Ponytail Journal

The increasingly expensive rent and labour cost in Hong Kong has forced many companies over the last two decades to vacate their corrugated iron gates and reestablish factories further north in Mainland China. Anne Berry shows us some exciting eating and drinking experiences that prove a more grassroots approach to Hong Kong’s cutthroat food scene, all of which are taking advantage of the new abundance of industrial space.

Tong Chong Street Markets in Hong Kong does not seek to replace wet markets, but rather provides a complementary alternative while giving a little helping hand to the growing number of innovative vendors in this overgrown city. It’s a breath of fresh air in a city that thrives on chain stores and big brands – wander around the market and you’ll find locally brewed beer, gooey homemade brownies, and freshly churned almond milk ice cream, all crafted by young entrepreneurs. Anne Berry dives into the delicious degustation

Supermarkets can be awfully uninspiring places for those in search of good food. The whole concept of goodness is watered down under blinking fluorescent lights, and inside flimsy plastic boxes. It’s not just the image of our industrial foodscape, but the reality of it. Anne Berry explores

Yum Cha, a Cantonese brunch taken with tea, is a wonderful dance of flavours, textures, and steaming dishes at noon. This civilised and leisurely celebration of food and sharing, bring people together over an epic spread of carefully prepared dishes. For all you newbies, or those who aren’t quite sure what they’re missing out on, we show you how it all goes down

Many of us have probably experienced the Proustian phenomenon at least once, an idea which proposes that your olfactory system has more power than any other sense to trigger memories. For some it’s a tea-soaked madeleine, for others maybe a thick chicken broth. This week on PTJ, we’ve found a few classic Hong Kong dishes and eateries so good they’ll transport you in time and space to their inception. This list is by no means definitive of what Hong Kong has to offer and instead curates a small taste of the city’s favorite dishes and the people behind them.