By XIAO Fang

Meituan is finally kicking off its food delivery service in Hong Kong. Named KeeTa, the service will be available from Monday in Kowloon’s Mong Kok, once described as the busiest district in the world.

The KeeTa app for delivery guys can be found on app stores already. For the first week of operations, delivery guys will get a HK$10 bonus (US$1.30, 9 yuan) for each order.

Meituan started planning for food deliveries in Hong Kong in October last year and started recruiting deliverymen in February.

Food deliveries in Hong Kong are not popular.

Top-quality restaurants are found everywhere in Hong Kong, with world-renowned fast, efficient service. There is little or no unfilled need for deliveries, except perhaps as a draconian way for underperforming bosses to prevent hard-working staff from leaving their offices and shops to eat.

For Mong Kok residents, world-class food is usually little more than an elevator ride away.

Foodpanda and Deliveroo occupy more than 90 percent of what business there is, serving over 7,000 restaurants. The service is widely disliked. The delivery men are said to be grumpy and slow and the service expensive.