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Food and Drinks
LifestyleFood & Drink
Bernice Chan
Bernice Chan

Diner’s Diary | ‘The pandemic gave me a push’: Hungry Pal opens in Central, the baby of three Nepali veterans of Hong Kong restaurant industry

  • Friends Ashok Lama, Bikal Ghale and Ganga Gurung ignored Covid-19 worries to open a restaurant with an international menu influenced by Europe and Asia
  • Hungry Pal serves reasonably priced steaks, fresh pasta, and original cocktails, has a retro dive bar look and plays 1980s music

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(From left to right) chef Ashok Lama, general manager Ganga Gurung, and bartender Bikal Ghale have combined their skills to open Hungry Pal restaurant in Central. Photo: Edmond So
Bernice Chan

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the Hong Kong restaurant industry hard, with restrictions on in-person dining in force for much of 2020.

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In February this year, Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades estimated 3,000 food and drink establishments were on the brink of closing down.

Among the latest to announce they will close are burger joint Beef & Liberty in Lan Kwai Fong and favourite greasy spoon diner The Flying Pan in Wan Chai. Both will shut at the end of April

However, others in the industry are still keen to start new ventures, and 31-year-old Ashok Lama is excited about 2021.

(From left) bartender Bikal Ghale, general manager Ganga Gurung, and chef Ashok Lama have combined their skills to open Hungry Pal restaurant in Central. Photo: Edmond So
(From left) bartender Bikal Ghale, general manager Ganga Gurung, and chef Ashok Lama have combined their skills to open Hungry Pal restaurant in Central. Photo: Edmond So

“It’s definitely my year – in April I will have my baby girl and it’s my birthday,” says the Nepalese chef. Not only that, he and two of his friends have just opened a restaurant called Hungry Pal in Central’s SoHo nightlife district.

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