HK’s fresh greens and seafood markets are undergoing a renaissance as more people get pickier about what they eat in the time of a worldwide health crisis. Rebecca Lo reports from Hong Kong.
Link Reit CEO George Hongchoy visits a happy fruits vendor at TKO Gateway in Tseung Kwan O. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
On a Tuesday afternoon, Food Lane in Tseung Kwan O’s TKO Gateway is a whirl of activity. Link Reit’s latest fresh market opened in January 2020, just in time to cater to Hong Kong residents’ renewed desire to be in control of what they eat. With the rise of COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong in the last few weeks, people are paying more attention to the choice and provenance of food items, as well as experimenting more with cooking them.
Emmanuel Farcis, Link Reit’s head of asset management (Hong Kong), hails from France where there is an unbroken tradition of making daily trips to the fresh market to pick up raw materials that will go into the evening’s meal as well as catch up on local gossip. In the past decade, Link has been upgrading its portfolio of fresh markets to facilitate more community building. The measures adopted include taking down walls between vendors, widening the aisles, introducing bright signage and contemporary graphics that invite shoppers to linger and chat.
“A decade ago, we had 90 markets in Link’s portfolio,” Farcis explains. “But no one in Hong Kong knew about designing community-driven ones. We looked at the emergence of farmers’ markets in the United States and street markets in Europe. We first experimented with Tai Yuen Market in Tai Po, and hired Greig & Stephenson Architects — designer of London’s Borough Market — to consult.”
Emmanuel Farcis of Link Reit believes in fostering community spirit through fresh food markets. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Safe and practical
Each fresh market layout had to be tailored to suit specific site conditions. In Tai Yuen Market’s Food Lane, live seafood vendors are positioned in a cluster near the loading area to minimize the footprint between delivery trucks and fishmongers. Dry goods vendors are lined against the market’s rear walls to maximize display space vertically. Meat, fruit and vegetable sellers such as Grace Vegetable are placed in the center, so that bright pops of colorful produce may catch wandering eyes.
Ho Pak-hung, proprietor of Grace Vegetable, has lived in Tseung Kwan O for two decades and previously sold vegetables in Lam Tin. Upon learning about TKO Gateway, he sought Link out to secure a spot. “It is a very clean environment,” Ho notes, bagging some Chinese kale for a customer. “I like the wide corridors. We have very loyal customers who appreciate our service. We go the extra mile to make sure our vegetables are presented beautifully.”
Chef and restaurateur David Lai likes to personally pick the seafood to go into the day’s menu. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
He points to several baskets containing green veggies that have been trimmed and cleaned for customers to take home and cook immediately. “We discard wilted leaves so that customers can skip the work of sorting,” Ho explains. “People are willing to spend a little more for time saving gestures. A lot of our customers have become friends. Since the start of the pandemic, people choose food more carefully and want to eat healthy. I often recommend different ways to cook our vegetables or share recipes so that customers can make the most out of their flavors.”
“Communities are now asking us to renovate our markets, as more people buy fresh produce and cook more at home,” Farcis reveals. “Is this trend going to stay? I believe it will if fresh market vendors establish a rapport with their customers. The ladies at my local fruit store will pick out the best apples for me, because they know what I like.”
Chef and restaurateur David Lai likes to personally pick the seafood to go into the day’s menu. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
While supermarkets will remain popular for the convenience and loyalty programs, Link’s fresh markets score in terms of exuding a community vibe. “There is room for both,” Farcis affirms. “Before our fresh market at TKO Gateway was renovated, it attracted a narrow, very homogenous band of the 23,000 people here at Tseung Kwan O Estate. Now, everyone comes here: kids, grannies and domestic helpers. We see different demographics at different times of the day. Some live upstairs. There is a sense of community here now. And we host events to encourage that, such as inviting chefs to cook inside the market.”
Workers in Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market prepare to show their products to customers in real time, using the Fresh Go app. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Chef’s choice
Chef David Lai, who opened Spoon for Alain Ducasse in Hong Kong before establishing Bistronomique and Neighborhood, is a big fan of fresh markets. He enjoys heading to Ap Lei Chau Market to handpick the stuff he will put on the day’s menu.
“The area is always busy with trawlers coming in from nearby seas or as far as Southeast Asia,” Lai states, who visits Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market when he is planning to buy in bulk.
“While it is more challenging to be serving whatever seafood is available on a certain day, it keeps my menu interesting if I buy local,” says Lai. “It is better for the fish too — if it has to travel too far after being caught, it gets stressed out, and that will affect its flavor. For me, the best fish is caught from the sea in the morning, purchased in the afternoon and eaten that evening.”
Lai believes Hong Kong has a unique market culture. “My fishmongers know me and I can learn a lot from them,” he explains. “They have so many stories to tell.”
A seafood vendor at the Link Reit fresh market in Tseung Kwan O displays a prize catch. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Guided shopping
Mui Man Bok feels strongly that eating fresh seafood using simple cooking methods is part of Hong Kong’s intangible culture. He launched Fresh Go, an application that allows home cooks access to wholesale vendors. Using the app, shoppers can choose seafood step by step with help from the fishmongers at Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market. Using Alibaba Cloud technology to live stream the selection process, Fresh Go’s customers can get exactly what they want.
“After launching Fresh Go last fall, our membership grew steadily with 6,000 verified members in January this year,” Mui notes. “During this pandemic, many people changed their lifestyle and shop online even for their daily groceries. Consequently, our concept of purchasing live seafood via livestream on our app became very popular. We find that most users shop late at night. For special or rare seafood, we offer 24 hours customer service. Our sales have increased twentyfold, and we currently have more than 50,000 members.”
Ho Pak-hung (left) of Grace Vegetable says he loves the roomy layout of the Link Reit fresh market in Tseung Kwan O’s TKO Gateway shopping center. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Knowing that its members are much more skilled at eating seafood than cooking it, Fresh Go collaborates with popular online cooking platform DayDayCook Concept Studio, sharing classes and recipes filmed in its Sheung Wan studio. DayDayCook’s founder, Norma Chu, used to be an HSBC private banker whose passion for simple Cantonese recipes led to starting the online platform in 2012.
Through sharing recipes, tips and techniques delivered via video, DayDayCook and Fresh Go are steadily building an online food network — yet another option for those who would not want to compromise on health and safety while being part of the local fresh food culture.
