Going out a breeze as crowds hit eateries and malls

Hongkongers went out in droves to eat, swim and surf the waves to enjoy a rare day off brought by tropical storm Nangka, which proved to be a dud.

With the No 8 storm signal being in force for 14 hours, Chinese restaurant Jade Garden in Tseung Kwan O was full from 11.30am to 3pm, with many people queuing outside.

Its queue management system had stopped issuing numbers when a Standard reporter arrived at 2pm, with the screen showing "Full House."

Sandy Cheung, an accountant, said she had been waiting for a table for more than 30 minutes.

She decided to head out to eat as it was not too windy outside.

The food court at Festival Walk mall in Kowloon Tong was full at about 1pm. The rest of the mall was empty. Dine-in customers at the food court said it felt safe to eat outside.

"Normally I will be scared of typhoons but the wind is not that strong today," said clerk Jessie Lo.

Mark Xu, a City University PhD research student from the mainland, said his classes were canceled and he had nowhere to eat on campus as canteens were closed.

Quite a few people decided to catch a movie at Festival Grand Cinema in Festival Walk.

In Sham Shui Po, a billboard featuring illustrations of scantily clad girls at Dragon Centre mall was removed on Monday night due to the storm.

The billboard displays drawings of women dressed in swimwear, sports attire and school uniforms with slogans such as "Focus on the good" and "Never forget the original intent."

Its creator, Elphonso Lam Cheung-kwan, wrote on his Facebook page on Monday night that the billboard was taken down due to safety concerns for pedestrians, as back in 2016 another giant billboard at Dragon Centre was blown away due to strong winds.

He added it had nothing to do with the petition to take it down. The petition was submitted by Sham Shui Po district councilor Nicole Lau Pui-yuk to the mall on Thursday amid complaints from parents that the billboard was inappropriate for children.

Although the Observatory warned against water sports, surfers were seen riding the big waves and swells at Sai Kung's Tai Long Wan.

Regular swimmers were also happy in Victoria Harbour, including Cheung, who was swimming near the Hung Hom public pier, which he called "waveless."

He added: "I'm not scared, there's no wind and no rain, it's very quiet, it doesn't feel like there's a typhoon."