Detoxing in Hong Kong

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When friends in Asia discuss detoxing, they usually refer to resorts in Thailand where the air is clear and the food is tropical. Since Hong Kong tends to be a re-tox destination, Thais wrote about activities that do not involve long hours at a restaurant or bar. Is it possible to eat healthy in Hong Kong?

I recently embarked on a personal challenge to complete a detox program that is rather popular in America. It lasts only 21 days but requires the exclusion of alcohol, caffeine, sugar, dairy, eggs, gluten, and a couple fruits and vegetables. It also encourages you to eat organic. Can it be done in Hong Kong?

Shopping
To begin the detox, I needed to find foods I had never seen in local supermarkets. “One stop shopping” does not exist in Hong Kong, so I figured I was doomed to comb through message threads and explore at least five boutique grocery stores to find items like rice milk, coconut milk, almond butter, flax seed, and stevia. Most “health stores” such as GNC have only vitamins and supplements.

I struck gold at Just Green. Hip Hong Kong lists and describes a number of other good options for shopping organic.

Farmers’ markets can be found at Tai Po, Kadoorie Farms, and the Star Ferry Terminal. An AFC report states that, “as of October 2011, there were 401 organic farms in Hong.” It’s not as hard to find organic products as I thought it would be.

Delivery
One of the joys of living in Hong Kong is that most things can be delivered. Organic foods are no exception. A whole list of farms and companies will deliver bulk amounts of fresh, seasonal vegetables as well as other household items.

Two years ago, I received regular deliveries from The Organic Farm. I thought I would challenge myself to learn to cook whatever random vegetables I received. Deliveries were large – far too much for me to eat in a week (Road Warrior doesn’t eat vegetables unless setting an example for his kiddos). Work colleagues often make one order to share between two families.

For the Culinarily Challenged (a.k.a. people like me)
I learned to boil an egg only two months ago. I used Google for directions. For those of you who would rather read textbooks on statistics than decipher a cookbook (blanch? poach? really???) or chop vegetables, Fresh to Go has chefs that deliver a recipe along with pre-measured, pre-cut items. The concept is great, but I didn’t see many Western menu options.

If you don’t want to turn on any sort of stove or oven, Food by Web delivers from restaurants such as Just Salad, Fruit Stop Health Food Restaurant, Vegetable Shop, Dressed Salad, and Eat Right.

As of this posting, I’ve completed five of the 21 detox days. I’m not hungry. I’m not craving junk. I’m not even grumpy. I just miss conversations at the pub.

Hong Kong friends, have I missed any organic or health food places? Feel free to recommend more!