'Restaurants expecting a boom in business over LNY'
The Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants said it is expecting a 60 percent increase in business, when compared to the previous Lunar New Year period, with many restaurants already fully booked.  The group's vice-chairman Howie Wong said with more Covid restrictions being lifted, the outlook is now the best in three years.  "A lot of Chinese restaurants are fully booked from about two weeks ago. The government has lowered restrictions for Covid, and we see a lot of people back on the streets, willing to do large family gatherings," he told RTHK on Friday.  "Especially for Chinese restaurants, a lot of the bookings are for tables of twelve or for private parties." However, Wong said the catering is now facing another challenge – manpower shortage. "A lot of staff are going on vacation or going to the mainland to visit relatives. But we should be able to see more working staff coming back to Hong Kong after the vacation period is over,” he said.  He added that while many restaurants have closed down during the pandemic, he expects the catering sector to flourish again.