Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Global Food News: World Water Week 2012



This Monday marked the opening of the 2012 World Water Week (WWW), held in Stockholm. The  Sweden International Water Institute (SIWI) holds this conference each year, and the theme for 2012 is "Water and Food Security". The WWW seminars for this year focus on topics that include innovations in water conservation and sustainable use, the impact of agricultural practices on drinking water, and the need to bring environmentally sound irrigation technologies to smallholder farmers.

On the opening day of of the conference, the FAO introduced a water management framework, a document that sets out guidelines created to "encourage practices that will improve water management, such as modernizing irrigation schemes, recycling and re-using wastewater, implementing mechanisms to reduce water pollution, and storing rainwater at farms to reduce drought-related risks, among others." The report states,
Of all economic sectors, agriculture is the sector where water scarcity has the greatest relevance. Currently, agriculture accounts for 70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals, and more than 90 percent of its consumptive use. Under the joint pressure of population growth and changes in dietary habits, food consumption is increasing in most regions of the world. It is expected that by 2050 an additional 1 billion tonne of cereals and 200 million tonne of meat will need to be produced annually to satisfy growing food demand.
The FAO further stated that "drought in some parts of the world has hurt global grain production and contributed to a spike in food prices nearly every other year since 2007, making it essential to focus on the way water is managed throughout the entire food chain," the validity of which is evidenced by the current persistance of the drought in the U.S., and the consequent worries about grain shortages and food price hikes.


Healthy Summer Dining Experience: Grassroots Pantry


Today is the last day that we'll be highlighting our Healthy Summer Dining Experience partners, the TFT dishes they are featuring for the month of August, and the prizes YOU can win by entering our HSDE (contest)! Don't forget to EAT (a delicious TFT HDSE meal/drink), TAKE (a picture of the item and upload it to our Facebook page), and SHARE (the photo with friends and ask them to "like" it), so you can WIN (one of nine incredible prizes, one for the most "liked" photo taken at each HDSE partner restaurant)!

Grassroots Pantry, snugly nestled on Fuk Sau Lane (between Western Street and Pok Fu Lam Road on Third Street) in Sai Ying Pun, is an all-day cafe that serves delicious plant-based edibles and hosts edifying cooking classes and workshops. This cozy nook, the creation of chef Peggy Chan, uses local, organic produce, and is a staunch advocate of sustainable, conscientious eating.

The Grassroots Pantry team is offering the quinoa salad as its HDSE dish ($90). The quinoa and greens in this dish are dressed with orange hazelnut dressing and garnished with dried fruits and nuts. If you take the most "liked" picture of this salad, you could win a voucher for a GP class or workshop! Classes this fall include an Asian cooking class with Chef Peggy's mother, Kitty, a homestyle Indian cooking class with Spice Box Organics owner and holistic health counselor Punam Chopra, and a raw foods class with Rawthentic chef, Priscilla Soligo! Thanks to everyone at Grassroots Pantry!

The Grassroots Pantry quinoa salad, with hand-drawn menus

Monday, August 27, 2012

Food Hero Tuesday: TFT Japan Food Team


Note from the Editor: Every Tuesday, TFT HK will bring you a post or article from/about one of our local or global food heroes. These are people who inspire us, and whose visions align with the values that TFT espouses and promotes. This week's post is from a member of the Table for Two Japan Food Team, Shoko Iijima, who comments upon the rising popularity of green smoothies in Japan. TFT Japan Food Team, we at TFT HK salute you!


Shoko's green smoothie. See below for the recipe!

Title: "Go Green in the Cold Glass: green smoothies gradually become popular in Japan"
Author: Shoko Iijima, TFT Food Team


It is always nice to have a well-chilled glass of smoothie, especially in the summer. There are many types, made of a one or more seasonal fruits, and sometimes vegetables.

Recently, in Japan, so-called "green smoothies" are gaining popularity, especially among young, health-conscious women. The rise in demand for these veggie-packed drinks is largely due to the release and translation of Victoria Boutenko’s Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Toward Natural Health. Boutenko, and her holistic health approach, was first introduced in the book Raw Family, a work by the author and her family wrote together, on raw food and the healing power of healthy eating.

