Being a vegetarian with a sweet tooth in Hong Kong is limiting. Those who cut eggs from their diet can rarely have a bite of a birthday cake - unless it's made specially.
In many health-conscious Western countries, there is a range of choice even for strict vegetarians, but Hong Kong's catering industry is still grappling with the eggless phenomenon. A cake without eggs? Impossible, most chefs declare.
But given that almost half of the nearly 500 orders put in weekly for cakes at the Chocolate Boutique in the Regent Hotel are for the eggless variety, it is surprising more pastisseries and cake specialists do not cater for the demand.
Some religious sects dictate eliminating eggs from the diet while other vegetarians have food allergies that do not allow them to eat anything containing eggs.
'We sell quite a lot of egg replacer, which is a powder that is mixed with water to substitute for egg,' said Anna Chen, the manager of Health Gate, a health food shop in Central.
Strict vegtarians who want a simple chocolate cake may be forced to make their own because few hotels are willing to oblige; an employee at the Mandarin Oriental cake shop said the pastry chef was unwilling to make an eggless cake because it was 'too difficult'.
