Celebrate World Vegan Day by becoming a super hero at Loving Hut

Superhero's manual.

In honor of World Vegan Day, we visited the excellent Loving Hut vegetarian restaurant.

Different people have different reasons for being a vegetarian. Some of them have religious beliefs, some of them are advocates of good health, and some of them simply love the food. Yet some would tell you they turn into a vegan just because they want to save our endangered world as Superman does.

Those are the people who visit vegetarian restaurant Loving Hut for their meal. Loving Hut is a global chain restaurant that has branches in over 19 countries. Hong Kong is lucky enough to have four. No matter which branch you go to, surely you can find the slogan “Be Veg, go green 2 save the planet!” inside the restaurant.

Eating is not only about helping individuals from hunger, but it is also a “rescue mission” for all the creatures on earth. 

The cons of livestock 

So how can it be? The brochure in the rack inside the restaurant can explain it all. We all know the harmful consequences of global warming caused by various kinds of greenhouse gases, but seldom do we understand that some of the gas emission, including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are closely associated with livestock farming.

There are figures suggesting that over 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions come from livestock farming, more than 13.5 percent of that from all of the world’s transportation combined. Other harmful effects related to livestock farming are land degradation and desertification due to overgrazing, excess water consumption during meat production.

Since livestock farming is the major cause of all hazards mentioned above, the easiest and most direct way to reduce the averse effect is to reduce the need for livestock farming, rather than just sit and wait for new scientific breakthroughs with a view to saving ourselves. By this, it means we humans should eat less meat and seek for alternatives. Hence, going green becomes the perfect solution.

Interior of Loving Hut.

Delicious salvation

We now know the secret of being a world-saving hero without any superpower or wearing a bizarre costume. How about the food at Loving Hut? You may be surprised to find meat on the menu such as cha siu, cutlet and steak.

Actually they are fake meat made purely from vegetables. Nevertheless, even though they are substitutes, I can assure you they taste as good as the real thing.

Apart from being meat-free, Loving Hut also emphasizes that there is no egg, no dairy, no alcohol in the food, nor GMO (genetically modified organism) food.

Although the choice of ingredients is limited, the choice of food still plentiful. Being an international chain restaurant, Loving Hut offers its hero a wide range of cuisine. You can try Taiwanese noodles and enjoy Chinese buns with stewed soya mince at the same time, or a an Amercan-style veggie burger with Japanese sushi, or have a tiramisu for afternoon tea.

If you have difficulty choosing what to eat, you should try the restaurant’s highlight, red yeast rice, and the popular beverage braumeisters kraft malz.

As the name suggests, red yeast rice is a kind of red-purple fermented rice. What makes it different from white rice is that it has been considered as a kind of traditional Chinese medicine. The history of eating red yeast rice can be dated back to 800 A.D. in ancient China. Modern research has verified that red yeast rice can reduce the risk of heart attack and vitalize the blood circulation.

They are all vegan heroes.

Braumeisters kraft malz, or better known as Karamalz, is a famous German natural malt beverage. It is the sister of black beer, in which both of them undergo the same production process until the stage of fermentation.

The drink is completely dark and looks the same as Coca-cola, and its taste is also like Coca-cola. However, it is far more nutritious. It is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. Some see it as an excellent slimming-beverage.

On one side of Loving Hut Restaurant's Wan Chai branch, photos of vegan celebrities such as Kate Winslet, Tobey Maguire and Richard Gere are posted on the wall. The photos are surrounded by the slogan “These smart, beautiful, talented people are vegetarian. Why aren’t you?”

Yes, they may be international movie stars and heroes, and now they find their way to becoming heroes in the real world. Would you like to join their hand and be a super hero together? There's no better time to start than today, on World Vegan Day.

Service Information:

Ngau Tau Kok branch: Open daily, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Shop G242-245, Amoy Plaza II, 77 Ngau Tau Kok Road, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong; tel. +852 2751 1321

Po Lam branch: Open daily, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Shops UG006-7, UG/F, Metro City Plaza, Phase II, 8 Yan King Road, Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong; tel. +852 3129 3088

Tai Po branch: Open Monday - Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday - Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. G/F, Wing Wo Building, 87 Wan Tau Street, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong; tel. +852 2638 0090

Wan Chai branch: Open daily, 11 a.m.-9:45 p.m. Shop B & C, G/F, The Hennessy, 256 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong; tel. +852 2574 3248

Global website: www.lovinghut.com