Hong Kong restaurants are getting greener – at last: from fine dining Amber at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental and Michelin-starred Mono to Vicky Lau’s Mora, sustainability is finally on the table

The F&B scene in Hong Kong is embracing sustainability, with Michelin-starred Mono, Green-starred Amber, Roganic and Mora, plus award-winning cocktail bar Penicillin, leading the charge

The Marriott group is bringing a global green perspective to The Ritz-Carlton’s Tin Lung Heen, Man Ho at JW Marriott, and Rùn at St Regis – helping earning them spots in 2023’s 100 Top Tables guide

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Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword. Here’s how Hong Kong’s fine dining is improving its green policies: from Amber at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental and Michelin-starred Mono to Vicky Lau’s Mora, Roganic and the Marriott group. Photo: Ting Lung Heen

Published: 10:32am, 20 Jun 2023Updated: 6:13pm, 22 Nov 2023

In a dense metropolis like Hong Kong, sustainable dining isn’t an easy goal to achieve.

And our concrete jungle is far behind the global green curve. According to the Environmental Protection Department, most of Hong Kong’s food waste is sent to landfills. In 2020, there were some 10,809 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) disposed of at landfills each day. Of these, about 3,255 tonnes (30 per cent) were food waste, constituting the largest MSW category. Between landfill waste, water and energy usage, food miles and regenerative agriculture, much remains to be done.

The dining room at L’Envol, inside The St. Regis Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

Nonetheless, across the fine dining sector, a growing number of chefs and bartenders are taking steps to reduce their impact on the environment and push Hong Kong along a path of greater sustainability.

Sustainability is challenging. In Hong Kong, we have to import nearly everything. So we are doing a fantastic job on food miles? No.

Richard Taffs, Marriott group

At Mono, the Michelin-starred Latin-American restaurant ranked No 41 in the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, Ricardo Chaneton has for a long time pushed green causes and initiated a range of sustainability initiatives. Not for nothing did his green approach earn Mono the 100 Top Tables’ Sustainability Hero award this year.

Chef Ricardo Chaneton in the kitchen at Mono. Photo: Discovery

Sustainability is built into the fabric of Mono, with recycled linen covering the walls and energy-saving bulbs providing illumination. Receipts are printed on recycled paper and presented to the guests in seed envelopes that can be planted back at home.

Chaneton sources ingredients locally wherever possible. Due to the specific ingredients required for the cuisine he cooks, he also has to source from trusted partners in Latin America and across Asia – but he tries to lessen his environmental impact as much as possible.

“For me, cooking sustainably starts with knowing where your produce comes from and working with products that are ethically sourced,” he said. For Chaneton, this means ensuring his partners share his values: “That’s the basic standard I set for our cuisine at Mono.”