A Char Siu Wine - Eddie McDougall's Little Pig Rose

Eddie McDougall's Little Pig Rose 2010

Wines with non-European cuisines have always been a challenge. I've talked about natural pairings in the world's cuisines before, say, soy sauce and rice, clams and pork - these foods appear in close geographical proximity, and through time, people have found ways to make nature's bounty work with each other. China doesn't really have a history of wines made from grapes, and only with globalisation has Chinese food and grape wines started to come together. Nowadays - well in Hong Kong anyway - there's been a lot of talk about pairing wine with Asian food - I'd say it's still in its infancy, but hey, what do I know, I'm just a drinker.

Table for Two - Vegetarian Food Crawl in Central, Sheung Wan and Sai Ying Pun

Black bean veggie burger at Light Radiant Food

In the developed world, we hear about health problems that stem from overabundant diets - from obesity to gout, yet in the developing world, the health problems come from malnutrition, the direct opposite. Policymakers and activists around the world are trying to remedy this, and one social enterprise hitting both these birds with one stone is Table for Two.

Founded in 2008 in Japan, Table for Two has been helping feed children in poverty-stricken parts of Africa and China through donations made from restaurants in more developed nations. The consumption of healthy meals in restaurants, offered through partnerships between Table For Two and restaurants, raises money for the children's meals.

Healthy Summer Dining Experience map via Table for Two

Table for Two was brought to Hong Kong late last year, and the team here have devised a great "Healthy Summer Dining Experience" in August (starting August 1st). Buy the designated "Table For Two" meal (or drink) at their partner outlets, a portion of proceeds will go to charity, and by snapping a picture of your meal, there are prizes to be won too.


I was lucky enough to have been brought along on a little food crawl with the lovely ladies of Table For Two to get a sneak peek on some of the fab food and drink on offer. It was lovely to see so many great names on the list of participating restaurants (and bar). We didn't cover all of them on the crawl, so do check out the map (above) for the full list.