Food trucks for Hong Kong? Restaurant owners back them, but some have doubts
As the food truck concept gathers momentum, some are unsure how the initiative can be rolled out effectively and fairly
Pulled barbecue pork ribs in a steamed bao sandwich, anyone? The possibilities, most agree, are endless. Chefs and foodies relish the prospect of bringing in food trucks - an idea that Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah raised in his recent budget address for adding diversity to the local food scene.
Apparently, Tsang was inspired by Chef, a feel-good American movie about a frustrated restaurant cook who finds creative and business success instead with a food truck; but will his proposal find a Hollywood ending in Hong Kong?
Following the success of cross-cultural ventures such as Roy Choi's Kogi (Korean taco) in Los Angeles, food trucks have proliferated across the United States in the past four years. The format allows would-be restaurateurs to venture where stiff rents and other overheads might have stopped them in their tracks in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Similar ventures have sprung up in major cities from London to Montreal, where mobile kitchens began serving a range of freshly made, high-quality food rather than just the dodgy pies, kebabs and simple Tex-Mex meals that were associated with the trucks.
Well-travelled foodies such as Mandy Soh, a senior hotel executive, see the potential of food trucks "to not only bring in dishes from around the world but to resurrect the local street food culture".
Mister Softee ice cream trucks aside, Hong Kong has already rolled out one food truck - Black Betty, operated by The Butchers Club restaurant group. But while other trucks can be driven, Black Betty has to be towed to events.
"The idea of this truck was for us to use it for promotional purposes, special events like Clockenflap and private functions," says Aarik Persaud, the group's executive chef. "It's technically an empty shell that we use for marketing purposes - and it has worked."