In this section, we explore some of the variety found in Hong Kong's Chinese cuisines. Many Chinese emperors traveled to the southern region for dining pleasures, or summoned or lured Cantonese chefs to Beijing's imperial kitchens. Not that nature was particularly kind to the southern Chinese. Much of their land was far from fertile, food shortages and famine were ever-present fears, and meat supplies were limited. What they lacked in natural resources, however, they made up for with native resourcefulness.
Freshness is the keyword in Cantonese cuisine.
Twice-daily trips to the fresh vegetable and meat markets throughout Hong Kong are still the custom for traditionalist housewives. Cooked foods must look as if they have just been harvested, plucked, or caught in the South China Sea. Judicious usage of natural oils and garnishes emphasizes every dish's gleaming freshness, and the cooking methods enhance rather than smother the ingredients' inherent qualities. Chiu Chow Cuisine Seafood, ducks and geese are much favored by the Chiu Chow people, who originate from the country around Swatow. Their cuisine has been influenced by that of the Fukienese people in the adjacent province.