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Hong Kong restaurants are famous for their panoply of international cuisines, but the diversity has arguably not been a pleasure for Pakistani Ali Shafkat.
He is a Muslim who recently launched legal action against Pizza Hut over his consumption of a seafood pizza  that he ordered three years ago  and that turned out to contain ham - a pork product forbidden by his faith.
Consuming pork, or anything that has come into contact with pork, is a  sin under Islam. Mr Shafkat is seeking damages for personal injury caused through the negligence of the company. It is the first case of its kind in Hong Kong, and has provoked widespread discussion in the Islamic community.
Neither Mr Shafkat nor defendant Jardine Matheson, on behalf of Pizza Hut,  was willing to comment.
However, Karen Hayat, a local-born Pakistani, said the case reflected the problems faced by many Muslims in Hong Kong in maintaining a halal diet - one approved by Islamic law.
'Many Hong Kong people do not know that people with Muslim background need special arrangements for their food. Therefore we have to eat very carefully,' said Ms Hayat.
The 180,000-strong Muslim population in Hong Kong comprises mainly Chinese, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indians and Arabs. By far the largest group of Muslims are the 90,000 or so Indonesian domestic helpers in the city.
While pork is forbidden, it is also important that other meats are slaughtered according to halal principles.  Ms Hayat said most Muslims did not dine out as there was always a risk that somehow they would end up consuming forbidden food.
Muhammad Arshad,  the chief imam of Hong Kong, said intentionally consuming non-halal foods such as blood or pork was violating the orders of God.  However, 'if someone accidentally eats some pork that he did not know [about], then there is nothing on him except seeking forgiveness from God', Mufti Arshad said.
'Muslims should ask the restaurants before ordering the meal. There should not be contamination of non-halal things in it.'
Barrister Neville Sarony QC  said there was a chance  those who inadvertently consumed pork when they thought they were ordering something else might be able to succeed in a lawsuit.
'If, for instance, you had an allergy to fish and you ordered something advertised as a vegetarian dish which ended up having fish in it and causing a reaction, I think you wouldn't have any difficulty in establishing liability,' he said. 'Any advanced society, such as Hong Kong, requires some awareness of what people want and what they want to avoid. If you order seafood, you expect seafood.
'You certainly do not expect to find meat in a fish dish.'
There are just seven shops in Hong Kong selling halal meat: two in Tsim Sha Tsui, four in Wan Chai, and one in Yuen Long.
'Muslim restaurants are not everywhere and most of them are relatively expensive,' Ms Hayat said. 'Most of us bring our own food to school or to workplaces. It affects our social life, but it is better not to take the risk.'
Pakistani Syed Asim  agreed it was hard to find halal food in Hong Kong. 'Therefore, we go to McDonald's for a fish burger most of the time.'
He believed food labels should be clearer. 'My kids like to eat cup noodles, but then we found out there was pork inside the seafood noodles.'
Living in Tsuen Kwan O, Mr Asim  must travel to Tsim Sha Tsui to buy halal meat twice a month.
Yang Xing-wen, the imam of the Chinese Muslim Cultural  and Fraternal Association, said it was easier to get halal food in the mainland. 'Most [mainland] Muslims live in a certain area and shops are around.'
But as people turned away from traditional markets, there were fewer and fewer halal butchers, explained Ebrahim Yeung Yee-woo, a colleague of Mr Yang.
Mushtaque Ahmed set up the Zeshan Meat Company in Wan Chai 11 years ago. He said his business was good as Muslims throughout Hong Kong came to buy his meat.
But he admitted that the  halal meat he sold  was expensive.
'I have to pay my friend to go to the slaughterhouse in Sheung Shui to pray before the animal is killed.'



Local Muslims struggle to find halal food