ON a Sha Tin hill, a group of Buddhists were helping themselves to lukewarm, milk-like congee from a large bowl at a monastery restaurant. Having burned incense and paid respects to their gods, the believers chatted over their vegetarian meals.
The food, including fried mixed vegetables and fried mushroom with cashews, looked clean and came in sizeable portions.
A casual atmosphere prevailed in the airy restaurant opposite the main shrine at the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery. But unlike formal eateries in the territory, it is not governed by any restaurant or food business licence.
That is about to change. The restaurant's days of operating without a licence are numbered, following a plan by Regional Councillors to tighten control over the New Territories' 35 monastery restaurants by lifting their exemption from the Food Business (Regional Council) Bylaws.
If the plan is passed by the council today - and that appears almost certain - it will no longer be sufficient for the restaurants to pass regular check-ups by Regional Services Department health inspectors. And they will also have to comply with fire, building and fuel installation standards.
Hygiene standards do not appear to be a big problem, since the department has received no reports of unclean ingredients or food poisoning from patrons.
Regco's Environmental Hygiene Select Committee has endorsed the proposal and a senior Regional Services Department staff member says the chances of it being knocked down by councillors are slim.