Given Hong Kong’s food and plastic waste problem, how about we stop shaming those who bring takeaway boxes to restaurants – even high-end ones?
- With single-use plastics on the way out in Hong Kong and food waste a problem, it’s time to make bringing one’s own takeaway box to restaurants acceptable
- I’m a big proponent of taking meat, dessert – bread and butter too – home even from Michelin-star places. Heaven forbid all that good food ends up in the bin!
About 15 years ago, I was in a smart French bistro in south London enjoying a textbook perfect cassoulet.
Unable to finish it but unwilling to let it go to waste, I grappled with whether the chef-owner would judge me for wanting to pack up the rest of the stew to go.
I signalled him over and relayed my request.
Then he re-emerged with a sheepish smile on his face. In his hands was a silver box fashioned out of multiple layers of aluminium foil, sealed up extra tight. “We don’t have takeaway boxes, but we did our best.”
Times have changed and I’m a lot more prepared now, but I was moved by his actions. And it makes sense given it was an independent venture not designed for takeaways and delivery.
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In Hong Kong, our culture of fast food and convenience contributes significantly to the current waste issue.
I’ve been guilty myself many times – all the lunches I’ve had delivered in plastic containers, the coffee cups I’ve drunk from and discarded, the takeaway boxes that have been used to pack up leftover dishes from multiple meals.
From April 22, restaurants will not be able to offer customers items such as plastic straws, cutlery, plates and polystyrene products for dine-in or takeaway. In the second phase, which is due to take effect sometime in 2025, there will be a ban on plastic food containers.
I’ve been an advocate for BYOB – bring your own box, that is – for some time now, even if I’m not always able to stick to it 100 per cent. I no longer have qualms about transferring leftovers from my plate to my box, even in more upscale restaurants.
I’d say Chinese restaurants are usually more amenable to this style of bag-and-go, given the larger sharing portions and tendency for diners to over-order.
My mother, who has a small appetite and likes nice restaurants, hates food waste and has been known to request even the tiniest of leftovers be bagged up.
This is how I ended up taking home Roganic’s truffle pudding and half a portion of a tranche of roasted lamb belly one time after her birthday meal.
People these days are more accepting of bagging the unfinished bread at restaurants, and that is a movement I am in favour of. But can we go one step further?
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One thing I keep joking about with a friend is about bringing home excellent restaurant butter that goes unfinished. I even have the perfect vessel for it – a tiny 100ml collapsible silicone container that would fit in any handbag.
Think about all that delicious Bordier butter going into the waste-disposal unit after your meal at Caprice. Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy it the next morning with your beans on toast?
