Talking Points: how can Hong Kong fix the problems with its food trucks?
Elina Harding, 16, Creative Secondary School
To make the food trucks better in Hong Kong, they should branch out to areas such as Sai Kung, Kowloon, or the New Territories, instead of just staing in Central. This way, more people will get the experience of food trucks and see how convenient they are, and they would become more popular. This would help the owners of the food trucks earn more money and make a better business out of it.
Nicholas Lumley-Smith, 16, Creative Secondary School
For Hong Kong food trucks to be more successful, the government must be more flexible in the rules they have to follow. For example, if the food trucks can have a wider area to work with, they would be a lot more popular.
Kesha Leung, 15, Creative Secondary School
Food trucks are popular, but each district should have more trucks to provide a range of both local and Western foods. But as food trucks are always on the street, it is tough to maintain food safety, so Hong Kong has to make sure that the trucks have proper sanitation and hygiene.
Jason Lai Yat-sze, 16, Creative Secondary School
Food trucks are a big part of Western food culture. In places such as the US it’s very common, but it is still a new concept in Hong Kong, and we rarely see them around. We should give the idea some time to grow and develop. For the younger generation, it’s normal, because we have all them on the internet. However, older generations might find them strange. As teenagers, we should introduce food trucks to our parents and encourage them to try it.”
Jack Lee, 16, Creative Secondary School
Food trucks only seem to aimed at tourists, because they are so expensive. But that is because it costs so much to run the truck. To fix this, the government should do more promotion of the trucks. This would help them reach more customers, and have a wider audience.
Wesley Wong, 15, Creative Secondary School
To solve the issues food trucks face in Hong Kong, the government must reduce its bureaucracy and allow the food trucks to move around more freely, rather than be confined to a few areas. Such tightly controlled regulation is goes against the appeal of hawkers with delicious street food, which the government has replaced. Starting up a single truck is also not cheap, which causes the food prices to be high, surprising customers.
Alex Chu, 15, Creative Secondary School
Hawking has always been an big part of Hong Kong culture. Bags of roasted chestnuts, sticks of fish balls, and bowls of soup are just a few of the many traditional local cuisines sold by hawkers. When the government stopped issuing of hawker licences in the 1970’s, a piece of Hong Kong culture disappeared. But today’s food trucks might be a lifeline to this culture. They should adapt and learn from local hawkers, to help . preserve the local culture. Along with tourists who seek to experience Hong Kong’s local street cuisines, locals will also be happy to try the foods.
This week’s answers were provided by YP cadets from Creative Secondary School. In our next Talking Points, we’ll discuss:
How should your school prepare for the hotter weather?
We are now accepting your answers for this topic. To take part, email your answer with your name, age, and school, along with a nice, clear selfie (make sure it’s not blurry), to [email protected] by lunchtime on Monday. Don’t forget to include “Talking Points” in the subject line.