TFT member Tomoko recently attended a “green smoothie seminar”, held by Rakuten's Recipe Party and shared the following recipes:

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Healthy Summer Dining Experience: Light Radiant Food

For the next few days, we're highlighting our Healthy Summer Dining Experience partners, the TFT dishes they are featuring for the month of August, and the prizes YOU can win by entering our HSDE (contest)! Don't forget to EAT (a delicious TFT HDSE meal/drink), TAKE (a picture of the item and upload it to our Facebook page), and SHARE (the photo with friends and ask them to "like" it), so you can WIN (one of nine incredible prizes, one for the most "liked" photo taken at each HDSE partner restaurant)!


Light Radiant
photo by Ale Wilkinson, of The Dim Sum Diaries
Light Black Bean Veggie Burger
photo by Ale Wilkinson, of The Dim Sum Diaries

Light Radiant Food is a sweet vegetarian cafe on the corner of Eastern and Second Streets whose owner, Stephanie Ng, is dedicated to bringing whole, unprocessed, plant-based food to the Hong Kong community.  Her offerings include a hearty and delicious black bean veggie burger, which she's chosen as her TFT HDSE dish! The burger is dressed with verde sauce and pickled chinese zucchini, and can be purchased for $88 at lunch (includes salad) and $110 at dinner (includes salad, coffee/tea). The person who takes and uploads the most "Liked" picture of the Light veggie burger will win dinner for two at Light Radiant! Thank you, Stephanie and Light Radiant!

Healthy Summer Dining Experience: The Genie Concept


 For the next few days, we're highlighting our Healthy Summer Dining Experience partners, the TFT dishes they are featuring for the month of August, and the prizes YOU can win by entering our HSDE (contest)! Don't forget to EAT (a delicious TFT HDSE meal/drink), TAKE (a picture of the item and upload it to our Facebook page), and SHARE (the photo with friends and ask them to "like" it), so you can WIN (one of nine incredible prizes, one for the most "liked" photo taken at each HDSE partner restaurant)!

The Genie Concept, the brainchild of Cara Grogan and Melanie White, is a one-stop-shop for all your juice cleansing needs! You can pick up your detoxifying juices at the Genie Cafe, located at 5-13 New Street in Sheung Wan, or have them delivered to your door.  Individual juices are available for purchase, as are cleanses, based on duration (1 day, 2 days, 4 days, and 6 days) and your experience with juice diets (beginner, intermediate, and expert). The Genie girls have designated their kale pineapple juice as the TFT HDSE item, and the lucky TFT supporter who has the most "Liked" picture of it will win a 1-day Genie Cleanse! Thanks Genie Girls!!

Kale pineapple juice!


Monday, August 20, 2012

Food Hero Tuesday: Angie Palmer of From the U.S. to Hong Kong



Angie Palmer

Note from the Editor: Every Tuesday, TFT HK will bring you a post or article from/about one of our local or global food heroes. These are people who inspire us, and whose visions align with the values that TFT espouses and promotes. This week's post is an interview with Angie Palmer, creator of the vegan lifestyle blog From the US to Hong Kong. Angie works in communications for GR8 Leisure Concept, and also manages to find time for acting, modeling, and writing projects outside of her blog. Angie, we at TFT HK salute you!


Hey Angie! Thanks for chatting with us today. Tell us about yourself!

I'm the Director of Communications for GR8 Leisure Concept, which specialises in the investment, development and management of hotels, restaurants and serviced apartments. We focus a lot on fun and unique concepts like boutique hotels and specialty restaurants. On the side, I do acting and producing for films and other creative projects.

