Be Healthy - EatSmart!
If you’ve noticed the EatSmart Hong Kong posters around town or caught their commercials on TV, you’ve likely wondered what nutritional scheme the Department of Health wants to foist on the public. In its second year, EatSmart aims to get children in schools and adults in restaurants to “pursue healthy food” in order to “address the problem of obesity and chronic diseases”. Participating restaurants offer at least five new or updated menu items, judged by officials to be heavy on vegetables and sparing with oil, fat, salt, and sugar. Ever the sceptics, we at bc decided to investigate – and put the fare at EatSmart-approved restaurants under the expert scrutiny of the University of HK’s Professor of Nutritional Science, Dr Edmund Li.

We began our inquiry with the observation that most of the participating restaurants, according to http://restaurant.eatsmart.gov.hk, are owned by Maxim’s, a mega-chain with Chinese, Western and fast-food outlets across Hong Kong. When we asked EatSmart if the chain had a special relationship with them, representatives said that participation in the programme is entirely voluntary – Maxim’s reached out to the Department of Health, rather than the reverse – and that restaurants receive no financial support and no press other than a mention on the programme’s website. As a result, few restaurants seem to have received EatSmart’s memo about the campaign – a manager at the Harlan’s group in the ifc Mall, for instance, hadn’t even heard of the programme.

But Maxim’s has been gung-ho about EatSmart, which they called a “central promotion.” Starting in April, Maxim’s Chinese restaurants offered six EatSmart-approved dishes, including thickened soup with crab meat, yellow fungus, and bamboo pith ($95); sautéed mock tofu chicken with mushrooms in a pumpkin bowl ($85); braised yellow fungus with diced chicken and sea cucumber ($108); sautéed shrimps with lily bulbs and bell pepper ($108); sautéed green gourd with minced pork and egg white ($75); and sautéed shrimp and egg with tomato ($78). Although most of the chain’s restaurants ended the promotion on June 30, you can still test these new dishes at Maxim’s Palace – for the above prices head to the City Hall location (2/F, Lower Block, City Hall, Central, 2521 1303) – and Maxim’s Chinese Restaurant branches (various locations). Dr Li comments that most of these ingredients seem healthy – provided that chefs didn’t throw ‘extras’ into their sauces. “Often in Chinese cooking, the chef will use extra soy sauce or sugar in the sauce or gravy – that’s where the creativity comes in,” he says. Maxim’s Christy Li also tells us that their chefs attended briefing sessions on healthy eating before preparing the menus, and the entire chain plans to phase out the use of the additive monosodium glutomate (MSG).

A scant few other restaurants have jumped on the EatSmart bandwagon. First, and least surprisingly, the pleasant staff at Light Vegetarian (New Lucky House, 13 Jordan Road, Kowloon, 2384 2833) offer meat-free concoctions that re-shape and flavour soy and lotus to look and taste like fatty pork and beef. Many of their dishes, such as the Shanghai-style bean and cucumber salad ($45), sweet potato patty with cheese ($48), and soupy green bean dessert ($18) are light fare. Others, however, are dubiously lean; the deep-fried ersatz cuttlefish ($58) and curry-style fried egg noodles ($48), while tasty and entirely vegetarian, pack a greasy punch. Dr Li agrees that not all meat-free food gets a pass. “When you say you eat vegetarian, it doesn’t mean that you are eating more healthily – when you deep fry them, vegetables will soak up oil,” he says.

Meanwhile, Marco’s Bistro (Shop G12, Site 4, Whampoa Garden, Hung Hom, 2264 2699) puts a healthy foot forward with a veggie-heavy menu. But while it offers vegetable lasagna ($88) and vegetable pizza ($88), it diverges from the straight-and-narrow health-wise path with pan-fried chicken steak with risotto and porcini ($108) and pan-fried codfish with linguine ($118). For these items, Dr Li recommends using olive oil, noting that frying with cheaper cooking oil poses health risks. Marco’s “EatSmart a la carte” side dishes include Italian-style vegetable soup ($28), chef’s special salad ($48), and fresh fruit yoghurt coulis ($28).

Summer Specials
Anyone indulging in a summer romance could make a note of the Verandah Restaurant’s (109 Repulse Bay Road, Repulse Bay, 2292 2882) new Pink Sunset Dinner, a four-course menu put together particularly for couples and particularly for the month of July. Slated as a two-person meal for $1,888 plus a 10% gratuity, the menu includes a bottle of Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial champagne and begins with a tartare sample of ocean trout, scallops, and yellow fine tuna served with beetroot and carrot confit, olive tapenade and salsa verde. Next follows a blue swimmer crab and red pepper bisque cappuccino; two entrée choices include grilled tournedos of monk fish wrapped in pancetta, braised leek, herbs and ricotta gnocchi, in a light black truffle cream sauce, or a slow-cooked rack of lamb with sautéed Provencal vegetables and baby potatoes, served with roasted garlic and rosemary jus. The dinner also includes a dessert of a baked raspberry soufflé with Valrhona chocolate ice-cream; tea or coffee; and pre-dinner canapés of salmon pastrami with shaved fennel and orange salad, duck foie gras with zucchini chutney, and melon and mint soup with Parma ham.

