HK wedding banquet venue hit by last-minute no-show as groom couldn't find a bride, asks public for help in clearing food

The day of a wedding banquet, a restaurant in Hong Kong learnt that the ceremony was not happening after all, and the only customers who turned up were the groom and a handful of his ex-colleagues.

As the establishment had already prepared ingredients for 60 guests, including expensive items like abalone and clams, its owner decided to invite members of the public to enjoy the food the next day at one-third of the original price.

The dinner worth HK$580 (S$94) per guest, was offered at just HK$180 (S$29) in order to not let the ingredients go to waste, HK01 reported.

Sad backstory

The supposed groom of the wedding was a 55-year-old returning customer at the restaurant, owner Yiu Koon Tung shared in his Facebook post.

According to Yiu, the man recently suffered major setbacks after being laid off six months ago, and later falling for an alleged love scam that caused him a fortune.

The man had booked the banquet a month before, but only paid HK$10,000 (S$1,600) of the HK$17,000 deposit (S$2,700), and later refused to pay the balance, Yiu told HK01.

When the restaurant tried to confirm the booking with him days before the supposed wedding, he oddly said he "still had not found" his bride, but expressed confidence about filling the 60 seats.

As the restaurant had already received his partial deposit, they decided to go ahead with preparing for the dinner.

When Yiu met the customer on Jan. 28, the night of the banquet, he appeared to be unstable.

He told Yiu he had come to get married, and was expecting his friends to attend and give cash gifts.

But Yiu felt something was not right when just a handful of the man's former colleagues arrived, looking confused.

The man said he did not have any money, and tried to borrow a former colleague's credit card to pay the balance he owed the restaurant.

Although the guests did offer cash gifts, the restaurant was ultimately still owed about HK$2,4000 (S$390), and thus the owner decided to make a police report.

The police later sent the customer to a hospital, Yiu said.

Full house

As the restaurant only accepted reservations and no walk-ins, it did not have customers to serve the dinner to, Yiu told HK01.

He acknowledged that there would definitely be a monetary loss, but he was more reluctant to see the food go to waste.

He wrote in his Facebook post that he could only take 40 people due to a manpower shortage, but was soon met with a pleasant surprise.

Within an hour of posting his plea, he received an overwhelming response and filled all the spots for dinner.

On Jan. 29, over 70 people arrived, Yiu updated in another Facebook post afterwards.

The restaurant ended up even having to go out to buy more ingredients so that there was enough food for all the guests.

This was the menu that night:

• Abalone braised with huadiao wine and goji berries
• Salted egg yolk prawns
• Fried “hundred-flower” fish balls
• Brisket in clear soup
• Tung Kee soy sauce chicken
• Sake-cooked clams
• Steamed dragon garoupa with preserved olives
• Stir-fried pea shoots with dried scallops
• Coconut milk snow fungus (dessert)

Mutual support

Expressing his gratitude, Yiu told HK01, "There is love and kindness in the world. It is this mutual support that allows us to continue to bravely carry on in Hong Kong!"

Some of the diners were his friends, but about 80 per cent were strangers.

One told HK01 that it was mutually beneficial, as a HK$180 (S$30) meal with abalone was a good deal for him while also reducing the restaurant's loss.

He added that although he did not know Yiu, he went to the dinner as the restaurant was close by.

Following this incident, Yiu expressed sympathy for his customer, and called for the public to pay more attention to mental health issues.

It was the first time in his four to five years in the restaurant industry that he had encountered something like this.

Deciding to be more careful in the future, he said he would make sure to check bookings more thoroughly, and collect the full deposit early on.

Top images from 东记私房菜 and Yiu Koon Tung's Facebook