Author: Christine Wong

A 2025 James Beard Media Award Nominee

A visual and sumptuous ode to Hong Kong that reimagines 88 classic and iconic dishes as colorful and beautiful plant-based meals.

A common Chinese greeting is 食咗飯未呀? “Have you eaten (rice) yet?” which is how Christine Wong’s paternal grandmother would welcome her home during her childhood in Hong Kong. Food was the language of love, with birthdays and special events always celebrated with family meals, from nine-course banquet-style restaurant feasts to simple home-cooked dinners. After leaving Hong Kong and adopting a vegan lifestyle for health and sustainability reasons, Christine yearned to recreate the flavors and textures of her family’s food at home without animal by-products.

The Vibrant Hong Kong Table celebrates many of Hong Kong’s most iconic dishes with a vegan twist. Organized by a day of eating through the city and paying homage to its culinary heritage, these fresh, bright, vegetable-based recipes include:

• Breakfast and Dim Sum 點心: Sampan Congee, Lotus Leaf Rice, “Egg” Tarts
• Cha Chaan Teng 茶餐廳 and Lunchbox Favorites: Baked Tempeh Chop Rice, Black-Pink Pepper Cabbage Steak, Jackfruit Brisket Noodles
• Family-Style Dinners, from Festival Foods to Dai Pai Dongs 大牌檔: “Fish Fragrant” Eggplant, Sweet & Sour Cauliflower, Snow Skin Mooncakes
• Siu Yeh 宵夜 (Late-Night Snacks) and Sweets: Curry “Fishballs,” Three Treasures, Hong Kong Sweet Buns

"Hong Kong Highlights," included throughout, showcase cultural customs such as balancing yin and yang and sharing food family-style. And Mama Wong’s tips for using ingredients like lotus root, taro, and salted oranges, offer an immersive experience of Hong Kong’s culinary and societal traditions. With beautiful imagery, intimate storytelling, and easy-to-follow instructions, The Vibrant Hong Kong Table is a treasury of fresh and inspiring vegan meals straight from the heart of this magnificent city to your home.

• Hardcover
• 288 pages

About the author

An author, plant-based cook, and advocate for eco-friendly choices, Christine blends cultural representation with culinary expertise. Her impactful works include Living Without Plastic (Artisan, 2020), co-authored with Plastic Oceans International, and The Plantiful Plate (Countryman Press, 2019), showcasing versatile, plant-forward recipes.

Through NYC's Chinatown, she celebrates Asian American culture through food and community. Among numerous press features, Christine has been on New York Live and the South China Morning Post. Her food photography has been featured in the New York Times, Thrillist, Fodor's, and Time Out New York. Christine is also honored to be a part of Pearl River Mart as their Creative Manager. (@conscious_cooking)