Mouthing Off

Martha Stewart and Jamie Oliver can keep their home cooking – there’s always time for a tasty, guilt-free takeaway

We romanticise home cooking too much today, and it’s not practical in Hong Kong apartments where kitchens are so small

Most Hongkongers don’t have time to cook at home either, so there’s no shame in eating out, or ordering in, when you feel like it

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It’s a lot to ask for the average home cook to make those seemingly appetising – and supposedly easy – dishes of TV celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver.

Andrew Sun has dabbled in many shades of the media spectrum for 25 years, from college radio, TV, print and online columnist to starting film festivals, managing music labels and authoring food books.

Published: 4:15pm, 18 Mar 2020Updated: 4:52pm, 19 Mar 2020

I consider cooking a joy and not a burden, but there are times when making dinner is too much of a pain to bother.

Food advocates encourage us to cook more to fully appreciate the social, nutritional and financial benefits of eating at home. It’s good for family bonding, it’s better for you and it likely costs less than ordering pizza.

Indeed, a lot of people I know enjoy entertaining and hosting dinner parties. Cooking for friends is a natural expression of love and appreciation. Some even say to eat with someone is more intimate than having sex with them.

Unfortunately in Hong Kong, this mode of affection is not always easy. Most apartments are small and you cannot assume that everyone has a proper, full kitchen. Some of us do not even have a multi-burner stove top, let alone a working oven.

Food advocates say one of the benefits of eating at home is that it is good for family bonding. Photo: Shutterstock

I, for one, just have a single electric cooker and a tiny toaster oven. Half a dozen chicken wings is roughly its capacity. Counter space is also at a premium, so the simple suggestion on cooking shows to have all your prepped ingredients ready and nearby is not so simple.