Page 23 - Varsity Special Issue

/ 21

Eating Green

Modern vegetarian eateries are emerging, in
response to the rising demand for plant-based
dishes.

By Hayley Wong

Plant-based dish. (Photo courtesy of Years)

o Chen founded her vegan bub- sugar. Chen uses oat milk, almond etarian catering options, especially
ble tea store in Central in Au- milk, and hempseed milk to replace during the pandemic when everybody
Pgust 2020, the first of its kind in dairy milk which is used by most bub- pays more attention to their health,”
Hong Kong. ble tea stores. They are higher in fibre, she adds.
“I want to turn bubble tea anti-inflammatory and contain
into something healthy, no lactose. Increasing Popularity of Plant-
homemade and vegan so Chen says there is a based Diet
that it wouldn’t be a prob- rising demand for plant- According to British Dietetic As-
lem for my children to based food options in sociation, a plant-based diet is based
drink bubble tea every Hong Kong. “Oat milk on food derived from plants with few
day,” Chen says. and vegetarian meat brands or no animal products.
Chen’s bubble tea does have been widely added to While only three per cent of the
not contain refined sugar, but P o Chen retail and restaurant menus,” she population in Hong Kong are full-
Po Chen
natural, low-glycemic alternatives like says. “I do think Hong Kong has the time vegetarians or vegans, 34 per
coconut sugar and lakanto monkfruit potential to develop further on veg- cent of the 1,000 respondents adopt