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The Ho Yuen Express food truck in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: May Tse

Letters to the Editor, March 20, 2017

Enjoying street food again with truck scheme

I was delighted to see the food truck scheme come to fruition.

As an expat and now a permanent resident of Hong Kong, I have always marvelled at how local people are spoilt for choice in terms of food. Not just the ­difference in flavours and ­textures, but the ability to eat in a wide variety of locations – fancy upmarket restaurants, cha chaan teng, chain restaurants, and now food trucks.

Eating in the street is a quintessentially Hong Kong experience.

I am a great foodie and used to patronise open-air food stalls operated by hawkers, but a few bad experiences with an upset stomach had made me wary of the hygiene standards.

With the food trucks now up and ­running, I will be able to again be more adventurous and sample street food.

Having tried food trucks in the different continents where I have lived, I’m glad to see Hong Kong as an international city is finally embracing this idea.

I certainly enjoyed the food truck culture around the world and I believe it will help the local food scene to flourish.

Fraser Hickox, Kennedy Town

Venue needed for permanent toy museum

I think the Legend of Hong Kong Toys exhibition at the Museum of History is a good way to ­explain the tradition of toy-making in the city. However, it is only a temporary exhibition.

The exhibits help to teach people about the heyday of the ­toy-making industry in Hong Kong in the last century.

Some of the toys on display are very rare and could not be seen by so many people unless there was this exhibition. ­However, as I said, it is only temporary and there is only limited space at the museum for these kinds of exhibitions.

It will eventually have to make way for the next temporary exhibition planned for later in the year, and the toys will no longer be on display.

Some people have therefore been calling for a permanent toy museum. This would help ­future generations have a better understanding of the toy ­industry in Hong Kong and of what kinds of toys were made.

There are obvious practical difficulties to make this a reality, such as, in particular, finding a suitable venue in a city where land is at a premium.

I do hope a suitable site can be found so that this museum can be built and enjoyed by Hong Kong citizens of all ages.

Chan King-yi, Yau Yat Chuen

Parents must be vigilant on bullying signs

I agree with Daniel Chan that some children who are victims of bullying might be reluctant to approach their parents and tell them about what is happening (“Parents must look for signs of bullying”, March 13).

That is why parents have to take the initiative if they suspect that their child is being bullied in school.

Bullying can take different forms, it can be physical and psychological. If students are being physically bullied, parents will hopefully be able to see signs of that, with bruises and cuts.

They need to sit down with their children and get them to talk about what is happening.

However, working out whether their sons and daughters are victims of psychological bullying can be a bit more difficult.

Mothers and fathers have to be more attentive to the ­emotional health of their children, and to what they can perceive as emotional changes.

For instance, youngsters might lock themselves in their room and cry. If parents hear that, then they need to act and find out what is going on. They need to ask them directly if there is a problem.

It comes to the need for ­parents to pay a bit more attention so they can detect changes that indicate there is a problem.

Samuel Cheng Ka-Ho, Sai Kung

Homework eating into sleep hours

Many of our secondary school students have so much homework and revision to do that they might not get to bed until around 2am on some weekdays . Then they have to get up at around 6.30am to go to school.

It is therefore hardly surprising that so many of them fall asleep in class, as they have not had enough sleep.

I am a secondary student so I am fully aware of the pressure they are under. Moreover, being so exhausted makes you short-tempered as well.

There have to be changes so that these young people can get a proper night’s sleep and have enough time to relax.

Tsang Mau-ki, Ho Man Tin

People are still very wasteful in restaurants

More than 3,500 tonnes of food waste is generated in Hong Kong each day.

The amount produced by the hospitality industry alone has doubled in the last five years. The vast majority of this food ends up in our landfills and they are filling up quickly.

One reason for this is that supermarkets often tell suppliers to throw away any food items with imperfections even though they may be perfectly okay to eat. Also, Hongkongers love their food, but so often diners in restaurants order more than they can eat and leave some food on their plate.

The government has tried to educate people with calls for them to try and reduce waste, but not enough has been done and it remains a problem. We must try harder to cut back on food waste.

Cheung Shui-man, Kowloon Tong

Get message across to all
age groups

As our landfills near capacity, I think we have to find solutions to deal with the city’s food waste problem.

This requires the cooperation of students from all walks of life and we have to act before it is too late.

One reason that families waste so much food is that it is not that expensive in Hong Kong; also, food resources are not scarce. When people are shopping, they should only buy what they need and only order dishes in a restaurant that they know they will finish.

At home, if they have some extra food, they should donate it to a food bank. The leftovers can then be used to make nutritious meals for those living in poverty. We need to learn to treasure our food.

The government can ­educate people by using social media, for example, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, which are very popular with teenagers. It can also reach elderly citizens via TV adverts.

The government also has to offer more help to recycling firms so that more of them are established.

Aileen Lau Wing-chin,
Sham Shui Po

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