CookSmart (14th Issue) Page8

EatSmart Restaurants Snaps

Organic Life Café and Restaurant

To Make a Hearty, Tasty Meal

Situated inside a high-rise commercial building in Kowloon Bay, Organic Life Café and Restaurant is a cozy, comfortable place that specialises in healthy meals prepared with organic ingredients. Not only has it become a popular lunch spot for office workers in the area, it also attracts customers from a distance for an evening of fine dining.

Oscar NG, Head Chef of Organic Life, notes that the “office ladies” and expatriates who frequently visit the restaurant prefer healthy dishes cooked with less oil, less salt and less sugar. “Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms” and “Assorted Vegetables Medley”, for examples, are two of their most popular dishes. To offer healthier food for customers, the restaurant tries to keep the ratio of vegetables to meats at 7:3 for their dishes.

Healthy Food, Local Food

With its emphasis on quality, Organic Life serves only meat and fish from naturally raised animals. They also use locally grown organic vegetables whenever possible. Oscar says, “Locally grown organic produce, such as beetroot, papaya, lettuce, pomelo and chilli, is comparable to its imported counterpart in terms of quality, and has become popular among an expanding group of quality-seeking customers. As the demand for our dishes grows stronger, it is more difficult to get a steady supply of the ingredients.”

Moreover, the restaurant refrains from using butter in their food and employs healthy cooking methods such as grilling and steaming. It is for this reason that the restaurant has installed a multi-function steam oven in the kitchen. Oscar explains that a steam oven cooks food with a gentle and moist heat, which can better retain colours, taste and nutrients of the food. It is good for cooking vegetables, seafood and meats. The restaurant has also had a food dehydrator installed to make dried fruits for salads and snacks.

The kitchen staff like to experiment ingredients and try out new recipes. Carrot and beetroot, for examples, are used for salad and side dishes, while rhubarb has recently been used for dessert. As Oscar explains, “this sour and tangy fruit, when cooked, is suitable for making dessert”.

Putting People First

To enable colleagues to recover from work, the restaurant is closed on Sundays. Organic Life, as Oscar says, has been built upon the core principle of putting people first, and they would like to convey a positive message to the community. Oscar understands that the vision of “Eatsmart@restaurant.hk Campaign” has gradually been shared by members of the public, yet he thinks people in the industry should continue their effort to provide healthy and delicious food for customers.