“Our fish broth embodies the spirit of our business,” said Mr LAU Yiu-kwong, Assistant Executive Chef of Yue Mic Ka. He explained that colleagues in each outlet started preparing the fish broth early at six every morning. They use a one-metre-deep pot that can hold as many as 200 bowls of soup. Fresh fishes as well as lots of other Ingredients such as old ginger and dried tangerine peel are cooked for hours until the broth turns milky. Their fish broth is used as the soup base for vermicelli, rice noodles and rice.

Yue Mic Ka has adopted a healthy way of cooking. Their cooking team does not use excessive oil. They neither add cooked oil on top of dishes right before they are served, which is a common practice among Chinese cuisines for giving the food a fresher look. The oil usage of each shop, therefore, had decreased from 120 cans to 87 cans per month (15 litres per can), and as a result, their operating cost was much lowered. On the other hand, the shop endeavours to introduce new flavours. They have just introduced tomato broth base for six months and have also started to used healthier Ingredients such as pumpkin.

Mr. Lau notices that customers are becoming more health-conscious now. He thinks people now always request to have less added salt, sugar or oil in their dishes. Yet he still worries about the unhealthy eating habits of the younger generation. “They have a liking for fast food and seldom eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Some young people even ask to remove veggies from their dishes when ordering food,” he said. He thinks the Government, the trade and members of the public should pay urgent and concerted efforts in promoting healthy eating.