Nature & Neon: HKTB brings Hong Kong’s culinary scene to life in Toronto

For one night in Toronto, dinner came with a 360-degree ticket to Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) brought the flavours, wines, landscapes and electric energy of the Asian metropolis to Toronto on Tuesday (Aug. 25) with Nature & Neon, an interactive dinner and wine experience held at Illuminarium Toronto in the Distillery District.

Co-hosted with the Toronto Star as part of the newspaper’s regular Wine Club series, the ticketed evening gathered roughly 90 guests around a long communal table for a tasty, four-course culinary journey through Hong Kong.

The setting was anything but conventional.

Illuminarium uses 360-degree technology, floor-to-ceiling digital projections, spatial audio and interactive elements to place visitors inside virtual environments.

For Nature & Neon, that meant surrounding dinner guests with larger-than-life scenes of Hong Kong’s lush landscapes, colourful festivals, arts and culture.

Following a cocktail reception, guests took their seats for four carefully crafted courses. With each new dish, the room transformed into a different Hong Kong setting – transitions that generated collective “oohs” and “aahs” around the table.

But behind the spectacle was a clear message from HKTB: Hong Kong is one of the world’s great culinary destinations – and food and wine can be a powerful way to convince more Canadians to go.

READ MORE: Wine, festivals & multi-country travel: HKTB’s new Canadian director charts Hong Kong’s next chapter

“We have more than 70 Michelin-starred restaurants, more than 16,000 registered restaurants, as well as dai pai dong [food stalls] and street eats. There's literally everything,” Beverly Cheng, HKTB’s director for Canada, told PAX at the event.

“You could spend a lifetime there and make just a dent.”

Canadian wine meets Cantonese cuisine

The illuminated dinner was hosted by two influential names from Toronto’s food and wine scene.

Carolyn Evans Hammond, a wine columnist, three-time author and content creator who has written about wine for more than 20 years – including more than a decade as a contributing wine columnist for the Toronto Star – led guests through wine pairings.

Meanwhile, Chef Nick Liu, executive chef and partner at Toronto’s critically acclaimed DaiLo, was behind the food.

The dynamic menu included tomato salad with crab, bean thread and youtiao croutons, bloomed basil seed and Sichuan broth gelée; a stuffed chicken wing with pickled wild mustard greens; whole fried trout with foie gras fat rice; and Hong Kong French toast (“A Hong Kong deep dive,” remarked a neighouring guest) with pistachio butter, whipped coconut condensed milk and pistachio praline.

The idea was to show how Canadian wine can find a natural partner in Cantonese cuisine.

“We really wanted to explore the notion of pairing top-tier Canadian wines with Cantonese cuisine because oftentimes people think of Cantonese cuisine as something they have with tea,” Cheng explained.

Four wines were poured over the course of the evening, including two from Niagara – Henry of Pelham Riesling Icewine and Cloudsley Cellars Chardonnay – that will appear at the upcoming Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival, taking place Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 (in Hong Kong), where Canada will have its first dedicated pavilion.

The festival is one of many major international events on Hong Kong’s calendar, but it is also becoming an important piece of HKTB’s Canadian strategy.

Cheng previously told PAX that the tourism board is developing travel packages with tour operators that will spotlight Canadian wines while encouraging travellers to experience Hong Kong.

Culinary collaborations are also expected to involve celebrity chefs with Canadian connections, including MasterChef Canada personalities Chefs Alvin Leung and Michael Bonacini.

The thinking is that wine can serve as a bridge between the two destinations – giving Canadians something familiar while introducing them to a different side of Hong Kong.

Beyond the neon

That duality also explained the night’s Nature & Neon theme.

Hong Kong's skyscrapers, illuminated streets and urban energy are among its most recognizable calling cards. But Cheng wants Canadians to look beyond the skyline.

“We often think of Hong Kong as a very electric city lit by neon signs. That it’s a city that never sleeps and is pulsating,” she said.

“But what many people don't realize is that 70 per cent of Hong Kong is covered in nature. There are so many beautiful mountain trails, pristine beaches, outlying islands.”

That outdoor lifestyle, Cheng said, is an intrinsic part of living in Hong Kong.

“When you live there, you work and go out, but your weekends are spent sailing across the islands, or exploring our UNESCO Global Geopark, hiking Dragon's Back, or one of the many trails. We wanted to highlight the contrast and vibrancy of Hong Kong.”

“A world-class culinary capital”

If Nature & Neon was designed to surprise guests, Cheng also wants Canadians to rethink what eating in Hong Kong actually means.

“I would love for people to understand that Hong Kong is a world-class culinary capital,” she said.

The range of places to eat – from luxury dining rooms to neighbourhood institutions – is central to the destination’s culinary appeal.

“You have super gourmet dining to local cafes where you can have a milk tea and a pineapple bun. You have Asia's 50 best restaurants, you also have Asia's 50 best bars,” Cheng said.

And, Cheng stressed, Hong Kong’s dining identity extends far beyond Cantonese cuisine. Local restaurants can sometimes spark new trends.

Case in point: Bar Leone, which topped Asia's 50th best bar list last year. It’s an Italian bar, run by an Italian man, serving Italian martinis.

Or you'll have the New Punjab Club, “which is the best Indian food,” Cheng said.

“It's not just Cantonese food. It's everything,” she said.

A new chapter in Canada

Nature & Neon offered a glimpse at Cheng’s approach since taking over as HKTB’s director for Canada in the spring.

Cheng began her career as an arts journalist in Hong Kong before moving into communications and eventually holding senior roles with global hospitality brands, including Marriott International.

At the HKTB, she is focused on strengthening partnerships and developing insight-driven campaigns that inspire Canadians to experience Hong Kong through stories and moments unique to the city.

And her approach to growing Canadian arrivals extends well beyond traditional destination marketing.

Along with culinary and wine partnerships, Cheng and her team are cultivating relationships with regional Asian airlines as they explore dual-destination opportunities that pair Hong Kong with fast-growing destinations elsewhere in Asia.

It reflects a highly-segmented view of the Canadian market.

Rather than treating Canadians as one traveller profile, the HKTB sees opportunities across Canada's multicultural communities, while also pursuing people who may have never visited Asia at all.

Cathay Pacific and Air Canada offer direct service between Canada and Hong Kong, while partnerships with regional carriers help turn the city into the starting point for a broader Asian itinerary.

The numbers, Cheng said, are moving in the right direction.

“In terms of arrivals for Q1, we're doing 19 per cent better than last year,” she told PAX. “What we've noticed is an uptick in first-time travellers to Hong Kong. That is something the team has worked on since the pandemic, and we're really proud of that.”

Visiting friends and relatives remains a crucial segment, particularly given Canada's large Hong Kong-Chinese and Chinese diaspora communities.

Hong Kong: Asia’s front door

For those first-timers, Cheng believes Hong Kong can serve as an easy introduction to Asia – and a jumping-off point for a much bigger trip.

She said 88 per cent of Canadian travellers do multi-destination itineraries out of Hong Kong, treating the city as a gateway or hub.

“They'll then head to, for example, Vietnam. Or to Japan or South Korea,” she said.

Visa-free access to mainland China, introduced earlier this year, adds another dimension to the proposition.

“Hong Kong is a nice first stop, if you've never been to Asia, because everyone there speaks English. It's very international,” she said.

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