The 29th Food Expo, as Hong Kong’s annual gourmet event, held together with the 10th Hong Kong International Tea Fair, the third Beauty & Wellness Expo and the fifth Home Delights Expo, last from Aug 16-20, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). Gathering a total of more than 2,000 exhibitors this year, the four fairs showcase a wide variety of delicacies and innovative products to provide an all-round shopping and sourcing experience for consumers and trade buyers.

The annual Food Expo is a grand feast for food lovers, and this year feature products from more than 20 countries and regions. Targeting industry players and trade buyers, the Food Expo’s Trade Hall, the International Tea Fair and the ICMCM provide a platform for sourcing and networking, creating business opportunities among different sectors. In addition to bringing an international gourmet feast to visitors, to enhance the cultural exchange between Hong Kong and other regions as well.

Hong Kong Food Expo 2018
In its 29th edition, the Food Expo feature a record number of more than 1,560 exhibitors from over 20 countries and regions. It comprises a Gourmet Zone, Public Hall and Trade Hall, bringing a wide range of international food and drinks to food lovers and trade buyers.

Being the highlight of the expo, the Gourmet Zone at Hall 3B gather more than 70 exhibitors to showcase delicacies from around the globe under four themes: Asian Cuisine, Western Delicacy, Sweet Delight and Green Palate.

The zone feature high-end products, include the first Hong Kong-crafted beer with fresh black truffles, ice-drip vintage coffee (a blend of coffee and brandy), plant-based Omnipork, award-winning low-fat cheese from the Netherlands, organic spinach soup with chlorella and Kyoto styled marshmallow.

The Public Hall gather about 600 exhibitors and feature five group pavilions from the Chinese mainland, Canada, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. The highlighted Premium Food Zone feature more than 30 renowned brands including Chewy International, Kee Wah Bakery, Maxim’s Group, Nissin Foods, On Kee Dry Seafood, Tai Pan, Vita Green, Sau Tao, Appolo and Aji-No-Chinmi.

To promote local produce, the Hong Kong Vegetable Marketing Organisation and Fish Marketing Organisation participate in the expo to introduce high-quality local products. Other special products available include the “made-in-Hong Kong” crispy fish skin, soya sauce crab from Korea and healthy chicken breast chips.

The Trade Hall showcase international flavours from more than 900 exhibitors, with 12 group pavilions as well as the themed Halal Food Zone and Chinese Medicine Zone. Targeting mainly trade buyers, the Trade Hall including those in 21 group pavilions representing the Chinese mainland’s Hunan, Fujian, Hubei and Jilin provinces, as well as Thailand, the Czech Republic, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Kazakhstan and more.

The Halal Food Zone and Chinese Medicine Zone also come back to facilitate the sourcing of related products. The hall features seminars with industry experts discussing such topics as halal food certification, innovative food technology, as well as food testing and certification, providing trade buyers with the latest market information.

The food fair open exclusively to industry professionals on 16-17 Aug, before opening its doors to public ticket-holders on the last day (18 Aug), enabling exhibitors to test the response from consumers and raise brand awareness.

Public visitors can attend a number of exciting events. These include cooking demonstrations by more than 10 star chefs, such as Hui Mei Tak, Executive Chef of Pak Loh Chiu Chow Restaurant; Bong Jun Choi, Executive Chef of Chinese Operations, City of Dreams Manila; Claudio Favero, Chef De Cuisine, Sabatini Ristorante Italiano, Royal Garden Hotel; Catherine Lai, Founder and Executive Chef of Kam Mun Jong; Will Leung, Sous Chef of French cuisine JUNON Restaurant; Atsushi Takahashi, Executive Chef of Kashiwaya Hong Kong; Edward Voon, Executive Chef of Le Pan; and Wong Wing Keung, Executive Chinese Chef of Yee Tung Heen.

There was seminars with industry experts to discuss such topics as business opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative, halal food certification, innovative food technology, as well as food testing and certification, giving trade buyers the latest market information.

Other events include the launch of the 2018-2019 Wan Chai a La Carte food and culture map, a seminar on herbal tea, product demonstrations and lucky draws.There also be a “Hong Kong’s Action on Salt and Sugar Reduction” seminar to help visitors adopt healthy eating habits. Tech-savvy visitors can also join the launch event of augmented reality (AR) app “TastAR”, which allows users to view 3D images of gourmet dishes overlaid through the app.

Hong Kong Tea Fair 2018
The three-day fair feature more than 240 exhibitors from seven countries and regions, with the debut launch of the Chinese Taiwan pavilion this year. One of the highlighted products is an oolong tea produced exclusively in Taiwan. It is unique in that a tea green leafhopper must bite the tea leaves to produce a unique aromatic honey-like sweetness.

The fair also feature other products such as a pair of Qing Dynasty covered bowls, a perfectly preserved 1950s Red Label Tea Cake and the Japanese Kyo-Hojicha Paste that can be mixed with other food ingredients for flavouring.

The International KamCha Competition 2018 Hong Kong Style Milk Tea – 10th Anniversary Special, organised by the Association of Coffee and Tea of Hong Kong, hold its International Final at the Tea Fair on 18 Aug. Representatives from Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Melbourne and Toronto compete for the KamCha title. Combining technology and traditional skills, an artificial-intelligence (AI) robotic arm give a brewing demonstration on the spot. The International Yuan Yang Final was staged on-site as well, with local participants competing for the winning title.

The Hong Kong International Tea Competition 2018 see exhibitors compete for various awards, such as “The Best Aroma Award” and “The Best Taste Award” among seven tea categories.

Other activities include a series of tea forums delivered by industry experts on such topics as antique teaware and cooking with tea. Venerable Chang Lin discuss “Tea and Zen” to provide an extraordinary experience for tea lovers. Events dedicated for trade buyers include tea tasting sessions, tea art performances, a seminar on “Capturing the Tea Business from the ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ Generation” as well as a buyer forum.

Green exhibition
To encourage visitors and exhibitors to reduce waste, the HKTDC continue to cooperate with “Food For Good” and “Food Angel” to collect and recycle packaged edible food and food waste at the fairground, and invite exhibitors to donate food to needy communities after the fair. The HKTDC also encourages exhibitors and visitors to follow green tips such as sorting recyclable waste into recycle bins placed at the fairground. Visitors can also bring their own utensils, food boxes, water bottles and shopping bags.

ICMCM 2018
Organised by the HKTDC and the Modernized Chinese Medicine International Association Ltd (MCMIA), the International Conference of the Modernization of Chinese Medicine & Health Products (ICMCM) takes place from 16-17 Aug to keep practitioners abreast of the latest trends and developments.

In commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of the birth of Li Shizhen, author of Compendium of Materia Medica, the conference shares the development of Ben Cao (a pharmacopoeia of Chinese herbal medicine) and its potential expansion. The conference features 17 distinguished speakers from renowned institutions in Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the USA, including Hong Kong Baptist University, the American Society of Pharmacognosy, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, St Petersburg State University and Seoul National University.

On 18 Aug, public visitors can attend Chinese Medicine Health Public Forum sessions, where professional practitioners discuss Chinese-medicine dietary therapy for skin problems, anaemia and blood pressure control, diabetes and gastroenteritis, as well as respiratory care and seasonal healthcare diets.

HKTDC
Established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong’s businesses. With more than 40 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world. With 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room.