Before moving back to Hong Kong, I ran a boutique PR firm that worked with indie filmmakers, creative entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations in the U.S. My specialty is in online marketing and social media, so naturally social networks and blogs are among the tools in my social toolbox. What made me start blogging was actually my job as a reporter and producer for a local website and TV station in New Mexico. I decided to create original content and share videos and press releases so people in New Mexico could find interesting information and events. Now that I've become vegan, people kept asking me what I eat and where I shop in Hong Kong, so I decided to repurpose that blog into a green, health and vegan blog to share my stories and experiences. It's working out really well as people have been amazed at the number of restaurants where vegans can eat!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Healthy Summer Dining Experience: Teakha

 For the next few days, we're highlighting our Healthy Summer Dining Experience partners, the TFT dishes they are featuring for the month of August, and the prizes YOU can win by entering our HSDE (contest)! Don't forget to EAT (a delicious TFT HDSE meal/drink), TAKE (a picture of the item and upload it to our Facebook page), and SHARE (the photo with friends and ask them to "like" it), so you can WIN (one of nine incredible prizes, one for the most "liked" photo taken at each HDSE partner restaurant)!

Teakha is "lifestyle concept tea cafe and zakka store aimed at promoting a simple, sustainable, happy lifestyle." Located at 18 Tai Ping Shan Street in Sheung Wan, Teakha serves local, organic teas, handcrafted baked goods, and other light snacks. This lovely little oasis of tranquility is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11am to 7pm, and owner Nana Chan has selected the Lemon Cream Tart ($38) as the TFT HDSE dish. The tart is a perfect summer treat - the well-balanced, sweet and sour lemon cream filling is cradled by a chewy gingersnap base with just enough zest.  Teakha is offering the photographer who takes the most "Liked" picture of the tart a Teakha tea set for two! Thanks Teakha!


Teakha Lemon Cream Tart



Saturday, August 18, 2012

Mooncakes that Give Back: TFT HK partners with Good Luxe this fall!

This fall, Good Luxe is partnering with TFT HK, to bring you mooncakes with a philanthropic purpose. Now, you can enjoy and share this delectable Mid-Autumn Festival treat while helping to right the global food imbalance: each purchase of a box of four mooncakes will provide four nutritious meals to children in Mainland China and Africa! Please see below for more details and ordering information. Thank you to our partners at Good Luxe!



With each box of mooncakes you purchase 
Good Luxe will give 4 nutritious meals to children in China.
DESIRABLE     I     ETHICAL     I     LUXURY    
Order  your luxurious lotus seed with double egg yolk

mooncakes for early bird prices here.

Mooncakes:  Mooncakes are a traditional Mid-Autumn Festival delicacy. Good Luxe mooncakes are filled with rich golden lotus seed paste and sumptuous double egg yolks and come in an elegant red and gold box (containing four pieces each), perfect for a holiday gift. Each box costs HK$328. HK$298 for early-bird offers before 29th of August 2012.  
Hampers: Spoil your clients and loved ones by pairing the mooncakes with other ethical holiday treats including ginger cookies, honey, wine, tea, chocolate, and more, by choosing from Good Luxe’s curated Mid-Autumn Festival gift hampers or by creating your own hampers. Curated hampers range from HK$750 to HK$2,498 depending on the combination. 
About Good Luxe: Good Luxe offers luxury hampers and gifts with an ethical story. The Good Luxe team os passionate about finding unique products that are eco-friendly, socially-responsible, handcrafted and benefit a charitable cause, enabling you to spoil your loved ones and valued clients. Find your perfect gift at www.goodluxe.com.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Healthy Summer Dining Experience: The Flying Winemaker

 For the next five days, we're highlighting our Healthy Summer Dining Experience partners, the TFT dishes they are featuring for the month of August, and the prizes YOU can win by entering our HSDE (contest)! Don't forget to EAT (a delicious TFT HDSE meal/drink), TAKE (a picture of the item and upload it to our Facebook page), and SHARE (the photo with friends and ask them to "like" it), so you can WIN (one of nine incredible prizes, one for the most "liked" photo taken at each HDSE partner restaurant)!




Eddie McDougall's The Flying Winemaker is a wine bar, wine shop, and tasting school at 31 Wyndham Street: Here's a short description from the Flying Winemaker website:
Featuring over 300 wine labels and a versatile 2nd level wine bar / classroom, The Flying Winemaker is the latest wine venue in the heart of Lan Kwai Fong, ideal for hosting private or corporate events, wine tastings, networking and team building activities. Here we offer added options of wine classes, guided tastings as well as wine and food pairing services that are unique to The Flying Winemaker.
The team at The Flying Winemaker is offering the Eddie McDougall Cabernet Merlot 2010, King Valley, Australia ($90 per glass, $190 per bottle) as its TFT HDSE item. If you take the most "Liked" picture of this win, you could win two free vouchers to a WineSkool Tongue Explorer class (valued at $500)! Thanks to Eddie and everyone at The Flying Winemaker!


