I love food. People who know me best know that I like to go out to eat, have dinner parties, and talk in extensive detail about all the things I eat every day. I’m not afraid to try new things and I am not afraid to eat obscene amounts in a single sitting.
The thing is, I’ve been a vegetarian (nearly vegan, if it weren’t for my love of rennet-free cheese) for 12 years now. This has never been a problem in Canada but in Asia it’s a whole different story. I shall now regale you with both woeful and delicious tales of a vegetarian living in Hong Kong (some “Veggie Tales”, if you will hehehe).
Say Cheese
Say Cheese
First, I should say that Hong Kong people love to take pictures of their food. Every night around 9pm, like clockwork, my Facebook newsfeed is flooded with photoshopped collages of my friends’ dinners. Food is a very important part of life here and everyone wants to share it with everyone else. While breakfast is often a rushed take away (take out/to go) meal of thick noodles and mini-wieners, floating in a broth that I can only assume is actually last night’s dish water, dinner is an elaborate family affair to be remembered. Most families I know go out for dinner every night. No one cooks (there are “helpers” for that… but that’s a whole other blog entry)…. In fact, if I come to work with a sloppily made PBJ sandwich, everyone gathers around, thoroughly amazed: “Did you make it yourself?!” or just “What is that?!” There is a sad lack of peanut butter in Chinese culture. I miss Reece’s Pieces more than you can imagine. And a tiny, “sample-sized” jar of crunchy Skippy’s can easily run you $6 Canadian (I say that’s $6 well spent). I must admit, I’ve started taking pictures of my food too. If I created a Facebook group called “Can this Gweilo girl’s PBJ pic get more fans than Justin Bieber?” it would be a close call.
Yes, this is exactly what happens:
The Underwater World is Their Oyster
While a PBJ may get me quizzical looks from my co-workers, I am equally mind-boggled by what ends up on their plates. Hong Kongers view the ocean as their own personal smorgasbord: dried sea horses as medicine, shark fins for a celebration, google-eyed creepy crawlies for any day of the week. I guess we’re just not on the same page. I’m not usually a preachy vegetarian at all, but the idea of shark fin soup makes my blood boil like the boiled goose blood in which ‘stinky tofu’ is marinated. (Now there is a smell to behold!)… Sharks will be another blog entry for another day.
Choose your fresh seaside meal....
Let Them Eat Cake, Cause I Don’t Want Any
We, in the west, must have evolved a different set of taste buds. I suppose you learn to love whatever you’re used to, but I just can’t do cake in Hong Kong, no matter how good it looks and how much I try. Honestly, I’m not that big of a cake fan in general (I prefer pie) but when I do have cake, I like it to be MOIST, RICH and SWEET. Hong Kong cakes are just the opposite. They are dry and I find them to be quite flavourless. Admittedly though, I prefer strong flavours. I just don’t do subtle. As a vegetarian, I can’t really eat most cakes here anyway because, in lieu of icing, they are covered in fruity gelatin. There is a chalky icing layer inside the cake (which I suspect is also gelatin-based). Yeah, it’s just not my thing at all. The feeling is mutual though: they do not enjoy our sugar-laden, tooth-decaying treats either. In fact, many of my students don’t even like milk chocolate.
Both dry and slimy at the same time!
It’s Hot and It’s Cold
The most unusual thing I’ve encountered here is the idea that cold is bad. When I bring salad for lunch, I’m told my lunch isn’t healthy enough (I glance at their chicken feet and deep fried fish balls… we agree to disagree). I’ve been told the reason I get sick so often is because I eat too many raw fruits and veggies. I’m more inclined to think it’s the air pollution in this densely populated megalopolis. Pregnant women actually have trouble getting cold water in a restaurant for fear that this refreshing drink will somehow affect their pregnancy.
Hmmm... I promised woeful AND delicious tales from abroad, but it seems I did not deliver on the latter. There are some... trust me. Stay tuned...
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