Hong Kong cuisine
Hong Kong's past as a British colony and a long history of being an international port of commerce. International gourmet expertise have given Hong Kong the labels of "Gourmet Paradise".
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Hong Kong has a predominantly service-based economy, and restaurant businesses serve as a main economic contributor.
Due to its small geographical size, Hong Kong contains a high number of restaurants per unit area.
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The cuisine of Hong Kong traces its origins to its founding as a British colonial outpost in 1841. Soon after the colony was founded, many Western merchants along with Chinese emigrants from nearby Canton flocked there to conduct business. Initially, Hong Kong society consisted of expatriate upper-class Westerners, working-class Chinese coolies, farmers and fishermen, and middle class Chinese merchants.
Some Chinese restaurants were founded in the late 19th century and early 20th century as branches of renowned restaurants in Canton and offered elaborate meals.
Similar to Cantonese cuisine elsewhere, Hong Kong's cooking uses a wide variety of ingredients and the common ones include:
Century egg
Salted duck egg
Chinese cabbage
Shiitake
Kai-lan
Red Bean
Hoisin Sauce
Chinese sausage
Dried shrimp
Dried Scallop
Jujube
Lotus seed