The Racecourse Prices Index special: £1 entry but how much for food and drink at Sha Tin?

Sha Tin

Date visited: Sunday, April 30, 2023

Was it a big day?

FWD Champions Day is one of the biggest days in the Hong Kong calendar with three international Group 1s – the Chairman's Sprint Prize, Champions Mile and QEII Cup. Hong Kong superstars Golden Sixty and Romantic Warrior led the home team, with Dubai Honour and Flaming Rib flying the flag for Britain.

How much was entry on the gate?

HK$10 (£1/€1.15) for public entrance.

Other than restaurants/hospitality, what were the food and beverage options?

As you'd expect at a huge racecourse with a capacity of 85,000, the options were plentiful. At Mezza One, the main food plaza, you can get Chinese or Western cuisine, while there were food counters in the betting halls serving beef curry and rice (HK$52, £5.20, €5.95), chicken and rice with Portuguese sauce (HK$48, £4.80, €5.50) and braised pork chop with tomato and rice (HK$47, £4.70, €5.38). A chicken sandwich cost (HK$36, £3.60, €4.12). There's a McDonald's at Happy Valley racecourse, but you couldn't get a Big Mac here.

What's the damage?

Bottle of water: no bottled water sold but customers could approach food counters to ask for a cup of water or use the water dispenser.
Cheapest pint: Draught beer HK$47 (£4.76/€5.38). Prices range from HK$47 to HK$70 (£7.00, €8.01) for brands such as Stella Artois, San Miguel, Heineken, Kirin, Paulaner, 1664 Blanc and Asahi.
Guinness: none sold.
Champagne: not available in the public enclosure, but in the members' area a bottle costs HK$495 (£50/€57) or HK$115 (£11.50, €13.17) for a 150ml glass.
Burger: no burgers but a jumbo hot dog cost HK$29 £2.90, €3.32). 

All drink prices taken from the main racecourse bar, or where there are multiple bars, one chosen at random.

What was the beef curry and rice like?

The braised beef was tender and the curry sauce had a decent kick to it. Eaten with chopsticks, it took a little longer than normal to be polished off.

And the queues?

The queues were fine just before the first race when the racecourse was packed with an extra 3,000 fans here to watch Anson Lo, from Hong Kong boy group Mirror, perform in the pre-racing variety show.

What did the punters say?

"I got the beef curry and it was good. You can't get it all the time here, only on some days, but it's my favourite. It cost $HK52, £5.20, €5.95) which is okay. Most people expect things to be more expensive here."
No name given

Read more:

Ranked: where's the most expensive pint at British and Irish racecourses?  

The Racecourse Prices Index: £7.50 pints and £10.50 burgers at Cheltenham 

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