bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Payal Uttam

Restaurateurs Todd Darling and Robert Spina have been playing by their own rules since they were five years old. 'We always schemed in one way or another, in some shape or form,' grins Spina. Fast-forward to present day and not much has changed. The pair are still plotting except this time instead of taking to the playgrounds of New York, they are shaking things up in the Hong Kong dining scene.
Masterminds behind the hugely successful Italian restaurant Posto Pubblico in Central,  the childhood friends have embarked on two new ventures. Earlier this year they opened Linguini Fini,  another Italian eatery and Cantopop, also in Central, a modernised cha chaan teng. At first glance the three appear to be ordinary establishments but the difference lies in the kitchen. Each restaurant uses handpicked organic ingredients,  95 per cent of which are sourced from local farms. In a city where the vast majority of food is imported, theirs is a refreshingly unorthodox approach. 
'The industry here needs to grow and mature,' says Darling. 'And we very much believe in disruptive ideas.' Although the sustainable-food movement swept across the United States and Europe years ago, the concept of locally grown foods has yet to take hold in Hong Kong. According to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department,  a mere 2.5 per cent of fresh vegetables consumed in the city came from local farms last year. 
To date there is only a small pocket of locavore restaurants in the city's culinary landscape. Low- to mid-priced eateries in Hong Kong tend to rely on mass-imported food from China and the United States. 'The majority of it comes from blind sourcing - a supplier walks into your store with a piece of paper and what is typical here is you don't ask anything beyond that,' explains Darling. 
Unwilling to participate in the conventional food system, he went in search of local produce. When Darling discovered there was no infrastructure connecting farmers to consumers, he drove to the farmland of the New Territories himself. Initially he faced language barriers and struggled to gain the trust of farmers. 'It was really hard to convince them that indeed I would come back next Tuesday to buy 20 kilos of eggplant and they shouldn't sell it on Sunday,' he says. 'But nothing we do is easy. From a competitive standpoint that's what builds uniqueness.' In 2009, when their first restaurant Posto Pubblico opened, Darling would drive to the farms at 7am several times a week to gather ingredients. By early afternoon, he would pull up in front of the restaurant with produce spilling out from the seats of his convertible. 'He was filling his car with vegetables and it was a nice car,' laughs Spina. 
The restaurant enjoyed overnight success and the pair decided to form a company, Integrated Hospitality Management (IHM). With Linguini Fini and Cantopop in the pipeline, it became clear that they needed to hire a truck and driver. Equipped with more staff, it seemed only logical to explore other opportunities in the market. By 2010 they formed Homegrown Foods,  the city's first online home delivery service for locally farmed vegetables. Darling describes the produce as 'clean', meaning that no synthetic pesticides or chemicals are used in the fields. 
Inside the warm brick interior of Posto Pubblico, baskets of these vegetables rest on the bar revealing their farm-to-table approach. Darling explains, 'The further away you get from the produce's ripening stage, the less flavour it has.' Yet the pair avoid branding their restaurants as part of the sustainable food movement. 'You won't see it  necessarily flashed on the menus. We don't stick it in people's faces that we use local organic ingredients,' he says. At heart, Spina and Darling are two friends who sought to bring the culinary traditions of their childhood to Hong Kong.
Coming from a large Italian family, Spina had 25 cousins and Darling was automatically counted as one of them. They both did stints as waiters in Spinas' grandparents' restaurants, established in the forties. When their shifts finished, the pair would spend hours in similar neighbourhood joints or osterias.  Posto Pubblico literally translates to public place, as they wanted their restaurant to share the communal atmosphere of old-school osterias. 
Although new to Hong Kong, the concept hit the ground running. Posto Pubblico became one of the city's most talked about restaurants and places to be seen. Meanwhile, Darling and Spina were thrilled to be reviving memories of their youth: 'We could play 90s hip hop music which is what we grew up listening to when we went around the city just being typically misbehaved -  veal meatballs with Biggie Smalls playing in the background was a big part of growing up,' says Darling. 
'That's what keeps it special to this day, that we can go in there and  instil that in our staff,' adds Spina who describes their approach as counter-culture. While many of their peers in the industry impose a 10 per cent service charge, Spina and Darling decided to buck the trend. Their restaurants have no add-on service charge, which they believe fosters hospitality. By allowing waiters to earn their own tips, they are motivated to provide better service. Although many presume that Hongkongers are reluctant to tip, the numbers prove otherwise. The waiters in Posto Pubblico earn an average of HK$30,000 per month, approaching double the salary of some managers. 
Between Darling's prior experience at the Pure Group  and Wagyu Restaurant  and Spinas' knowledge of Italian heritage cuisine, the pair know their territory. A keen eye on the market led them to come up with Linguini Fini, Posto Pubblico's cheaper cousin. Their customer base was so strong that they were able to dispense  with a formal reservation system and implement a first come, first served policy. What they term a 'premium casual' restaurant, it offers freshly made pasta and quality ingredients at a low price. Added innovations included pastas inspired by local ingredients such as dried shrimp or Chinese olive.
While they admit that the cost of land in Hong Kong puts a premium on their organic produce, Spina and Darling keep costs down by managing portions and wastage.
'If you look at the economics of that business compared to a lot of other similar concepts, you'll find pound  for pound its up there on the top,' says Darling. 'We have a higher food cost than competitors but we believe in investing in our customers today in order to see return tomorrow.' 



Hatched in the plotting shed