Hong Kong (AFP)

Fondue Chinoise, a convivial dish that Hong Kongers usually love, has lost the favor of the population because of the new coronavirus, since 10 members of the same family were infected by sharing one.

It is a must in Chinese cuisine throughout the country, especially when the mercury drops in winter. And Hong Kongers, in normal times, like to be around this broth kept hot in the middle of the table, in which they plunge meats, vegetables or seafood.

But their appetite for "hotpots", as they are called in Hong Kong, fell when they learned of the new coronavirus contamination from several members of the same family, who had shared a fondue with a lunar New Year close arrived infected from mainland China.

While a tenth case within the same family was confirmed at the beginning of the week, the case caused the stock market prices of restaurant chains specializing in fondue and having stores in Hong Kong to plummet.

Xiabuxiabu lost 7.1%, Haidilao 4.8% while Yihai International, which makes seasonings for fondues, fell 2.7%.

The Hong Kong chains Fairwood, Cafe de Coral, Yoshinoya and Maxim's have announced that they are temporarily removing fondue from their menus.

- "Who will sit next?" -

The company Maxim's has also indicated that two of the people infected by sharing the fondue were working in two of its restaurants, which will be closed in order to be disinfected.

Haidilao, the largest Chinese fondue chain, has closed all its stores in mainland China, where the virus has infected more than 44,000 people and killed more than 1,100.

It does not intend to close its Hong Kong restaurants but plans to control the temperature of its customers.

Sam Wong, owner of 66 Hotpot, a family fondue restaurant in the popular district of Mongkok, has also complained about twenty cancellations of reservations by customers since the announcement of the contamination.

"I don't think you should point the finger at fondues in particular, given the Chinese habit of sharing their food," said Wong, 39. "But since it is a fondue that is associated with this hotbed of infection, our activity is necessarily impacted."

Mr. Wong, who also takes the temperature of all customers who walk through his door, installed doormats impregnated with disinfectant solution and replaced the washable wands with disposable ones.

Emily Mok, a flight attendant, preferred to come to 66 Hotpot on Monday evening before customers arrived, to take out a fondue.

"My partner and I are going to eat fondue at home. We don't want to have dinner here because we don't know who's going to sit next to us," she said.

Even before the start of the coronavirus crisis, Hong Kong restaurants had taken on another one, political this time, linked to the months of pro-democracy protests on the streets of the former British colony.

During the last quarter of 2019, the most violent period of mobilization in Hong Kong, the restaurant sector recorded a drop of 14% on average in its revenues compared to the same period in 2018, according to figures officials.

66 Hotpot, for its part, pulled out of the game, because Mr. Wong is a supporter of the pro-democracy movement.

The demonstrators had spread the word to boycott hostile businesses and help sympathetic signs, so that there was almost always a line outside his restaurant.

"Today, there is no queue," he says, annoyed.

© 2020 AFP