Chai png is gaining popularity in HK

[The_King]

 

 

Under the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, a new trend of diet has recently emerged in Hong Kong. A bento culture similar to "mixed vegetable rice" has become popular in the local area. Two main dishes and white rice are priced at HK$32 for a box ( About S$5.50), the affordable price is quite popular with Hong Kong residents.

According to the New York Times, this new trend of eating and drinking is a win-win for both local operators and customers, who survive due to high demand, and for diners, the lunch box is a cheap and convenient option, and Both dishes offered the comfort flavor and variety of Chinese cuisine.

Although the "two dishes and one meal" lunch box does not sell well, the dishes are all standard Cantonese dishes, such as scrambled eggs with tomatoes, sweet and sour pork ribs, or braised beef and radishes. The business model is very similar to the local mixed vegetable rice. Tell the clerk what you want to eat, and the clerk will use a spoon to put the dishes into the lunch box. Two dishes and a meal are sold for S$5.60, cash only, and an additional main dish will be charged an additional S$1.40.

According to the crowdsourcing map, there are currently at least 353 shops in Hong Kong selling "two dishes and one meal" lunch boxes. Although there is no record of how many related stores there were before, Hong Kong food scholars and diners agreed that there were not many "two dishes and one meal" before the epidemic.

Diner Kitty Ho, who dined with her boyfriend, said in an interview that the two would buy such lunch boxes several times a week in recent months. "For sure, when you walk into this kind of restaurant, you can find really good food."

At present, there are at least 353 shops in Hong Kong selling "two dishes and one meal" lunch boxes. Photo: The New York Times/Billy HC Kwok

Some scholars say that Hong Kong has always been able to buy "two dishes and one meal" lunch boxes, but it is often ignored by the general public. Dr Siu Xin-ho, a lecturer in the Department of Chinese at Hong Kong Baptist University who studies Hong Kong's food culture, said such delicacies are seen as food for the common people or low-income groups.

However, with the rise in the number of unemployed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus and the implementation of dine-in restrictions for nearly four months, more and more people are beginning to accept the "two dishes and one meal" that is both cheap and satisfying.

The owner of Jia Kee, a Hong Kong fast food chain that sells "two dishes and one meal," said his six branches sell 1,000 lunch boxes every day. "Our customers are office workers, students, seniors and cleaners," he said.

As the "two dishes and one meal" trend in Hong Kong swept the local area, some people even opened a fan page on the social networking site Facebook, allowing other netizens to upload photos of lunch boxes and share food reviews.

However, with the lifting of dine-in restrictions in Hong Kong after 6pm, many netizens expressed their expectation to return to restaurants with friends.

Lo Siu-ying, a 64-year-old diner, said she and her husband have been patronizing Jia Kee for many years because "two dishes and one meal" is the most convenient option. However, as a cleaner, she also hopes that the public will not be so reliant on these lunch boxes, because the amount of garbage has doubled during the epidemic.

"Everyone is packing food, lunch boxes are everywhere," she said.

 

 

在冠病疫情冲击之下，香港近期出现了一种饮食新风潮，一种类似于“杂菜饭”的便当文化，开始在当地流行起来，两份主菜加白饭，一盒要价32港元（约5.50新元），亲民价格相当受港民青睐。

据《纽约时报》报道，这种饮食新风潮对当地业者和顾客来说是双赢，业者因需求高涨而得以生存，而对食客来说，这种饭盒是一种既便宜又方便的选择，而两道菜都提供了中式料理的舒适风味和多样性。

虽然“两菜一饭”饭盒卖相不甚佳，但菜式都是标准粤菜，有番茄炒蛋、糖醋排骨或红烧牛肉萝卜等，买卖模式营业跟本地的杂菜饭非常类似，食客只需告诉店员要吃什么，店员便会用勺子将菜品装入饭盒中，两菜一饭卖5.60新元，只收现金，加一份主菜则额外收1.40新元。

根据众包地图显示，目前全港至少有353家店铺售卖“两菜一饭”饭盒。虽然没有记录显示之前共有多少相关店铺，但香港美食学者和食客一致认为，疫情前的“两菜一饭”并不多。

与男友一同用餐的食客Kitty Ho受访时说，两人近几个月来一星期会买这类饭盒好几次。“可以肯定的是，当你走进这种餐厅，你就能找到很不错的美食。”

 

 

有学者说，香港其实一直都买得到“两菜一饭”饭盒，但往往被普罗大众忽略。研究香港美食文化的香港浸会大学中文系讲师萧欣浩博士说，这类美食被视为平民或低收入群体的食物。

不过，随着冠病疫情暴发导致失业人数上升，以及当地实施堂食限制将近四个月，越来越多人开始能接受既便宜又能饱腹的“两菜一饭”。

售卖“两菜一饭”的香港连锁快餐店佳记老板说，他的六家分店每天都会卖出1000份饭盒。他表示：“我们的顾客有上班族、学生、老年人和清洁工。”

由于香港“两菜一饭”风潮席卷当地，有民众甚至在社交网站Facebook上开启粉丝页面，让其他网民上传饭盒照片，分享美食评价。

然而，随着香港傍晚6点后的堂食限制被解除，许多网民皆表示期待能与好友重回餐馆用餐。

64岁的食客Lo Siu-ying说，她与丈夫已经光顾佳记多年，因为 “两菜一饭”是最方便的选择。不过，身为一名清洁工的她也希望民众不要这么依赖这些饭盒，因为垃圾数量在疫情期间倍增。

她表示：“每个人都在打包食物，饭盒到处都是。”

[The_King]

@HarrisY1