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Charmaine Yu

In Hong Kong, space is a luxury – and so is romance. For high-achieving professionals in one of the world’s most expensive cities, searching for “the one” is less a fairy-tale pursuit than an exhausting side hustle on top of their already gruelling schedules.
Across the globe, singles are also now battling “dating app fatigue”. A Forbes Health Survey published in 2025 found that 78 per cent of dating app users feel burned out from fruitless cycles of swiping.
Where does Hong Kong turn to when digital romance fails? In an age when people are increasingly drawn to vinyl records and handcrafted art over digital slop, are the city’s bachelors and bachelorettes trading algorithms for professional, human matchmakers?
“There is a renewed interest among people to find more trustworthy, more reliable agencies like us,” says Yvonne Yu, the Hong Kong head of Lunch Actually, a blind-date matchmaking service that also operates in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
“They are looking for more meaningful connections,” she adds, referring to her usual client demographic of 30- to 45-year-olds.

But in the post-pandemic era, Lunch Actually’s Hong Kong clients have widened in range to include twenty-somethings and even people in their sixties. Yu says that internet users have become more aware of online scams, and that there seems to be less faith in the possibility of making quality connections online.
Matchmaking companies distinguish themselves from dating apps by providing additional services that “swipe right” software cannot.
Firstly, matches are made not just using computer algorithms, but also through various stages of in-person consultation and surveys. Matches are then curated through a “combination of a proven matching system and human judgment”.
In contrast to the “self-service” matchmaking model provided by apps, Lunch Actually offers a “full service” for which clients pay an annual membership of HK$15,000 (US$1,900) to HK$150,000, depending on the package. Services include relationship coaching, post-date consultations and even “image coaches” who offer fashion, make-up and grooming advice.
“We do all the screening, all the verification and then we have a quality database … and we also offer accountability,” Yu says.
Hong Kong Matchmakers, another matchmaking service in the city, mainly serves 45- to 75-year-olds, but clients as young as 30 are now paying to find love.
“Younger and younger clients are coming to us – usually the ones who have forsaken online dating,” says Mei Ling Ng Liu, who founded the service in 2007.
Liu’s service targets a wealthier demographic who often hold top-level positions at international companies and pull in annual salaries ranging from HK$800,000 to HK$2.5 million. Hong Kong Matchmakers charges its clients HK$35,000 to HK$500,000 per year, depending on the package.

But what makes finding love in Hong Kong so hard? The reasons are complex, but it boils down to one simple truth: Hongkongers are busy.
Lunch Actually’s founder, Violet Lim, had previously worked in the banking industry and noticed that all her high-paid, well-educated colleagues were struggling to find love amid their busy work schedules.
Realising that going out for a meal was a time-efficient way to meet someone, she launched her service in 2004, which has grown into an international company organising blind dates for lunch, dinner and coffee.
The problem with busy Hongkongers, Yu says, is that they have “limited quality time for dating” and often experience “emotional burnout from work”.
“We’ve actually had many depressed clients, and it compounds people’s fear of being rejected or being vulnerable in front of their partners as well. They just feel insecure,” Yu says, adding that relationship coaching can help build clients’ confidence.
Liu says that busy schedules are not the only obstacle to intimacy.
“The problem with Hong Kong executives and C-suites is that they’re highly intelligent and very well educated, but their education tends to be narrow.
“I could ask a question within their professional arena and they can give me such perfect answers and fantastic advice. But if you go away from their comfort zone, they may be stuck.” This can result in stale, awkward conversations during the dating stage.
Liu suggests that the education culture in Hong Kong also presents challenges. “We study because we have to pass the exam or get the degree … but [we] are not taught contextual intelligence, cultural intelligence and social intelligence so that [we] become well-rounded and well-informed people.”
This is why, as part of her company’s services, Liu organises “perspective-widening experiences” for her clients to learn more about current events. These excursions, which double as date activities, include activities such as attending World Economic Forum conferences, watching tennis at Wimbledon and even going to spacecraft launches.
Another challenge Liu’s clients face is related to age.
“Men, no matter how old they are, always prefer younger women. And women, likewise, no matter how old they are, prefer younger men.”
“I think it’s a Chinese disease – everybody wants someone younger. So you have an older man chasing a younger woman who is chasing a younger man.”

Yu says that her male clients prioritise age, but that her female clients in Hong Kong are typically more concerned about their potential partner’s salary. She notes that this is not necessarily because they want someone extremely wealthy, but because Hong Kong is home to many “very successful women, especially in the age of female empowerment”, who are looking for their match in terms of education and earning power.
So, are dating apps, the current stronghold of the love economy, set to become obsolete? Both Liu and Yu do not think so, but say changes should be expected and are already evident in user behaviour.
“I would say, nowadays, many people are using both [dating apps and matchmaking services],” Yu says.
Liu says that matchmaking services will be increasingly used by “those who can afford [the service], those who cannot afford to be cheated [and] those who are more mature and looking for something serious”.
She adds: “But the younger people who are footloose and fancy-free, or more mature people who can’t financially afford any other form of services – they will keep using the apps. It’s just about whether you can afford to stay or go.”


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Where does Hong Kong turn to when digital romance fails? More of the city’s bachelors and bachelorettes are trading algorithms for professional human matchmakers. Illustration: Henry Wong

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Mei Ling Ng Liu founded Hong Kong Matchmakers in 2007. Photo: Nora Tam

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Lifestyle

Family & Relationships

Hong Kong matchmakers share how they’re helping people find love in a city where everyone is both extremely busy and wants a younger partner


Hong Kong matchmakers share how they’re helping people find love in a city where everyone is both extremely busy and wants a younger partner.


Dating

Hong Kong

Internet

Apps

Why dating in Hong Kong is so hard and how people are spending thousands on agencies

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hong Kong matchmakers share how they’re helping people find love in a city where everyone is both extremely busy and wants a younger partner

Hong Kong matchmakers share how they’re helping people find love in a city where everyone is both extremely busy and wants a younger partner