Even as Hong Kong has kick-started efforts to promote nine “tourism hotspots” identified by a government working group, industry players and experts say the city has much more to entice visitors.

To revive the city’s flagging tourism scene, they suggested tapping its rich culinary traditions, exploiting the appeal of Cantopop and the popularity of Hong Kong action films from the past, and telling more stories about its places and people.

Bring back and celebrate the dai pai dong and cha chaan teng, declared veteran entertainment and hospitality entrepreneur Allan Zeman, founder and chairman of the Lan Kwai Fong Group.

Once found everywhere and famous for tasty, cheap food cooked on the spot, streetside hawker stalls known as dai pai dong have been disappearing.

Amid concerns over hygiene and noise, the authorities tightened the rules and have not issued new licences since the 1970s.

Even so, local cafes or cha chaan teng continue to serve up comfort food and drinks at wallet-friendly prices, drawing a steady stream of customers looking for milk tea with pineapple buns, egg tarts, scrambled eggs and toast, a fried pork chop and rice or macaroni soup, and more.