Impossible? Are we now going beyond meat?
Checking out Peruvian Cantonese fusion Pirata Group restaurant Chifa this week, we were intrigued by the Impossible meat dim-sum meatballs on the menu. We asked the waitress if it was like the congealed beef meatballs of dim sum joints in Hong Kong, which we dislike due to texture, and we were met with an astounding “no, this is a steamed dumpling, not a meatball”. Disappointingly, we were served what look like two congealed meatballs, with no steaming hot deliciously looking dim sum in sight. We complained, and got another dish on the house (thanks chef), but we tried the meatballs nonetheless. What we got in the end was a meatball from heaven.
We love dim sum but not the dim sum meatballs. But these were good good good. We’ve tried and enjoyed beyond meats burgers at home. They were close, but not better than a real burger. This dish however was different. This was BETTER. The next day we went for dim sum brunch at Dragon-I, and Omnipork was on the menu. Plant based meats are EVERYWHERE! So it inspired us to do some research on this “meat-free movement”.
Plant-based meats are generating roughly $5 billion in revenue. Beyond Meat’s share price movements since recent IPO has shown that plant-based meat is here to stay. And with Impossible Foods announcing a $300 million Series E round at a reported $2.0 billion valuation, we read this week that these companies will be the Coke and Pepsi of the 21st century. What do you think? For those who are already into the plant based substitutes see the options across Hong Kong below. For those that are yet to try, why not?
Beyond Meat Burgers are made by weaving together peas, mung beans, sunflower seeds, rice, canola oil and coconut oil. The Impossible Burger is made from potato protein, soy protein, coconut oil, and sunflower oil. Both companies highlight that their burgers require drastically less land and water than beef, while generating fewer greenhouse gases, and causing no harm to animals. Omnipork is the plant-based pork that bleeds and tastes like ground pork, made by Right Treat, who have developed a blend of plant protein from pea, non-GMO soy, shiitake mushroom & rice.
Search for “Impossible“, “Beyond Meat” or “Omnipork” now on Dishtag to join the movement.
