Trends among Young People in Hong Kong (Food)
Miho GODA (China)
In Hong Kong, 95% of residents are ethnically Han. They speak Cantonese. And
writing in kanji characters is seen almost everywhere. At the same time, the region’s
history as a British colony and prosperous hub port of world trade has made Hong Konga multicultural region. Even now, it is home to many business persons from all over theworld and numerous household workers from Southeast Asia. As a result, Hong Kong
has a wide variety of religions and cultures. Likewise, its wide variety of food culture is
not limited to Chinese cuisine. You can select from an extensive range of delicious dishes.
Actually, through getting to know young people in Hong Kong, I have learned that theyenjoy various types of dishes every day.
Young people in Hong Kong are always interested in things that are new and unusual.
This applies also to their eating habits. Many of them are eager to try hot-topic
restaurants and unusual dishes. They often exchange information on popular shops andnew menu items. Hong Kong has countless restaurants where you can try ethnic dishes
or unusual dishes casually, enabling many young people to easily experience a richdiversity of tastes. Popular ethnic cuisines include Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean,and Portuguese styles.
Although there is a wide variety of restaurants
in Hong Kong, cha chaan teng (traditional cafésand small restaurants) remain highly popular.
Some cha chaan teng are operated as franchises,
and others are owner-managed. These stores arefound almost everywhere: downtown as well as inbusiness and residential areas. They open early△Popular cha chaan tengand close late (some in downtown areas stay open
around the clock.) In addition, their prices arereasonable, making them attractive to many young customers. The reason for their
popularity lies not only in their prices and convenience, but also in the “diversity” and“unusualness” of their menu items, which are unavailable in other types of restaurants.

Cha chaan teng menus list more than 50 types of dishes in total, including ordinary
snacks (Western dishes, such as sandwiches, toast, spaghetti, and pilaf), Chinese dishes(rice porridge, noodles, and rice, vegetable, meat and fish dishes), plus patisserie (egg

tarts, French toast, melon-flavored buns, and rolls). Moreover, each cha chaan teng has
its own particular menu specialties. Drinks served at cha chaan teng also tend to be
unique. They offer not only tea and coffee, but also yuanyang (a mix of coffee and milktea), cola with lemon juice, Milo, watercress-flavored honey drink, etc. While many
young people began going to cha chaan teng in their childhood, they never tire of it. Thisis due to the menu dishes’ “diversity” and “unusualness.”
On weekends, many young people in Hong Kong
have a barbecue to enjoy something unusual thatthey cannot experience in their daily life. Numerous
barbecue sites in the suburbs draw many young
people on weekends. Hong Kong also has a lot ofbarbecue shops, where you can purchase barbecue
foodstuffs and equipment. Also, there are barbecue
sections in supermarkets, indicating the vast

△Young people enjoy a B.B.Q. in Hong Kong

popularity of this leisure activity. Food trends among young people in Hong Kong are
deeply related to their notable fondness for “diversity” and “unusualness.”