Actor Carl Ng keeps it local when food shopping and dining out
Actor enjoys the human touch of shopping at wet markets and eating local food at hole-in-the-wall restaurants, writes Joanne Lam
Carl Ng Ka-lung is a man of mystery. Dressed in a casual blazer, a checked button-up shirt, navy chinos and almost shockingly white sneakers, he certainly stands out from the other shoppers at the Sai Ying Pun wet market, looking every bit like an outsider.
Yet, when the actor and model shops at the stalls, it's clear he is in his element. He is deep in conversation with the owner of A-Tao's Vegetables, talking about tomatoes, eggplants and ginger, among other vegetables, before he leaves with a bag of aromatic ginger.
"I rarely shop at supermarkets for fruits and vegetables," Ng says. He likes to visit wet markets in part for the fresh produce because "they have no storage, so everything is sold and fresh produce is brought back in", but for the most part because of the human touch.
"When you talk to some of the stall owners, they really know their stuff," he says. "You can see their passion. They're not just a cashier who doesn't care whether you buy the fruits and vegetables or not."
He takes a similar view when picking his favourite restaurants, looking for places that offer a local taste of the cuisines they seek to serve.