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It likes to show off its gleaming skyscrapers and boutiques, but urban explorers venture into dilapidated places in search of the city’s soul.
By Christy Choi
Reporting from Hong Kong
Sacha Yasumoto likes to serve dinner with a touch of danger.
Its visitors are blindfolded and taken to a mysterious place in the middle of nowhere in Hong Kong. Depending on the night in question, they may have to trek through the jungle to reach their final destination.
Here, in the ruins of a mansion, temple, or other deserted site, visitors may be served a menu of kabocha soup, gin jake (salmon), slow-cooked Wagyu beef, and chocolate cake, while at any moment, a bat, gecko, or wild monkey may appear.
“Everything is multi-sensory,” said Yasumoto, who has been hosting those harmful dinners for another 30 or 40 people in Hong Kong since early 2023. “Things like the wind, the rustling, the leopard cat passing by. “
The meals are a chance to get a glimpse of Hong Kong’s wilder side and the unexpected (and private) stories hidden in the city’s deserted buildings, with Ms. Yasumoto as her advisor on the wealth of the afterlife and the provision of life. Yasumoto gets permission from the site owners to host the dinners, and visitors will be required to sign a waiver to attend. )
In that sense, she (and diners) are part of a larger network of explorers, history buffs, and nostalgics looking back to a bygone era. They shared the snippets of history they discovered on local Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube groups.
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