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Paris gourmets are enjoying a taste of Asia's world city at the Hong Kong Food Festival, organised in the city this week by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels (Brussels ETO) with the support of Cathay Pacific, Accor and Sofitel.
The five-day Hong Kong Food Festival concludes a series of events organised in Europe this year by the Brussels ETO, the Hong Kong SAR Government's representation to the European Communities and most of its member states, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's reunification with China and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. This was the second major event organised in Paris this year to mark the anniversary. On June 28 the Brussels ETO hosted a glittering reception for 400 guests at the city's Orsay Museum.
Executive Chef of the Majestic Hotel in Hong Kong Mr Au Chung Hin Kenic was flown in especially to delight the palates of discerning French diners in the two restaurants of the Sofitel Champs-Elyses Paris. Mr Au, who trained in Switzerland and in Hong Kong, is a chef with 25 years experience of working in some of Hong Kong's top hotels and private clubs.
Together with his assistant chef Mr Andy Fung, Mr Au created a menu for the festival that included Deep-fried Minced Shrimp with Almond Crust, Roasted Crispy Goose with Plum Sauce, Sauteed Scallop in Seasonal Vegetables, Sauteed Goose wrapped with Lettuce, Sea Snail in Spicy and Basil Sauce, Steamed Spotted Grouper with Ginger Soya Sauce, and Roasted Pork Ribs with Garlic.
About 100 VIP guests sampled the dishes at the inauguration dinner on Monday night (December 17, Paris time), including French government officials, business leaders and members of the diplomatic corps, including the PRC's Ambassador to France, Mr Zhao Jinjun.
In his welcoming speech, Hong Kong's Special Representative to the European Communities, Mr Duncan Pescod said, "The reason we are here today is to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's very successful reunification with China. I will not quote lots of statistics. I will simply mention one: in 1997, 11 million people visited Hong Kong. Last year, it was more than 25 million and 13.5 million of these were from Mainland China. This shows just how far we have come in 10 years."
Mr Pescod said that some might say bringing a food festival to Paris was rather like taking coal to Newcastle, but it was precisely because of the city's high reputation as a centre for gastronomy that it was chosen as the location for the event.
"Chinese cuisine is among the most complex and varied in the world, and Hong Kong is probably the best place to try it in all its many forms. Enjoying the fine food on offer in our many restaurants is high on the agenda of our many visitors. Freshness is the keyword in Cantonese cuisine. Cooked foods must look as if they had just been harvested, plucked or caught in the South China Sea. Judicious usage of natural oils and garnishes emphasises every dish's gleaming freshness, and the cooking methods enhance rather than smother the ingredients' inherent qualities. Traditional foods, carefully prepared from the finest ingredients for this festival, will give French diners a taste of what Hong Kong cuisine has to offer. "
The festival will run until December 21.
Ends/Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Issued at HKT 19:05
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