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Healthy Summer Dining Experience: Pure Bar + Restaurant

For the next six days, we're highlighting our Healthy Summer Dining Experience partners, the TFT dishes they are featuring for the month of August, and the prizes YOU can win by entering our HSDE (contest)! Don't forget to EAT (a delicious TFT HDSE meal/drink), TAKE (a picture of the item and upload it to our Facebook page), and SHARE (the photo with friends and ask them to "like" it), so you can WIN (one of nine incredible prizes, one for the most "liked" photo taken at each HDSE partner restaurant)!

Pure Bar + Restaurant, at 32 Hollywood Road (2/F of Kinwick Center), offers international comfort food in a lively yet laid back atmosphere. This restaurant, part of Pure Group and thus affiliated with the Pure Fitness gym upstairs from it, offers a number of healthy options and even discloses calorie counts for items on its menus. Pure Bar + Restaurant is offering a $500 Pure dining gift voucher for the most liked photo among those of the following items:


Grilled king scallops with cucumber salsa & lemon mint vinaigrette, $128
 Seared salmon with spinach, quinoa & avocado, $138
 Organic whole wheat spaghetti with organic rocket, cherry tomatoes & shrimp, $128
Grilled tuna steak with mango, chili salsa & grilled asparagus, $138

Thanks to Pure Bar + Restaurant for their support of TFT, and for making it easy for all of us to eat smart in Hong Kong!

Seared salmon with spinach, quinoa & avocado
Grilled tuna steak with mango, chili salsa & grilled asparagus
Grilled king scallops with cucumber salsa & lemon mint vinaigrette

Healthy Summer Dining Experience: Fofo by El Willy

For the next seven days, we're highlighting our Healthy Summer Dining Experience partners, the TFT dishes they are featuring for the month of August, and the prizes YOU can win by entering our HSDE (contest)! Don't forget to EAT (a delicious TFT HDSE meal/drink), TAKE (a picture of the item and upload it to our Facebook page), and SHARE (the photo with friends and ask them to "like" it), so you can WIN (one of nine incredible prizes, one for the most "liked" photo taken at each HDSE partner restaurant)!



 Fofo by El Willy is a Central (located on the 20th floor of the M88 building, at 2-8 Wellington Street) restaurant that serves both traditional and innovative Spanish cuisine. For the Healthy Summer Dining Experience, the Fofo team has selected the Prawns "Bomb" with organic mixed tomatoes, salad leaves, and tomato sauce as its TFT dish.

If your photo of the Prawns "Bomb" is the most "Liked", you could win a free glass of sangria from Fofo! Thank you to everyone at Fofo for your support of healthy eating in Hong Kong, and of TFT!


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Healthy Summer Dining Experience: Veggie SF

For the next eight days, we're highlighting our Healthy Summer Dining Experience partners, the TFT dishes they are featuring for the month of August, and the prizes YOU can win by entering our HSDE (contest)! Don't forget to EAT (a delicious TFT HDSE meal/drink), TAKE (a picture of the item and upload it to our Facebook page), and SHARE (the photo with friends and ask them to "like" it), so you can WIN (one of nine incredible prizes, one for the most "liked" photo taken at each HDSE partner restaurant)!

Veggie SF is a "San Francisco in the 50's" themed restaurant, serving internationally inspired vegetarian cuisine. This quirky, vibrant vegetarian haven is located at 11 Stanley St. (10F) and is serving up the "Oakland Breeze" ($98) as its TFT HDSE entree: Vietnamese-style vermicelli with fried tofu and skewers! If you upload your photo of  the"Oakland Breeze"you order, you may win a free appetizer from Veggie SF! See below for a picture of the dish! Thank you to Bess and everyone at Veggie SF!!


