CookSmart (3rd Issue) Page6

EatSmart Restaurants Snaps

Ocean Empire Food Shop

Healthy Cantonese Congee Shop

Ocean Empire International Ltd. was established in 1992. With a vivid image of scrumptious food and well-proven sanitary, it has turned the conventional congee business into the first congee chain shops in Hong Kong. Ocean Empire International Ltd. has joined the "EatSmart@restaurant.hk" Campaign as healthy eating is becoming increasingly fashionable nowadays.

Hygiene, Quality and Services

Mr Caecage SIU, Managing Director of Ocean Empire International Ltd., said "the basics of food industry are good hygiene, quality food and good services. And more importantly, we have to be persistent." In recent years, the chain food shops have added different healthy food such as oat congee and ten grains congee to the menu. The group’s Products Development Committee and the management have made reference to the recipes all over the world to improve the quality.

A pot of good congee = fresh ingredients

"A pot of good congee comes from," Mr. SIU said, "fresh ingredients and the right level of heat for cooking. More so, the congee should not be left on shelf for too long." The group uses quality Thai rice and good bean curd skin to boil for 4 hours to make a pot of plain congee, then add in other ingredients to make different congees. Mr. SIU stressed that a pot of congee cannot be kept for more than three hours, otherwise, the congee will become watery.

A dish of streamed ricesheet rolls is the perfect match with a pot of good congee. The ricesheet rolls are made by steaming a mixture of rice flour and water. Mr. SIU said, "To cut cost, some Chinese restaurants use corn flour, which makes the ricesheet rolls too sticky." He added, "to cook delicious and silky ricesheet roll, the key is to use fresh ingredients instead of adding oil into it."

Offering Healthy food choices – A "Triple Win"

The group has been putting a lot of effort in developing new food products. An example is the "3 Less" Dish- Pumpkin, Corn and Minced Pork Congee. When they found that cooked pumpkin was not chewy, they put in corn to add texture to the congee.

Freshly-made Mustard and Pork Rib Congee has also been added to their menu after multiple trials. Mustard Cabbage does not mix well with the plain congee if it is not well cooked. However, its nutrients will be lost with prolonged boiling. To solve the problem, the group innovated the use of mustard cabbage juice to prepare the congee base. This has become very popular with daily sales exceeding a thousand bowls a day.

Mr SIU continued, "In light of the growing demand for healthy food, we are happy to be able to offer our customers a healthy choice. On the other hand it will also improve our business and the people’s health. It is really a triple-win!"