By Ida Chow
This year, we held our Terra Madre Day (10 December) lunch at Osteria Felice. 15 members and guests enjoyed an Italian meal of pizza and pasta, harking back to the birthplace of Slow Food. Then we had the pleasure of hearing Adele Wong talk about her new book, Hong Kong Food & Culture from Dim Sum to Dried Abalone.
All the dishes were served on sharing platters placed in the middle of the table, underlining that dining is about meeting and sharing, not about eating individually at a common table. We started with octopus and cauliflower, then moved on to two types of pizza-Sicilian and Salciccia followed by pasta carbonara and porcini risotto.
Adele took us through the background to her book and the process of writing it. She was keenly aware of the changing nature of the Hong Kong food scene, and wanted to explore and record techniques and practices which might be lost to future generations. There are for example traditional ways to make noodles which produce quite different tastes and textures to modern methods. Much of the discussion was on dai pai dongs and the street hawkers. The hawkers in particular face a very uncertain future, with regulations discouraging them and making it very difficult for the already very small number of licences to be maintained. Several of us expressed the hope that the authorities would place less emphasis on strict regulation and more on the encouragement of good practices, so that our fine tradition of good and tasty food can flourish.
Adele’s website is www.theloophk.com.
