Hong Kong chefs on challenge of selling vegan Impossible Burger to city’s meat-lovers

Following hot on the heels of the Hong Kong debut of Beyond Meat’s plant-based Beyond Burger, Impossible Foods has launched its vegan Impossible Burger with a flashy party at Watermark restaurant just above the Star Ferry in Central.

At the event, the media were invited to try the Impossible Burger in four dishes prepared by chefs Uwe Opocensky and May Chow which are available in their respective restaurants.

Opocensky, group executive chef of The Greater China Restaurant Company that owns Beef & Liberty, made The Impossible Thai Burger (HK$135) using the vegan patty and garnished with chilli, coriander, watercress, mint, basil, spring onion, soy mayonnaise, crispy shallots and garlic. He also used the plant-based “ground meat” in the restaurant’s Impossible chilli cheese fries (HK$62) topped with spring onions and sour cream.

Meanwhile at Little Bao, Chow has created the Impossible Bao (HK$118), featuring the plant-based patty seasoned with black pepper teriyaki sauce, salted lemon kombu salad and fermented tofu sauce served in steamed buns, and at her second restaurant Happy Paradise, XinJiang hot pockets (HK$88), using the vegan meat instead of lamb, mixed with pickled daikon and Xinjiang spices.

Hong Kong burger showdown: Beyond Meat’s vegan version vs Australian beef patty

Impossible Foods CEO and founder Dr Pat Brown was thrilled to have Hong Kong as the first place outside the United States to make Impossible Foods available, describing it as a strategic step.