Photo by TFT supporter Joan Shang






Sunday, August 12, 2012

Healthy Summer Dining Experience: MANA! Fast Slow Food

For the next nine days, we're highlighting our Healthy Summer Dining Experience partners, the TFT dishes they are featuring for the month of August, and the prizes YOU can win by entering our HSDE (contest)! Don't forget to EAT (a delicious TFT HDSE meal/drink), TAKE (a picture of the item and upload it to our Facebook page), and SHARE (the photo with friends and ask them to "like" it), so you can WIN (one of nine incredible prizes, one for the most "liked" photo taken at each HDSE partner restaurant)!
MANA! Organic Mezze Platter

MANA! Fast Slow Food, located at 92 Wellington in Central, specializes in "flats" (organic flat breads baked on the premises and topped with zataar and other goodies of your choosing), salads, soups, smoothies, and juices. The proprietors of this all-day cafe take individual and planetary healthy seriously, and operate MANA! with those values in mind: they've implemented various energy-saving strategies (no AC blasting, energy-efficient lighting), offer free filtered drinking water to all, use biodegradable to-go packaging, decorate their space with reclaimed and upcycled materials, and collect leftover food to be composted.

During the HDSE, MANA! is offering the Organic Mezze Platter as its TFT dish. This platter is "a medley of tantalizing tastes of MANA! served in one box: hummus, babaganoush, black & green olives, green salad & MANA!'s famous flatbread topped with zaatar." The price is $97, and 5% of the proceeds from this dish help TFT provide nutritious school lunches to children in Qinghai, China; Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

If you take the most "liked" photo of the MANA! Organic Mezze Platter, you'll receive dinner for two at MANA!, so get those pictures up and ask your friends to vote! Thank you to the team at MANA! for their support and generosity!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Easy Chia Breakfast Pudding!


Wondering what to make for breakfast this weekend? How about a tasty breakfast pudding made with chia seed, an ingredient that supplies you with healthy omega-3 fatty acids, fiber (25 grams of chia give you 6.9 grams of fiber), calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc. When added to liquid and left to set for 30 or more minutes, this mighty little seed (available in most health food stores) forms a gel, so chia soaked in milk or milk alternative makes perfect pudding. Adding sliced almonds and dried fruit boosts this dish's levels of vitamins E, A, and C.

Easy Chia Breakfast Pudding
(serves 2-3)

Ingredients

6 tbsp chia seed
1 cup (roughly 240 ml) milk or milk alternative (I prefer hemp milk)
4 drops liquid stevia (or 2 tsp coconut palm sugar, agave nectar, sugar, or brown sugar)
5-10 almonds, chopped
2 tbsp chopped dried fruits (my favorites are goji berries, blueberries, apricots, and dates)
1 tsp vanilla
1tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients, cover, and let pudding set in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Local Buzz: CUHK research review finds that traditional Chinese medicine may be an effective obesity treatment


A research review compiled by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), published in the May 2012 edition of Obesity Reviews, concludes that Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) and acupuncture may be as effective in treating obesity as their western, pharmaceutical counterparts, with fewer side effects. The study was commissioned by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. Here are some key takeaways from the study:
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that obesity affects almost six percent of Chinas population, and a 2012 report from Johns Hopkins University stated that twenty percent of China's children are overweight.
  • CUHK compiled data from studies (written in Chinese, English, Korean and Japanese) on CHM/acupuncture and weight loss from a total of 12 electronic databases. This research was collected up until the 28th of February, 2012.
  • The report's authors claim that, over a period of four months, use of herbs can result in weight loss of around 5.8 kilograms, while acupuncture can produce a loss of 4.1kg.
  • The herbs most commonly and successfully used for weight loss included "huang quin" (Baical Skullcap root) and "shanzha" (hawthorn fruit)
  • The most effective acupressure points used were those in the ear, aimed at the spleen and the stomach, and the points in the leg known as "Sanyinjiao" (near the ankle) and "Zusanli" (just below the knee)
  • The study's conclusion: "CHM and acupuncture were more effective than placebo or lifestyle modification in reducing body weight. They had a similar efficacy as the Western anti-obesity drugs but with fewer reported adverse effects. However, these conclusions were limited by small sample size and low quality of methodologies."
A large-scale clinical trial is in the works for next January, to further provide evidence for or disprove the conclusions of the CUHK report.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Global Food News: World Hunger Summit to be held at close of London Olympic Games


