Green for a night

Last week I attended yet another Green Monday dinner hosted by Ming Court of The Cordis. It's not my first time trying the meatless menu prepared by Chef Li but this time I got to taste a few of the new dishes. And even better as they put us up in the private room for a more cozy setting.

Shanghai Vegetarian

On our second night in Shanghai we went for something different and visited Fu He Hui. I am always curious about this restaurant as this is one of the two vegetarian places awarded a star in the local Michelin Guide, and ranked highly as one of the Asia’s best.

Plant-based Tasting Menu

I was at Man Ho at JW Marriott in Pacific Place last week when their chef Jayson Tang was tasked with creating a tasting menu using Omnipork, the new plant-based “meat” developed and marketed by the Hong Kong-based Green Monday team. Most other plant-based products launched recently (Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods etc) have been focusing their marketing effort in western cuisine – burger in particular – but it’s good to know there are ones like Omnipork targeting Asian palate and cooking. That's actually a sensible business move given the large Chinese market (twice as big as United States for food consumption), and pork has traditionally been the preferred meat choice in most Chinese cuisine and still formed the majority of all meat consumed in China by a comfortable distance (in fact, 3 times more than poultry which is the second most, as I found out from research reports)

Slow Food Awakening

Up a flight of stairs of a random industrial building in Kwun Tong is a small café/restaurant called "8104 Box of Life", and every Monday evening, Kong Yeah, a small advocacy group that supports local farming and food products, puts words into actions by hosting dinners at this place with an ever-changing menu using produce freshly harvested from local farms and other locally made artisan products.

Meatless Night

Admittedly, I normally would not fancy much of a vegetarian special menu, but I do like Chef Peggy’s cooking and her innovative take on meatless dishes, and enjoyed quite a few relaxing afternoons at her Grassroot Pantry restaurant on Hollywood Road. So I thought I would give it a shot when she collaborated with Chef Nate of Rhoda for an one-night only crossover event at the restaurant.

Cooking Experiment #1: Potato with a Fancy Name

I decided to take a week off in the middle of summer just to get some rest at home. When we told others about the plan, or rather a "non-plan" of doing nothing, many seemed surprised that we were not travelling anywhere. Well, it’s not exactly a week of “doing nothing”, but I have decided to take this week for some cooking experiments at home.

Weekday Urban Farm Lunch

I came to learn about this cool café/bookstore called ACO in Wanchai purely by chance (thanks to the almighty power of Facebook "recommendations"), and after seeing the posts on their Facebook page recently about the lunch they offer as part of the "Food Art Experience" project, I was intrigued by what they are trying to do and asked a few friends of mine to join me on a Friday afternoon to check it out.

Koyasan Experience Part 2: The Art of Shojin Ryori

True, during my stay in Koyasan I was impressed by its beautiful scenery, stunningly magnificent architecture and interesting lodging facilities, but it's their unique cuisine which drew me here in the first place. With its religious background, Koyasan is known for Shojin Ryori (精進料理), the art of vegetarian fine dining.

Easy Summer Recipe Part 4 - "Green Monday" Salad

Since late last year, I have been working with the social enterprise Green Monday team to develop a few vegetarian recipes for a project that they do with The Link REIT, which managed several wet markets in Hong Kong in their real estate portfolio. Beginning in January, those recipes were printed as colorful leaflets and be distributed at the markets on a weekly basis throughout the year as a way to promote green living and inventive cooking. 

Green Monday x Miele x Grassroots Pantry

Last week I was invited to a private dinner hosted by Green Monday and Miele, held in the posh dining space of Miele Private Lounge in Causeway Bay and catered by the very talented Peggy Chan of Grassroots Pantry.

I have known David, the co-founder of the social enterprise Green Monday, for over 20 years, and he never occured to me as a serious foodie person, yet in recent years he has been making huge impact on local culinary landscape by advocating vegetarianism and in a broader sense, a healthy eating style through his venture. He even wrote a book reviewing and recommending top vegetarian restaurants in town, which was published a few weeks ago and became a bestseller overnight. And I heard a lot of good comments for Peggy and her pure vegetarian Grassroots Pantry cafe in Sheung Wan from many of my friends (vegetarian or not), so I was quite excited about this one-off event put together by them in collaboration with Miele, the innovative home appliance maker which probably needs no introduction.