New health-focused summer dishes, light in both taste and fat, await at Mozart Stub’n (8 Glenealy, Central, 2522 1763). The Austrian dining establishment’s seasonal offerings include chilled roast beef with creamed horseradish, potato and tomato salad appetizer ($95) and chilled tomato soup with croutons ($55). Hot appetizers include stuffed green peppers smothered with fresh tomato sauce ($95) and caraway and cabbage soup ($60). The restaurant’s new main course list features poached salmon (cooked rare) with sauce verte, fresh asparagus and parsley potatoes ($195), US fillet of steak with herb crust ($280) and grilled chicken with brandy pepper sauce ($165). The heath-conscious menu even extends to desserts, with low-sugar options such as the vanilla cream pot with fresh raspberry sauce ($65) and pancakes – fried, dense and thin – with apricot or cranberry jam ($60).

As the oppressive heat and humidity of July continues, consider liberating yourself with a few cool dessert deals. The Regal Airport Hotel’s Regala Café & Dessert Bar (9 Cheong Tat Road, HK International Airport, 2286 6618) has introduced the Tropical Fruit Tea Buffet, a 20-plus selection of desserts made with fresh fruit, including mango cheese terrine, sweet and sour apricot crème brulée tartlet, pear raviolis with gingered fruit juice, and raspberry and chocolate tart. The buffet runs $118 plus 10% gratuity. A similarly fruity concept can be found at Essence (Lobby Level, Novotel Citygate HK, 51 Man Tung Road, Tung Chung, 3602 8808), which offers an entire meal – soups, appetizers, entrées, desserts and all – based on a tropical fruit motif for $178 + 10% gratuity. Patrons can start with the sweet and spicy chilled mango and chipotle soup, and eventually work their way towards the signature main courses: poached red sea cucumber with lychee garlic lemongrass sauce, barbecue duck breast with summer fruit sauce, and shrimp flambéed with fruit cognac.

Another fresh option from an old favourite is Post 97’s (9 Lan Kwai Fong, 2186 1817) new summer menu, featuring nine new starters and more than 12 new entrées and desserts. Appetizer highlights include the figs, blue cheese, prosciutto, melba toast, and pesto starter dish ($110) and the gravlax trio: cured fish with raita curry, mayonnaise, salmon roe, and pappadum ($130). Two new entrees are the eye fillet with enoki, Swiss brown, garlic, and herb mash, and red wine jus ($265), and the king fish with sauté rice cake, pickled myoga, persimmon coulis and cuttlefish mayonnaise ($180). End your meal with the white pepper chocolate mudcake, topped with caramelized pears, clotted cream, and chilled spice syrup ($70).

Tribute (13 Elgin Street, SoHo, 2135 6645) is turning up the heat with the introduction of a dinner a la carte menu (running from July to August), featuring a collection of its all-time favourite dishes over the past six years. A boutique restaurant serving authentic Californian cuisine, it started out in 2002 as a private kitchen and still retains the essence of a warm, homey atmosphere where quality food is prepared with a good bit of tender loving care. In place of the usual four-course set meal, diners can enjoy popular appetizers such as the seasonal Belgian endive and persimmon salad ($95), wild mushroom sauté ($88) (with fresh assorted mushrooms flown in from China and Japan), or grilled-roasted quail ($103), complete with radicchio, orange, pomegranate, quail demi-glaze and a balsamic reduction. If spicy is what tickles your fancy, try the tiger prawn tribute ($115), a massive king prawn served with an arugula and grapefruit reduction and a Sichuan peppercorn and juniper berry dressing numbing to the tongue. Mains include a slow-cooked lobster bolognaise with homemade sauce and pasta ($198), and a grilled-roasted lamb T-bone ($248), which is a rarity in Hong Kong.

The Sartori wine dinner ($788 per person) at Zeffirino Ristorante (31/F, Regal Hong Kong Hotel, 88 Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay, 2837 1799) will end on July 24, so act quickly if you want to sample some fine Italian wines from a century-old Vernoa vineyard for dinner. The meal begins with an Italian mixed canape, and a tartar of seabass with capers and anchovies in lemon olive oil dressing, accompanied by a glass of the light and fruity Sartori Marani Bianco Veronese 2005. Next up is the mixed vegetable soup with Genovese pesto and a ravioli with minced meat and vegetables in creamy pesto sauce with a glass of Sartori Valpolicella Superiore 2003. After cleansing your palate with a homemade lemon sherbet, partake of some Sartori Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Corte Bra 2000 with the grilled marinated lamb chops with black truffle sauce before bringing things to an end with the sweet and delicate Sartori Recioto di Soave 2003 and a homemade Zeffirino dessert platter.

With a classy, dark interior – complete with moss and vines growing against the walls between lit pillars – it’s hard to believe that one of Vivo’s (41-43 Elgin Street, SoHo, 3106 2526) signature dishes is the ‘hangover cure’ egg and bacon pizza ($138). Not to worry though, it is equally well-known for a wide selection of thin-crust Roman-style pizzas with toppings for a refined palate, including the shredded duck confit, porcini, arugula and white truffle oil pizza ($168), the swordfish carpaccio, caperberry, lemon and olive tapenade pizza ($158) and the smoked Portobello mushroom, porcini, chanterelle and truffle pesto pizza ($138). For options other than pizza, try the roasted lamb loin with eggplant purée ($188) or kingfish carpaccio with grapefruit ($118). For dessert, Vivo offers a banana soufflé with white chocolate mousse and berries ($78) as well as a collection of seven liqueurs ($55-$68). Less decisive diners can go for the tasting menu, which includes oxtail broth, kingfish carpaccio, seared tuna, risotto with duck confit, lamb loin, tome d’ancienne semi-soft cheese, and banana soufflé ($488 per person, with two person minimum).