The Olympic Games place a focus on the pursuit and achievement of physical excellence. As I'm sure you're well aware, this year's Games, held in London, began on July 27th and run through August 12th, and have featured many shining moments for the participating athletes and their respective fans. In addition to providing patriotic spectators with an inspiring display of the human capacity to achieve greatness through perseverance, endurance, and dedication, this year's Olympics is also serving as a platform through which to raise awareness of and address the global hunger crisis.

On August 12th, after the marathon on the last day of the games, the UK government has organized a World Hunger Summit. This forum, during which attendees will discuss potential solutions to the malnutrition and starvation faced by nearly 1 billion of the earth's people, will build upon the foundation of the New Alliance for Food and Nutrition Security, unveiled at the 2012 G8 summit. The NewAlliance seeks to help 50 million people out of poverty over the next 10 years through sustainable agricultural growth.  Attendees to the World Hunger Summit will include nonprofits such a Save the Children and Oxfam International, celebrity spokespeople, and a governmental representative from Brazil, the host of the next Olympic Games.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Food Hero Tuesday: Michelle Ng of ChopstixFix



Note from the Editor: Every Tuesday, TFT HK will bring you a post or article from/about one of our local or global food heroes. These are people who inspire us, and whose visions align with the values that TFT espouses and promotes. This week's post is an interview with Michelle Ng, creator of the popular Hong Kong food blog ChopstixFix, and restaurant reviewer for Sassy Hong Kong. Michelle describes herself as "a Brit born Chinese-Malaysian who has loved food since time immemorial. She is a firm believer in 'Live to Eat, not Eat to Live'". Michelle, we at TFT HK salute you!



Hey Michelle! Thanks for being with us today. First, can you tell us about yourself?

I grew up in London for most of my life, but my family originally hails from Malaysia. Coming from a family of food fanatics, and spending a few years in Penang as a child, I was quite well exposed to a variety of cuisines, and my parents always made sure that I tried everything at least once!

When I came over to HK three years ago, I was like a kid in a sweet shop- I basically went wild trying out as many restaurants as I could, discovering all the dai pai dongs, and the wealth of cuisine on offer. It wasn’t long until I had a ridiculous collection of food photos. Not really knowing what else to do with them, I decided to set up Chopstixfix as a sort of restaurant directory and to help my family and friends decide where to eat when they visited me! It was meant to be a bit of a fun hobby but now the writing is definitely a passion and a little bit more serious than just a food album!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

TFT HK Monday Update!

Video created for TFT HK by Open Classroom's Young Leaders of Tomorrow


Good morning and happy Monday!

Recently, TFT HK was invited to take part in Open Classroom's "Young Leaders of Tomorrow" (YLOT) and "Leadership in Action" programs.  To introduce the bright, driven students participating in these programs to the state of our world food systems, Open Classroom and TFT HK first had them run through a Global Food Imbalance Simulation, created by talented HKIS student (and graduate of the "Young Leaders of Tomorrow" program) Kristofer Siy.  Kristofer was on hand to facilitate the first official run of this exciting educational game.

After the simulation, the YLOT participants were asked to put together visual presentations, to raise awareness of the issues TFT HK addresses, and to urge the adoption of TFT programs in their respective schools.  The "Leaders in Action" participants created and ran a fundraiser, the proceeds of which were donated to Theatre Noir, Hong Kong Honey, and Table for Two HK. Below are a few photos (courtesy of Open Classroom) from the Open Classroom programs, and above is the video created by some of the "Young Leaders of Tomorrow". Thank you to Open Classroom administrators Agnes Kong and Yvonne Chu, Kristofer Siy, and all of the Open Classroom students, for your involvement with and support of Table for Two! And thank you to Grassroots Pantry for donating a gift voucher for the raffle at the "Leaders in Action" fundraiser!