Marcus’ Blog

What’s happening to my tranquil and quiet beach? Well the local property developer - The Hong Kong Resort Company Limited (HKRC) - is trying to promote their recent redevelopment of Discovery Bay’s central area (”the plaza”) into an “Alfresco Dining experience” called “Water Margin” (??). In this supposedly 100M HKD redevelopment (sounds low?) the plaza is renovated, restaurants added, and indeed the place has improved a great deal.

So last Easter weekend HKRC organized a “Golden Easter Egg Hunt” on the beach and it was buzzing and swarming with lots of parents and children from around Hong Kong - all digging up the sand in search for Easter Eggs. In hindsight it’s no surprise it was this busy as transportation to Discovery Bay was free with both ferries and buses offering complimentary rides.

But it was scary to see this many people swarmed into the area. The beach was black with people, the plaza full of people and kids, and people lining up for buses in long lines.

I’m sure all the new restaurants have welcomed this initiative - which in the end is the reason for HKRC to do this, and rightly so, as I wonder how all these new restaurant will survive just on the DB residents. But, looking at most families that visited I think that McDonalds and 7-Eleven must have benefited the most from last weekend’s campaign…

So a different strategy is required to attract spending families from around Hong Kong to dine in all these new restaurants. My feelings are dual: I hope all these restaurants can get sufficient clientele to stay open and profitable, but I surely hope that Discovery Bay will stay the relaxing escape from town it currently is.

If I’d wanted all this activity on my weekends I would be living elsewhere!