Sustainable Restaurants in Hong Kong
RESTAURANTS

Restaurants in Hong Kong That are Walking the Sustainable Talk

We often hear the word "sustainability" whenever we talk about climate change, and at times, it even gets thrown around in relation to fads. Yet although sustainability has become "in vogue" in the last couple of years, this is what it’s not: a trend.

As we find ourselves living in the middle of the global climate crisis – a stage of rising temperatures, disasters, food and water insecurity, and environmental degradation, among others – we’re compelled to strive to not let sustainability end up as just another fashionable fuzzword.

These days, you wouldn't have a hard time finding restaurants in Hong Kong that embrace sustainability, such as those that serve plant-based meat and champion a farm-to-table process. All these are novel, perhaps, still, in execution, but the philosophy of only taking from the earth what is necessary is one that holds out.

To head towards a more sustainable 2022, we suggest you check out these three restaurants and one bar in Hong Kong that are walking the talk when it comes to sustainability.

Roganic

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Climate Portal described sustainability succinctly when it said "[it] is concerned with the resources we take from the Earth and how we use them, with an emphasis on not exhausting what the planet can supply."

Michelin-starred Roganic, the brainchild of chef and restaurateur Simon Rogan, does exactly this. Roganic prides itself in its commitment to the traceability of its ingredients by focusing and utilising produce from local and organic farms in the New Territories and turning these into dishes that dare and inspire. If a bold and progressive take on dining is what you seek, then you will have no regrets scouting out Roganic's "city-centric take on a farm-to-table dining experience."



MANA!

Since consumption can often mean complicity, there's a certain fulfillment that's felt when you wholeheartedly support an enterprise that aligns with your core values. This is why environmentalist Bobsy Gala's MANA! hits the spot for us, in matters of taste and principle. With its famous mantra, "We're not on the planet for business, we're in business for the planet," MANA! has been the pioneer of Hong Kong's "plant-based fast-casual market" with its "fast slow food" and zero-waste operations since 2012.

We recommend its BABYLON! BURGER (HK$105), made of homemade bean patty with mushrooms, beetroot, and tempeh, and the MANA!LOVE flatbread (HK$55), which has halloumi, grilled veggies, and rocket.

Eat Well Canteen

The Green Hub, a centre for sustainable living under the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, promotes low-carbon food culture with its Eat Well Canteen. Formerly the canteen of the Old Tai Po Police Station, Eat Well Canteen serves up fresh dishes with locally sourced and fairly traded ingredients, operating on the principle that "food should be healthy, community-friendly, and environmentally-friendly."

If you're interested to learn about "low-carbon cookery," Eat Well also offers cookery classes and workshops to those who want to make a change and live healthier and more sustainably. 

Green Hub announced on Jan. 27, 2022, that it will temporarily close its doors from the public due to the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong. We advise that you keep checking Green Hub's Facebook page for updates.





PENICILLIN

PENICILLIN is not a restaurant, but it is "Hong Kong's first sustainable bar that champions a closed-loop model of production." A closed-loop production is a system wherein the “output” or waste is recycled or reused to create another product.

This ethos is exactly what drives PENICILLIN, as its mission is to become Hong Kong's first "scrapless bar." PENICILLIN does its part in minimising its carbon footprint by only sourcing local ingredients, coming up with innovative ways to recycle and upcycle its kitchen waste and by-products, and doing its own brewing, fermenting, and growing.

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