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Header image courtesy of Classified
As alternative meats steadily cement themselves as a staple in mainstream dining, we’re starting to get a pretty good idea of what kinds of restaurants tend to serve up such protein substitutions (cough, burger restaurants, cough). But what if you’ve had just one too many plant-based patties and you’re in the mood for something more inspired? Well, we went on the hunt and scoured the Hong Kong dining scene to dig up a selection of restaurants that you didn’t know served alternative meats—and some do it in a truly creative manner. Honestly, some of these might surprise you!
Hip neighbourhood coffee joint Winstons has joined in the meat-free movement with their new Vegetarian Sausage Roll ($55). Made fresh on a daily basis, the spiced filling consists of Impossible meat, carrots, onions, garlic, bell pepper, and tomato paste, rolled up neatly inside a cocoon of puff pastry. Upgrade to a Breakfast Combo ($90) and make it a meal with your choice of coffee!
Winstons Coffee, Shop 4, G/F, Rich Court, 213 Queen’s Road West, Sai Ying Pun | (+852) 2559 5078
Photo credit: @EddyHobart (Tripadvisor)
That’s right; the most colourful cooked food centre in Hong Kong has welcomed alternative meats onto its menu. Tourist favourite and reliable pre-game hang-out Tung Po now offers Impossible Lettuce Wraps ($198). Think crumbled, marinated Impossible meat—a beef alternative made from soy, potato proteins, and heme that delivers an umami flavour and aroma—with a hint of heat served in self-assembled, crunchy lettuce bowls. A little outside of your standard Tung Po fare, but quite delicious nonetheless.
Dim Siu Yi at Tung Po, 2/F, 99 Java Road Municipal Services Building, North Point | (+852) 2880 5224
Photo credit: @dorothyma (Instagram)
City-wide chain restaurant TeaWood has partnered with local do-gooders Green Monday to launch a brand-new vegetarian menu. Featuring Omnipork, a plant-based pork “meat” made from peas, soy, shiitake mushrooms, and rice, diners can look forward to casual Taiwanese dishes with a vegetarian twist—like Handmade Noodles with Omnipork in Spicy Tomato Sauce ($83) and Fried Eggplant with Spicy Omnipork ($69).
TeaWood, locations across Hong Kong
All right, fine, we included some burgers on this list. The name of Morty’s Delicatessen may be synonymous with their New Jersey-style Reubens and stacked smoked meat sandwiches, but there is plenty on offer for plant-based eaters as well. The Lean & Strong Burger ($128) is an Impossible meat patty with sliced avocados and tomato with gluten-free Thousand Island dressing on a bed of kale—perfect for the health-conscious diner. Looking for something more indulgent? Dig into Morty’s This is So Texas Burger ($128), a flavourful stunner with an Impossible patty, sautéed onions and mushrooms, and cheddar cheese, topped with a tangy housemade BBQ sauce.
Morty’s, Shop 12–14, LG/F, Jardine House, Central | (+852) 3665 0900
Western brekkie giant Classified went a step further and dedicated a whole menu to alternative meat, with plant-based wonders playing feature roles in five dishes. Sink your teeth into the Omnipork Quesadilla ($138), made with OmniPork, cheddar, and a melange of coriander, black olives, garlic, baba ghanoush, guacamole, and Greek yoghurt, all cocooned in a tortilla wrap; the mouth-watering Japanese Stir-fried Meatless-chicken Udon ($148), with Heura plant-based chicken, bell peppers, onions, beansprout, coriander, and mushrooms; and the Fishless-fillets Burger ($138) that uses plant-based “fillets” from Gardein in a brioche burger bun with tartar sauce, Chinese lettuce, cucumber, and chilli fries.
Other plant-based dishes you can order from the all-day and brunch menus include the Impossible Shroom Burger ($148) with portobello mushrooms and chipotle mayo and the hearty Impossible Lasagna ($145) with a medley of mozzarella, celery, carrot, onion, herbs, and tomato sauce.
Need a meat-free bite after a night out? Iconic local restaurant chain Tsui Wah, central to so many of our late-night memories, has introduced two options for the hangry vegetarians to nosh on after one too many drinks: the Omnipork Bolognese Sauce and Fried Egg with Rice ($45), topped with tomato sauce and a sunny-side-up egg, and the Baked Omnipork Bolognese Spaghetti ($49), a plant-based take on an Italian-Cantonese fusion classic. Step away from those McDonald’s fries now; there’s some real food to be had.
Camera-eats-first proponent YUM CHA is famous for its adorable dim sum that frequently grace the feeds of many Instagram foodies. Some of their signature dishes have now been given a plant-based makeover. Love baked BBQ buns? Then you’ll dig the Baked BBQ Omnipork Puffs ($49), with a BBQ “pork” sauce and tangy pineapple centre. If legumes are more your thing, feast your eyes on YUM CHA’s take of Stuffed Broad Beans with Minced Omnipork ($99) with a generous Omnipork and mushroom filling and a drizzle of secret, spicy sauce.
