I stuck my head into the not-yet-opened Hong Kong Fatburger this afternoon and had a brief chat with some obvious non-locals with an authoritative look who informed that the shop should open by Saturday November 8th.  The inside of the shop has really filled out and it looks basically finished.

Calendar circled, fasting begun.

UPDATE: Given that the shop is now open, the Drudge-style siren has been removed.

Two new exciting developments at the hopefully soon-to-be-opened Wan Chai Fatburger.  As shown above, they are finally trying to hire staff.  This being their first Hong Kong shop, who knows how far in advance they are hiring employees, but it can’t be long.  The second equally encouraging sign is they are finally taking the front facade off the building.  See the action shot below and before you complain about the bluriness please stop to consider the madd photo skillz it took to get a semi-focused picture as my cab flew by on Queen’s Road East.   It won’t be long now.

UPDATE:  Here’s another photo at night showing the front street-facing side of the restaurant and demonstrating just how tantalizingly close we are to the end of Fatwatch™.

Here we are, less than two days from the start of October and still no Hong Kong Fatburger.  Good thing Omega didn’t put together a Fatburger Countdown Clock à la the Olympic Clock in Tiananmen Square.  As previously reported, the sign still says “opening in this summer” but summer is officially over and still no Fatburger.  Can we continue to wait patiently for America’s Best Burger (according to the trusted readers of the Aurora Sentinel and Highlands Ranch Herald)?

Yes, we can.  At least a little while longer.  Especially with a slightly-more-than-spitting-distance Fatburger located in Macau able to tide us over for a few more months.

I visited said Macau Fatburger slightly more than a month ago and, let me tell you something: it delivered.  And how.  The burgers (pictured below) were terrific.  A delicate balance of meat, bun, lettuce, tomato and grease.  Nothing lost in translation here.  The fries were another story.  Give the fat fries a miss.  The skinny fries are a solid B, but not worth a special trip.  The atmosphere?  C, C+ at best.  The shop is neither free-standing or self-enclosed.  It’s part of a large food court in The Venetian Casino and easy to miss.  Most of the staff were unable to provide directions and had never heard of the Fatburger.  I know – completely F’d up.

As for an update on the Hong Kong Fatburger progress?  Here’s a small one.  Despite the prevalent view that nothing is happening behind the construction facade, I can personally confirm that progress is being made.  Slow progress.  Last weekend I ventured over to the site on Queen’s Road East and peeked behind the facade and saw about ten construction workers busy inside.  It was hard to tell exactly how far from finished they are, but they have a long way to go. The inside is completely unfinished with nothing resembling a kitchen, grill, counter or seats.  Still, a sign outside indicates they are hiring, which can only be positive.

Finally, some movement on the elusive Hong Kong Fatburger. A few weeks ago (yes, it took me a little while to get around to taking a photo) they put a wrap on the increasingly frayed construction barrier announcing that renovation was in progress and the shop would be “opening in this summer.” English grammar aside, I interpret this to mean they will open before the end of August. Judging by my recent walk-bys on Queen’s Road East, there hasn’t been a lot of movement on the renovation. Time is running out.