New York City is an important food capital of the world (like Hong Kong). Since the 19th century, immigrants from Europe, Asia and South America and their descendants have made NYC one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. They has been shaping the city's culinary culture and defined what are on its menu!

(Do you know? Historically, NYC's foreign born population never drop below 25%.)

In the city's earlier days, Italian (8.2% of 2005 population), Irish (5.3%), German (3.6%), and Polish (2.8%) immigrants made up majority of NYC's population, while the more recent immigrants were mainly from China (5.4%), Russia (3.1%), Puerto Rico and South American countries (>27% combined). So, does the number of restaurants in NYC correlate to its ethnic composition?

As you can see from the chart above, while 4 of the top 5 cuisines being served in NYC's restaurants cover those of the biggest ethnic groups, the ratios seem to be a bit off! Okay, Italian, American, Mexican, made sense. But they are all trumped by Chinese restaurants, which are No.1 by number. Even more stranger, Japanese restaurants made top 5 despite the relatively smaller presence of Japanese population in NYC. Here are a few possible explanations:

1. Chinese restaurants in NYC (or America in general) serve inexpensive but filling meals. Most of the Chinese food that is widely available is often "Americanized", which is relatively easy and fast to make and catered to the American taste buds. Similarly, Italian restaurants are just as ubiquitous, most known as pizza joints!
2. This may just reflect that people from the top 5 cuisine groups are more entrepreneurial in the restaurant business. For example, since Japanese food like sushi got extremely popular and "chic" in the 90's, Japanese restaurants keep sprouting up. However, only a small fraction of them are actually operated by ethnic Japanese. Instead, they are often run by ethnic Chinese who look to serve premium Asian food at higher margins.
3. In the countries of these cuisines' origins, food sources, ingredients and spices are abundant because of fertile soils, good climates and historical trade routes, which were essential for elaborate and delicate culinary cultures to develop.
4. Don't you expect "American" restaurants to be ranked No.1? They actually are No.1 if you look at the number more closely. These New Yorker's everyday eat-out spots exist in different names, together they represent over 40% of all restaurants in NYC, as below:

Quantity doesn't say much about quality afterall. Many ethnic cuisines in the "Melting Pot" such as Mediterranean and Arabic are extraordinary even though they are not as common. If you're a foodie traveling to NYC, get a good guide book on NYC's best restaurants, or join HomeTasty for home chefs & private kitchens that serve authentic ethnic food! (Coming soon to major cities!)

With more than 28,000 restaurants (compared to 26,719 in NYC listed on Yelp) in this city, you certainly can tell Hong Kong people's enthusiasm about food! And when it is renowned as the "Gourmet Paradise", the food must be Very Good too!

For foodies traveling to Hong Kong, restaurant hopping (soon, it'll be "Private Kitchen Hopping" with HomeTasty...) can take up large parts of their trips. However, things can get a little confusing for those who visit Hong Kong for the first time. Sure, you should indulge yourself in the wide range of distinctive Chinese cuisines originated from different regions in China. But what about American, European & Southeast Asian which claim to be authentic...?
Of course you should! Yes, Hong Kong is teemed with top-notch Chinese restaurants that serve authentic regional cuisines like Sichuan, Beijing & Shanghai (Check out the chart below), but an educated foodie will never miss the colorful international tastes Hong Kong has to offer! Thai, Indian, Nepalese, Italian, French (HK has more French restaurants than NYC does), you name it. In fact, many Southeast Asian and Western restaurants are exceptional. Wonder why Hong Kong is blessed with such a diverse food culture? It's just part of its equally colorful history.
The prevalence of Western food and its influence on the local food culture doesn't really surprise those who still remember Hong Kong's colonial past. Over the decades, Westerners have been teaching the locals the beauty of their home countries' cuisines, and we just keep growing our appetites for these foreign tastes. This is also true for Indian food. Many Indian moved to Hong Kong to work for the then-British Empire and its trading subsidiaries during that era and eventually settled here. The Indian food here is so incredibly delicious that it can infuse in you the spirit of India!

Till today, Hong Kong only continues to attract more foreigners every year. Besides in authentic Western restaurants, you can easily find many "localized" Western dishes on the menus in the omnipresent "Cha Chaan Teng" (lit. "Tea Restaurant"), which are the locals' everyday eating spots. As a side note, a "Cha Chaan Teng" 's menu is always changing with the "trending" taste of Hong Kong people (e.g. Japanese has been trending).