I know, right—this is almost too cool to be true. Disneyland Hong Kong is dishing out a host of adventurous plant-based dishes, featuring Beyond Burger, Beyond Sausage, and Hong Kong’s homegrown Omnipork. We’re loving the Pan-Fried Omnipork Hash Brown, which combines shredded taters with crumbled Omnipork and comes with a side of grilled asparagus and egg-less saffron mayo (ugh, yum), and the Vegan Chicken Rice Paper Rolls, both served as part of the Vegetarian Set Meal ($242) at World of Colour in the Disney Explorers Lodge.
But wait, there’s more. Walt’s Café in the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel kicks things up a notch with their version of the Vegetarian Set Meal ($298), featuring Baked Beyond Sausage Kebabs with cucumber yoghurt dip and the Grilled Rice Beyond Burger, which replaces regular bread buns with flattened rice patties. Disneyland Hong Kong really is the happiest place on earth (for plant-based eaters).
World of Colour, 2/F, Disney Explorers Lodge, Hong Kong Disneyland, Lantau Island | +(852) 3510 2000
Walt’s Café, 3/F, Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, Lantau Island | +(852) 3510 6000
For a quick, plant-based morning boost, Urban Bakery Works has come up with the perfect grab-and-go bite. The Meatless Impossible Croissant ($88) is a convenient breakfast sandwich stacked with a saucy Impossible filling on a bed of rocket leaves. Add some corn and a crispy, buttery croissant to the mix, and voila—wholesome flavours and a happy tummy.
Urban Bakery Works, Room 322, 3/F, The Landmark, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central | (+852) 3565 4320
Acclaimed Tokyo-based izakaya Uoharu announced the addition of meat alternatives just this spring! As the first izakaya in Hong Kong to include Impossible meat dishes in its culinary offerings, the move to incorporate more sustainable and environmentally-friendly ingredients into late-night Japanese cuisine is no doubt a daunting one, but Uoharu shines in their Curry Impossible Meatball Lunch Set ($138), a hearty combination of rustic vegan ’meatballs’ covered in a rich Japanese curry sauce, coated in a layer of melted cheddar cheese, and grilled with caramelised onions and tomatoes. They also offer Impossible Gyozas ($88), a Mexican-inspired Impossible Chilli Con Carne ($108), and the Impossible Burger Steak with Sukiyaki Sauce ($138) as a lunch set.
Uoharu, 7/F, M88, 2–8 Wellington Street, Central | (+852) 2217 8880
We don’t blame you if you haven’t noticed this cute little takeaway place before; it’s pretty under the radar during most of the day, but come lunchtime, you’ll see queues out the door with heaps of people waiting to pick up a homemade bento box. Surprisingly, Morikawa Bento offers not just one, but two bento boxes with Impossible meat.
The Impossible Hambagu Bento ($108) comes with red bean rice and a slew of vegetables, as well as an Impossible meat patty, tofu, and a sour dipping sauce, and the Impossible Curry Bento ($88) offers up a hearty set of taro, tofu, okra, pickles, mushrooms, corn rice, plum sauce, and Impossible meat, of course. Conveniently, the sets are also available on Foodpanda.
If meat-heavy Mexican cuisine can make a change to plant-based, so can you. Agave launched a handful of new vegetarian-friendly dishes featuring Impossible meat, available at all of their restaurant locations. Crowd favourites Nachos Gringos ($266) and Nachos Machos ($266) are in for a green makeover, heaving with all the standard fixings of cheese, jalapeños, sour cream, fresh Serrano peppers, guacamole, beans, and Impossible meat. Sceptics, trust us—it’s almost impossible to tell the difference.
In addition, head chef Luis Porras combines fresh Mexican produce with the unique meat alternative to create an Impossible Meat Chilli ($148), combining six traditional spices for a unique blend of flavours, and revamps the beloved Agave ‘Quesadilla’ ($148), grilled with homemade flour tortillas and cheese, and served with sides of sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.
Aside from not knowing that this restaurant serves alternative meats, you may not even know that this restaurant existed in the first place, but we’re about to change that. More of a nostalgic postcard than anything else, Tai Wo Tang is a chic and beautiful café that pays homage to and preserves the memories of a traditional Chinese medicine dispensary in Kowloon City.
Now converted into an eclectic casual eatery, you can dig into their stacked Impossible Burger ($158) with cheddar cheese, caramelised onions, pickled cucumbers, and butter lettuce on a brioche bun, all the while nestled between a century-old medicinal cabinet and old-school metal shutters for maximum sentimental atmosphere.
Tai Wo Tang, 24 Nga Tsin Long Road, Kowloon City | (+852) 2623 2006
This ultimate Sichuan destination serves up the full spectrum of authentic mala flavours, and the move to welcome alternative meat with open arms is nothing but pleasing to their fiercely loyal clientele. Chilli Fagara’s Impossible Dumplings ($118), paired with either a garlic-infused chilli sauce or a peanut sauce and chilli oil blend, are a particular stand-out. They also do a Home-style Ma Po Tofu ($128) with Impossible meat, as well as signature Dan Dan Noodles ($118) in a rich house-made peanut base, flavoured with Impossible meat and preserved vegetables!
Chilli Fagara, 7 Old Bailey Street, Central | (+852) 2796 6866
Born in Hong Kong, raised in Germany, and educated in the US, Jen is an award-winning creative with a background in illustration, communication design, art direction, and content creation. When she’s not getting lost in a good book, you’ll find her doing crosswords, eating dim sum, covering all sides of a “Hamilton” number, and taking naps.
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