What is considered sustainable can look different depending on the context.
A paper published in 2022 in the journal Science Progress and Research, “A Critical Analysis of the Restaurant Industry’s Effect on Environment Sustainability”, focuses on environmental hazards caused by the restaurant industry.
The biggest factors mentioned in the study that are applicable to Hong Kong’s dining scene are carbon footprint, plastic pollution and food waste.
Hong Kong imports 90 per cent of its food, and around 3.2 billion minuscule pieces of polluting plastic flow from the city’s drains into the sea every day. Food accounts for a third of the city’s solid waste, of which about 3,300 tonnes (3,600 tons) is sent to landfill every day.
Leung recently opened Cafe Bau in Wan Chai. It is a restaurant that claims almost all of its ingredients are locally sourced.
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The chef says he was triggered to do more after filming the latest season of cookery competition show MasterChef Canada, which focused on sustainability in the food and beverage industry and how everyone has to do their part to reduce its carbon footprint.
“More than ever, I saw the importance of raising awareness of the environmental impact the [food and beverage] sector has on our planet,” he says.
Leung says a new addition to his family motivated him to focus on sustainability too.
“The birth of my grandson also inspired me to create a better future for him. This is why I joined forces with our local farming partners who share the same passion and vision of reducing the carbon footprint and showing our diners what Hong Kong has to offer.”
He believes great taste does not require imported ingredients, and that it’s time diners recognised the quality of ingredients from Hong Kong.
“This is what we are proud of,” he says. “I’m dedicated to using the highest amount of locally sourced ingredients to make [people] aware of the importance of reducing the carbon footprint on the planet.”
Leung also incorporates unused food in the menu. “Cafe Bau’s approach to minimise food waste is to utilise ingredients from the day before that are still great in quality, taste and freshness, and use them to prepare the complimentary amuse-bouche for our diners.”
It remains to be seen whether Cafe Bau will be awarded a Green Star by the Michelin Guide.One Hong Kong restaurant that has received a Green Star – as well as a Michelin star – is Roganic in Causeway Bay, which it earned in 2021 when the accolade was introduced in the guide’s Hong Kong and Macau edition.
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The restaurant lowers its carbon footprint by using on-site hydroponic cabinets to grow its herbs and vegetables, which are incorporated into dishes and garnishes.
The team at Roganic is also committed to reducing plastic by requiring suppliers to adhere to eco-friendly practices, and using biodegradable packaging. The restaurant also filters its own water instead of importing bottled water.
Roganic has a zero-waste philosophy and aims to use the entirety of each ingredient. For example, offcuts such as pear peels are used to ferment one of the teas in the restaurant’s list of non-alcoholic drinks pairings.
Vicky Lau’s soy-forward restaurant, Mora, was the latest to receive a Green Star in the Michelin Guide’s 2023 edition.“We plan our menu meticulously. We minimise waste by using ingredients that can be used in multiple dishes and avoiding over-ordering perishables. We also offer half portions [of dishes],” she says.
Mora also composts food waste to use as fertiliser for gardens or farms, instead of sending it to landfill.
Lau believes that showcasing tofu as a delicious protein can help encourage a reduction in meat consumption, which accounts for 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions around the world, according to a study published in the journal Nature Food.The chef produces all her soy-based products in Chai Wan, at the eastern end of Hong Kong Island, and sources many other ingredients for the restaurant locally.
Like Roganic, Mora also offers customers in-house filtered water.
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Richard Ekkebus, executive chef at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, has made great strides toward reducing food waste at the hotel, achieving a 38 per cent year-on-year reduction in 2022. Amber, the hotel’s French fine-dining restaurant, has held a Michelin Green Star since last year.The restaurant has a multi-page manifesto detailing the initiatives it takes in its commitment to sustainability. These include:
reducing single-use plastic;
sourcing ingredients from local, regional and fair-trade sources whenever possible;
maintaining a stringent waste management programme, and;
eliminating the importation of bottled water by using an in-house water filtration and bottling system.
In 2022, Ekkebus partnered with Young Master Brewery to create Amber Dark Toast Wild Ale, a bottled beer made from Amber’s leftover sourdough. The beer can be ordered by guests at Amber and bought from the hotel’s online shop.All three Green Star holders have made notable efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and eliminate the use of plastic, but food waste is a challenge that still needs to be addressed.
According to the 2022 paper in Science Progress and Research, almost 60 per cent of restaurant waste is organic matter – food scraps or unused, expired or uneaten food.
Even when restaurants attempt to reduce waste in the kitchen, unfinished food left on customers’ plates is something they have no control over.
In a survey conducted by food charity Feeding Hong Kong in January this year, over 60 per cent of respondents said they had leftovers after their meals celebrating Lunar New Year. It was estimated that over HK$200 million (US$25.5 million) worth of food was sent to landfill over the holiday period in January.The biggest problem with leftovers going to landfill is that greenhouse gases are created by the food’s decomposition. In addition, meat and dairy products cannot be composted as they attract vermin, making the composting of leftovers from non-vegan menus almost impossible.
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The leaders of sustainable restaurants in Hong Kong have shown how much the food and beverage industry could collectively achieve in waste reduction.
However, individual diners must also make more effort to reduce food waste if the Feeding Hong Kong survey is any indication.
They should exercise portion control and understand that it is OK to tell staff they are feeling full and want a half serving of the next course. It also pays to be mindful of one’s appetite when ordering.Before pointing fingers at restaurants for the environmental impact of their practices, consumers need to finish what’s on their plates – or take it home to eat later.
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