Hey everyone, I’m here to share all my delicious vegan eats in Hong Kong on Instagram. Through my new account @hungryveganhk, I’m going to be rating my 100% plant-based meals across the city – honest reviews only! After nearly 8 years of going vegan, I wanted to create the account to share with not only Hong Kong’s growing vegan community but also all foodies in the city how diverse, wonderful and tasty vegan food is. Hopefully, I can convince more people to choose plant-based because we can still enjoy satisfying, healthy and delicious food without compromising on our values. Let’s save the planet and animals one bite at a time! Follow me here: https://www.instagram.com/hungryveganhk.
For those of you who are interested, I’m going to dive a little bit more into my plant-based story. I have been vegan ever since I turned 18 years old, which feels like many years ago now, haha. I went completely vegan overnight – no transition period – after one night of deep-diving into all the environmental harms the animal agriculture industry has done to our planet. On top of that, I’ve always been an animal lover and never quite liked eating meat. So for myself, the transition was pretty easy. But I have loads of friends and family who don’t quite feel the same way. It’s not as simple as turning the switch overnight, and I’ve come to understand that over the years. With my new reviewing account, I really want to be able to show everyone, especially omnivores who can’t quite bear to “quit” meat, eggs and dairy yet, to reconsider their food choices. It’s about showing them that there are options everywhere, not just in vegan-exclusive restaurants, but also everyday vegan-friendly cafes. And, that these options are far from boring!
Other hobbies that I have grown into as I continue into my vegan lifestyle journey include home gardening, as well as urban rooftop farming. At home, we grow our own herbs such as basil and mint, as well as take care of lots and lots of plants, from evergreen ferns to succulents and snake plants. Once a week, we go to an urban rooftop farm to learn how to grow our own organic produce, such as local pak choi, gai lan and lor bak (white radish), and even salad leaves like butterhead lettuce and baby spinach. It really is loads of fun and part of my own practice to be more in tune with where food comes from, how to be more connected with nature and its natural ecosystems, and how to reduce my own individual environmental footprint. It also helps me enjoy the little things in life, which is to be as healthy and happy as possible. I started these hobbies after I moved away from my full-time role as a plant-based and sustainability writer for an online impact media site, mainly for reasons of my own mental health and wellbeing.
Over the years, I am proud to be able to have been able to positively impact the closest of those around me, including my wonderful husband, who decided to ditch eating meat after we first started dating. Fast forward a few years, he is now a seasoned vegetarian and has not looked back since, even though he hasn’t quite made the transition to become 100% plant-based. It was no easy feat as he was quite the meat lover prior to us having met! I have also got two family members who are now pescatarians for a couple years, meaning they don’t eat any meat, but they still consume some seafood, though in small amounts. I used to be more radical in my own thinking, as it was an easy-transition for myself. But I have come to realise in a few years that it is all about a forward journey.
I am glad that there is a positive step forward. Any step forward towards plant-based eating is one step in the right direction, in my opinion. Sometimes, we do have to meet people where they are. Change does not always come immediately, even if it is my personal preference to have it that way! If our entire society managed to reduce their consumption of meat and dairy, the potential impact could really be huge and add up to something significant. And significant is what we need if we are to save the planet and animals. We have to keep spreading the word about vegan eating and convince the everyday mainstream diner to increase their share of plant-based meals, while minimising meat and dairy consumption if they are not able to quit.
I suppose that point circles right back to the topic of my post, which is about why I have decided to share more of my vegan meals as I continue to hungrily dine-out across Hong Kong. For those of you who have stuck through this long post about my vegan story and given me the time of day, thank you! I hope it was not too boring, even though I am sure that it indeed really was – it is not like my story stands out as unique from the fast-growing vegan community in Hong Kong and across the world! Anyway, maybe one day I will be brave enough to share more about myself and climb out behind my new little anonymous reviewing page. But until then, I shall leave you with my favourite phrase of all time: Viva Las Vegan!