng/18districts/shatin/photo.ht…

which put the location on Yuen Wo Road on a level with Shatin City 1 (near to the firestation I think and almost opposite the current restaurant site) and the current Wo Che estate (the latter is closest to my guess above). Seeing as the restaurant was still in business in the early 80's it may have moved around as the reclamation increased (Wo Che was reclaimed in the early 70's I believe). Just my guess.

A 1979 map of the area shows a floating restaurant on the north side of the water, just in front of where Sha Tin swimming pool is today.

located on the south side of the Lung Wah Hotel before the Shatin New Town was created in the 1970s. It was floating on the river just off the hotel. The real river, not the current artificial Shing Mun river which was created after the old one was filled in.

https://www.facebook.com/HKHeritages/photos/a.446980718811770/511998075…

Hi There,

There is a Wiki entry for this, mentioning it started out around the Fo Tan area close to Hotung Lau in the 1960's.  Later it was moved to somewhere close to two locations somewhere between present day Lik Yuen & Wo Che Estates.

The wiki entry also mentioned the anchorage was temporary on a lease.  Every relocation would cost the proprieter six figures for hiring tugs together with disconnecting and reconnect electricity and water facilities.  Owing to new town redevelopment and reclamation, negotiation for a permenance location was unsuccessful and the restaurant folded in 1984.

T

ps   Just checked the 1964 aerial photo book and confirmed the floating restaurant was berth at the Ho Tung Lau area, clearly shown on page 118.