Janice Leung
Prominent food writer and blogger Janice Leung is doing a lot more than penning her dinners these days. In fact, Leung’s been coordinating one of the largest farmers’ markets to ever debut in our city. She tells Adele Wong how she fell into the F&B industry, and what she thinks of the world’s best restaurant.
On Blogging
Reading is one of my biggest hobbies. In Melbourne there’s a newspaper called The Age, which I used to read when I was at university there. It has a really good section every Tuesday called Epicure. I read reviews of the restaurants and thought, “Do they really mean this? I don’t believe them; I have to try it out myself.” I started to eat out more and more, and started to enjoy it more and more. I started writing myself as well. I began blogging originally to keep in contact with my friends in Hong Kong, but eventually I started blogging less and less about daily life and more and more about food. I’ve been blogging about food for eight years now.
On World’s Best Resto
I left Luxe City Guides last November after four and a half years as an editor there. I left to concentrate more on food, because that was my biggest passion. When I quit, I actually went on a ‘half-around the world’ trip. I went to the US, then Noma [top of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list] in Copenhagen.
Noma was very interesting in that the food itself didn’t taste great. The presentation was very nice, the people there were great; they have a philosophy, they stick by it. Not everything there worked on a sensory level, but it was a good experience. We had stuff that looked like moss and it was, like, grassy. The most normal dish was venison, but it was served with the same grasses and herbs that the deer would’ve eaten. The main thing about Noma is that it makes you think. It’s good in that it’s an instigator. You start thinking about what you’re eating, where it’s from and all that.
On Hong Kong Markets
I started doing research and found that there is actually organic farming in Hong Kong. I didn’t even think people farmed in Hong Kong. There are 400 farms in Hong Kong, but only about 100 of them are working farms, professionally making produce. I thought, “Where can I buy this produce?” I found that there weren’t many places to buy it. The biggest farmers’ market is in Tai Po. It’s got about 20 stalls and that’s the biggest one in Hong Kong. And it’s far away.
I started to figure out who organized these farmers’ markets, and how you get in touch with the farmers. Eventually I saw the pedestrian-friendly space at Island East, and wondered if anyone owned the area. I contacted Swire [the owners] and hammered them for a meeting. Turns out they were really interested in doing something like a farmers’ market. They offered to lend the space to us every Sunday. Our visions kind of aligned. We wanted a really relaxing environment where people can bring their kids and there’d be face painting, and adults can go and do their shopping. Our initial deal with them is four weeks, as a trial period. But the view is definitely to be there long-term.
To date, we have 40-ish participants. It’s really maxed out for the first two weeks. Just under half are fresh produce and we’ll also have a dry side [organic snacks, flowers, handmade wares].
The farmers—either they’ve been farming for a long time, or a lot of them are actually professionals who have decided that that’s the life they want. It’s not only a lifestyle, it’s really hard work. A lot of people quit within a year or two of going into farming. It’s not an easy business.
Check out Island East Markets (Tong Chong St., Quarry Bay) starting September 30. Visit www.hkmarkets.org for more details.