What is Hong Kong's identity? Where can its people find their roots? Since the British handed the region back to China in 1997, Hong Kong has been pre-occupied by these questions. Hong Kong people's relationship with local food plays an important part in the discovery and the shaping of who they are.
Sweet and Sour dishes - Exporting Hong Kong's identity accross the world
Back to the beginning: village food in Hong Kong
Hugo Man-To Leung
Some of the earliest traditional food in Hong Kong is that of the walled villages in The New Territories, which is believed to have been being cooked since the Ming Dynasty.
The most typical dish is Pun Tsoi, which combined the dried goods of Hong Kong's Lantau Island with fresh local vegetables and was eaten from a wooden washing basin because the farmers had no other utensils.
Leung Man To is the head chef at Tai Wing Wah restaurant in Yuen Long and one of the few people stil cooking 'village food'. Listen to him describe what makes the Pun Tsoi unique.
Leung argued that as Hong Kong grows more modern it’s crucial for it to keep producing tradition foods like the pun tsoi so that the people can understand where that development comes from and build roots in the region.
“Hong Kong people have no roots. Before they belonged to the British and now China, but their minds still have no roots,” he said.
“The traditional foods they have their rooting,” he added, arguing that in these dishes people can find a record of the past that will help them to orientate themselves.
He said Hong Kong should follow the example of Japan which, despite being "the most modern" country in the world, keeps its roots in traditional food and culture.
Unfortunately, Leung believes that many young people are no longer interested in such traditional local cuisine. “Young guys they have curiosity,” he commented, “that’s why the fusion food now is so popular, the western meets eastern.”
