Many Hong Kong people eat out frequently. However, dishes provided by restaurants in general contain a lot of meat, little vegetables and are high in oil, salt and sugar, which makes it difficult for people to follow the principles of healthy eating. As a three-star EatSmart Restaurant (ESR), Peace Cuisine is a Beijing-Sichuan-Shanghai restaurant situated in a residential area with families as their major customers. George Kwok, Assistant Area Manager of Kabushikigaisha Limited, hopes to introduce modifications while upholding tradition so that customers can enjoy healthier dishes when eating out with their families.

Classic Dishes with New Cooking Ideas

In addition to serving innovative dishes such as “Stir-fried Shredded Celtuce Stem”, Peace Cuisine has modified the cooking methods of classic dishes. “Take ‘Stir-fried String Beans with Minced Pork and Chilli’ as an example. When preparing the string beans, we replaced the traditional way of deep-frying with pan-frying with small amount of oil. Ingredients such as minced pork and dried shrimps were used to enhance the flavour of the dish. In doing so, the amount of oil and seasonings used could be reduced,” said George.

Adopt Seasonal Ingredients to Attract Customers

While vegetables are usually regarded as side dishes only in Beijing-Sichuan-Shanghai cuisine, Peace Cuisine has increased the number of vegetables-based dishes in its seasonal menu. George said, “Dishes that are only available for a limited period are attractive to customers. We introduced the ‘Assorted Vegetarian Food in Casserole’ this winter. With vegetarian ingredients as the main ingredients, this dish not only keeps customers warm, but also increases their vegetable intake.”

The chefs of Peace Cuisine would share the characteristics of the seasonal dishes with frontline staff to enable them to recommend the dishes to customers. George believed that the goal of encouraging customers to eat more vegetables could be achieved more easily through such teamwork.

Cater to the Market by Providing Thoughtful Options

Besides offering “EatSmart Dishes”, Peace Cuisine also provides the options of having less salt and less oil in their dishes to customers. George concluded that introducing modifications while upholding tradition not only changes customers’ impression that Beijing-Sichuan-Shanghai dishes are in general strong-flavoured, but also provides healthier dishes to them. As the Lunar New Year is approaching, George hopes that customers can eat happily and healthily when they eat out during the holidays.