discovery call

Jade Hall 玉堂酒家

40 years of pushcart dim sum. A generation that had never walked in.

location
Hong Kong
service
Full System
result
3× diners under 40

Jade Hall opened in 1984. Three generations of families have had their weddings, birthdays and Sunday yum cha there. The pushcarts still go round, and the char siu recipe hasn’t changed. But the people who loved it were getting older:

  • Reviews: they praised the food and called the room “old-fashioned”.
  • Discounts: to fill weekday tables, the restaurant leaned on booking apps at up to 50% off. More than a third of bookings came through them, at half the bill.
  • Instagram: menu photos and festive promotion posters, mostly in Chinese, with nobody on camera.
  • Ads: short bursts around Chinese New Year and mooncake season, then nothing.

Mei, the founder’s granddaughter, had joined the business. She knew younger diners would love the place if they ever walked in. She just had no team to make that happen.

“My grandmother had her wedding dinner here.”

Younger diners didn’t need convincing that old restaurants are good. They needed a reason that felt like theirs. So every piece of content treats Jade Hall as a place their own family already knows, not as a heritage museum.

Bring your grandparents

The first Bring your grandparents Sunday sold out on WhatsApp in four days. We filmed a 29-year-old and her grandfather at the same table where he’d had his wedding dinner in 1987. That 40-second Reel became the best-performing ad of the year, and banquet enquiries doubled the month it ran.

The system, month by month

FindMonthly shoots: Mei on camera, the pushcart aunties, the chef’s 30-year-old char siu, regulars who have come for four decades. A Meridian-scripted series in Cantonese and English, subtitled both ways.1 morning a month
CaptureMeta ads to people aged 25–40, made from the best-performing Reels. Google Search for dim sum, Cantonese restaurants and wedding dinners. Every ad ends in a WhatsApp booking.None
ConvertA WhatsApp catalogue with the menu, set lunches and banquet packages. The front desk books in two messages, at full price.Front desk, as before
EventsA monthly event aimed at younger diners, such as a Yum Cha & Games weekend or a Bring your grandparents Sunday. Each one is filmed and becomes the next month’s content and ads.None
ReportWeekly: bookings by channel, the age mix where it’s tracked, banquet enquiries, and how many tables came at full price versus through discount apps.10 minutes a week

The team it replaced

Digital marketing executiveAtlas: Meta and Google ads, always on
Content creator, bilingualAtlas: Cantonese and English scripting with Meridian
Videographer and editorAtlas: monthly shoots and editing
Social media executiveAtlas: posting, captions, comments
Event photographer and videographerAtlas: monthly event coverage
11% → 34%
of diners under 40
38% → 9%
of tables booked through discount apps
2.4×
banquet enquiries

Six months later

  • Diners under 40 went from 11% to 34% of covers, based on the age question in WhatsApp bookings.
  • Tables booked through discount apps fell from 38% to 9%. More tables now pay full price.
  • Banquet enquiries are up 2.4×, mostly from couples who found Jade Hall through content.
  • Weekday lunch covers are up 41%.
“We were filling tables by giving away half the bill. Now people book because they want to be here, including people my age.”
Discovery call WhatsApp