Food courts a great idea for budding entrepreneurs

Food courts are nothing new. In some cities, they're places many office and factory workers go to for lunch regularly. In Singapore, some food courts have become major tourist attractions.

But, here in Hong Kong, they are driven to near extinction by sky-high rents. That's a shame because food courts, if properly run, can be money spinners. The problem with Hong Kong is that food-court vendors are more interested in faster turnover and higher profit margins.

To put it bluntly, the food served at food courts in Hong Kong is simply awful. If you crave a decent bowl of wonton noodle soup, go to a special eatery. Those served in food courts are a mushy mess in watery soup, very much an offense to the Cantonese traditionalist.

Soaring rents have often been blamed for the unpalatable food in these places. Caterers point the finger at customers, saying they patronize food courts just to fill their empty stomachs rather than for any sort of culinary experience. That's the assumption that shapes the common practice among food-court vendors of preparing orders in the shortest possible time and at the lowest possible cost.

But, that's not the practice in food courts in other cities, especially Singapore or Tokyo. There, the vendors are competing against each other to woo discerning customers who know which stores offer the best spare rib soup or fried noodles.

In Taipei, for instance, the thriving food courts present opportunities that have not been missed by many young entrepreneurs offering unique food and drinks of their own creation to attract adventurous diners. The failure rate is understandably high, but there's no shortage of young people willing to try their luck in a venture that requires minimal start-up costs.

The Hong Kong government has always emphasized its desire to help promote entrepreneurship among the young. Its food cart idea appears to have failed to take off for a myriad of reasons. A better bet would be to make space available in preserved historical buildings for food courts instead of leasing the premises to high-end restaurants that only few can afford.