The less familiar stories behind Hong Kong's Southeast Asian culinary connections are just as riveting. During the tumultuous time in the late 19th & early 20th centuary, many Chinese fled to Southeast Asian countries. (Those who fled to Hong Kong actually helped popularizing many regional Chinese cuisines.) Common destinations were Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Indonesia. All these countries later suffered unrest in various degrees after WWII, forcing some migrant Chinese and their descendants to move once again, the more peaceful Hong Kong was one of the options. A lot of them had already adopted the local cultures, including how they cooked and ate. Some had even married the locals who came here together. They either brought to Hong Kong the original tastes of Southeast Asia, or invented fusions that incorporated the best parts of Southeast Asian cuisines. Food tastes better with a story of its own, doesn't it?

Hong Kong is like a preserving jar that keeps every flavor the world brings to it crisp and fresh! A true foodie will never leave the city without completing the taste journey from East to West. What can HomeTasty do to help? We have invited Home Chefs & Private Kitchens who share our passion to bring you the first series of Tasting Parties!

If you're visiting Hong Kong this Summer, follow us on Twitter and Facebook now, we will invite some lucky foodies to one of our Tasting Parties for free, Stay tuned!

 

Photo credits - Photographers from Flickr: Aaron Gustafson, avlxyz, clayirving, Je.T, NickNguyen, nyaa_birdies_perch, OzMark17, Prince Roy, Rishu83, tony@miettas

It was a night of fun, food, and innovations! In this "three-way" launch party, we celebrated the launch of HomeTasty - "Eat Local with Locals, Enjoy Tasty Cultures", our friend Makible - "Design it, Fund it, Make it, Move it", and HK Commons, the new co-work space in Hong Kong to nurture startups.

Besides the three launching companies, we were joined by our friends from the startup community who are also working on different cool startups. The startup scene in Hong Kong definitely got more vibrant that night!

With the launch of HomeTasty, we will open a New Chapter for all Food Loving Travelers! The launch party might not look like a usual dinenr party, but there were actually many things very "hometasty" about it that we are still going to honor it as the First HomesTasty Dinner Party.

The food served was of course no ordinary party food. All the delicious homemade dishes were prepared by our No. 1 HomeTasty member - Elaine. I first found out about Elaine's cooking talent through her blog, where she keeps a mouth-watering journal of her cooking. While she only works as the private chef for her husband (cute couple!), the food looked too yummy that I had to beg her to cook for our launch party!

With Elaine's help, the hungry guests were well-fed with tasty Chinese family dishes: "Baked pig hooves", "Braised goose legs with mushrooms", "Drunken chicken"... and many more! Who doesn't look forward to more food parties hosted by Elaine? We just hope other Food Loving Travelers will be lucky enough to try her cooking!

Another things that made this party so "hometasty" were certainly the guests. The crowd at the party is very international indeed. We have friends coming originally from France, United States, Australia... From all major continents!

My high school friend, Siuwan, was another hero in the party. No one could resist the incredible cream puff cakes she made freshly during the party! Besides congratulating HomeTasty with the beautifully tasty gifts, she has also been the most loyal fan of HomeTasty. This globetrotter with great passion for food (baking is her specialty) always asked me when HomeTasty would be ready so that she could set up parties. We are, finally!

As the day of HomeTasty's beta launch approaching, it's hard to contain my excitement! Some food bloggers and cooking fans have already been invited by me to get ready for this new exciting "Food Adventure". I'm glad that a number of them are just as thrilled as I am about HomeTasty!

Many people have asked me how the equation on our sign-up page, "Home Cooking + New Friends = Tasty Life" worked out. I will stop tantalizing and tell you more about HomeTasty. If you are a foodie, love cooking, enjoy meeting interesting people, and travel for adventures, HomeTasty is the community for you.

HomeTasty will bring a new kind of cultural experience to food loving travelers. Our mission is to bring together Food Lovers around the world over great food, in real life! In short, we are building a global community where members can organize and participate in food events.

Whether they are professional chefs or just cook for fun, any HomeTasty members can host food events, such as dinner party or cooking class, and list them on HomeTasty.com. Members traveling from other foreign places can sign up for these events and get the unique experience of tasting local homemade dishes, while making new friends with their local host and fellow traveling Food Lovers. Of course, we love having Food Lovers who live, work or study in a foreign place join the culinary exchange too!

Food is the most interesting part of a culture. A city could become unrecognizable years later, people move from place to place, but what always stay with us generation after generation are our culinary cultures. Plus, quoting a friend, "the world would be a better place if we all ate together more!"

 

Photos: CC BY 2.0 Shane Global Language Centres