Hong Kong food lovers to vote on 40 shortlisted 'Best of the Best' dishes

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) today announced a list of 40 dishes that have been shortlisted as finalists in the 2003 Best of the Best Culinary Awards. On 19 and 20 November, restaurants with the shortlisted dishes will compete for the accolades in a "cook-off" at the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute (CCTI). The top-ranked dishes will be honoured with Best of the Best Gold with Distinction Awards, Best of the Best Gold Awards and Best of the Best Silver Awards.

The 2003 Best of the Best Culinary Awards received close to 380 entries from the catering industry. HKTB Executive Director Clara Chong explained that the Awards were designed to identify and extol the finest examples of Hong Kong's classic delicacies so as to strengthen the city's standing as the Culinary Capital of Asia. "We hope that by promoting the classic favourite dishes to visitors, we can enrich their experiences in Hong Kong, which in turn will help generate more business for the travel and catering industries. Indeed, some award-winning restaurants have enjoyed 15% growth or more in business since winning these Awards, a solid proof of the scheme's success," Ms Chong said.

The Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas), James Kwan, JP was very delighted to see the overwhelming response from the local restaurants to this year's Awards. "These 40 dishes are undoubtedly the most outstanding and representative classic dishes of Hong Kong," he said.

Since 2001, the Awards have provided an excellent marketing platform for the catering and travel industries. This year, the winning chefs will demonstrate the preparation of their dishes in front of visitors and local residents in December through a series of cooking classes. These classes can be packaged into special culinary tours, which will enable the industries to further develop their business. The HKTB plans to introduce Best of the Best Culinary Awards thematic tours in markets such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan given the strong visitor interest and popularity of Chinese dining in those markets. In 2002, the Board and the travel trade partners successfully promoted the sale of over 4,000 Best of the Best Culinary Awards packages in Taiwan.

Besides creating business for the catering and travel sectors, the Awards have generated extensive international publicity for Hong Kong as the Culinary Capital of Asia. In 2002, the global publicity value of the Awards exceeded HK$27 million. As an example, the HKTB recently launched the 'Hong Kong - Taste it!' promotion in Sydney and Melbourne. Furthermore, it will promote the award-winning dishes and restaurants to overseas media and trade representatives during their familiarisation visits. To help visitors and local residents locate the award-winning restaurants and sample their signature dishes, the Board will publish and distribute the Best of the Best Culinary Guide through its worldwide channels and include the information in the HKTB's web site.

At today's press conference, HKTB Executive Director Clara Chong was joined by Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Towngas, James Kwan, JP; Canto-pop stars Edmond Leung and Tiffany Lee and radio host Chea Shuk Mui in announcing the 10 shortlisted dishes in each of this year's four food categories, namely Duck/Goose, Fish, Vegetables and Fried Noodles. Each establishment that had a dish shortlisted was presented with a "finalist order badge" to recognise its finalist status.

To encourage the community's participation in the tourism industry, the HKTB is inviting the public to cast their votes for "My Favourite Dish" selected from among the 40 shortlisted dishes from now until 18 November.

They can do so by visiting the HKTB's web site and by filling the forms in local newspapers and magazines. Votes collected for each finalist will constitute one-tenth of its score in the final round of the competition. The HKTB is also inviting the public to suggest the new categories for the 2004 Awards. "We hope that members of the public will play the role of ambassadors by taking an active part in the voting to help us promote the wonderful culinary experience of Hong Kong to visitors worldwide," Ms Chong said.

The judging of the 2003 Culinary Awards comprises three stages. In the first stage, two HKTB "Culinary Ambassadors" visited the restaurants incognito to sample the dishes. Following their sampling, 20 restaurants were selected for each category. In the second stage, two-person teams of "Culinary Ambassadors" visited the shortlisted restaurants to sample the dishes again. Ten selected restaurants in each category were then selected to enter the final stage of judging. Evaluation and judging concentrate on presentation, fragrance, taste and quality of dishes, with particular focus on taste. In addition, safety compliance and hygiene of the restaurants, as well as service quality standards of staff, are taken into account.

Inaugurated in 2001, the Best of the Best Culinary Awards are designed to identify the finest examples of Hong Kong's classic dishes and promote them worldwide so as to strengthen the city's image and reputation as a Culinary Capital of Asia. The 2003 Best of the Best Culinary Awards are organised by the HKTB and co-organised by The Hong Kong & China Gas Company Limited. The Chinese Cuisine Training Institute is the official venue provider and Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Radio One is the official radio station.