Foreword I
This book honors what no Hongkonger would neglect: the appetite for fine cuisine.
With subtlety and humor, Christine Cappio offers a glimpse into the intimacy of the city’s food markets. Her drawings describe the unique atmosphere of each location. More than a guide, she offers us a perspective. Coming from France, a country which attaches great importance to its gastronomy, she decides to take a leap forward and sweep away her prejudices, with the ambition of becoming a true Hong Kong cook!
Gastronomy is an ancestral art and a key feature of all great civilizations. China and France share this. As Lin Yutang (1895-1976), a famous Fujian scholar influenced by Western culture, put it in 1937, “every meal on each day is a Feast of Life”. Aren’t most of the “Thirty-Three Happy Moments” described by Jin Shengtan (1608-1661), Suzhou’s “Prince of Commentators”, related to the pleasure of eating? To achieve this, the Chinese have chopsticks, the French have their “coup de fourchette” (literally fork’s blow) which means they are big eaters.
Wet markets are at the core of this common culture. Food needs to be looked at, touched and smelled before being sliced, simmered, fried or steamed, and eventually landed on our plates! There is magic in this whole process. This is why great chefs are, whether in Paris or in Hong Kong, surrounded by an aura of mystery. But there is one ingredient you cannot do without: freshness. She is the mother of all flavors. It is so true that the three words “fish”, “fresh” and “tasty” share the same character in classical Chinese: xian （鮮）.
In an era where everything tends to be sanitized, wet markets remind us that a city is an organism that has a soul, a heartbeat and also a belly. The Belly of Paris was the title that French writer Emile Zola chose in 1873 for his novel describing the life in Les Halles, the city’s central market. Our markets are living organs that retain their picturesque character and remain meeting places where colours, smells and noises interact. In Hong Kong, where space is scarce and disputed, markets are faced with the challenge of being replaced by the development projects of business or shopping centres. In this respect, Christine Cappio’s strolling in the wet markets is also a manifesto: let us fight to be able to experience this maze of alleys and backstreets, smells and flavors, with our grandchildren when tomorrow comes!
The banquet of life is right in front of us, and the only question is how much appetite we have for it!
Alexandre Giorgini
Consul General of France in Hong Kong and Macao
