7.selamta september 2012. from farm to plate

97september / october 2012

T h e i n - f l i g h T m a g a z i n e o f e T h i o p i a n a i r l i n e s

Selamta

T h e i n n o c e n c e o f T h e S e yc h e l l e S i S l a n dS .

after eden

sepTember/ocTober 2012

8 selamtamagazine.com

| Aboutselamta

ContributorsSelamta — meaning “Greetings” in Amharic — is published bimonthly on behalf of Ethiopian Airlines by JourneyGroup+C62, LLC.

JourneyGroup+C62, LLC418 Fourth Street, NE TK Building

Charlottesville, VA 22902 Office #102

U.S.A. Bole Road

+001 434 961 2500 (phone) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

+001 434 961 2507 (fax) +251 116 180365 (phone)

eXeCuTIVe GroupManaging Director Philip De Jong

executive eDitor Amanuel Mengistu

creative Director Greg Breeding

Marketing Director John Baltes

eDITorIALManaging eDitor Diane J. McDougall

PhotograPhy eDitor Phil De Jong Jr.

associate eDitor Jodi Macfarlan

sr. Writer/Photog. Ron Londen

Writer/researcher Hope Voelkel

researcher Kalkidan Mulugeta

DeSIGn Design Director Mike Ryan

Digital Director Zack Bryant

ProDuction Designer Lindsay Gilmore

proDuCTIonProDuction Director Brad Uhl

leaD DeveloPer Josh Bryant

ProDuction/sales Belsabe Girma

Printing Emirates Printing, Dubai

eDITorIAL BoArD Yeneneh Tekleyes Philip De Jong

Mengistu Adelahu Amanuel Mengistu

Tsedenia Tadesse Diane J. McDougall

ADVerTISInG JourneyGroup+C62, LLC

international sales

Azariah Mengistu

TK Building

Office #102

Bole Road

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

+251 116 180365 (phone)

+251 116 180367 (fax)

[email protected]

As the continent’s premier carrier and a member

of the prestigious Star Alliance, Ethiopian Airlines

brings Africa to the world and the world to Africa.

Selamta does the same, celebrating the adventure

of travel, the vitality of Africa’s role in global busi-

ness affairs, and the richness of culture across all of

Ethiopian Airline’s many, varied destinations. This

complimentary copy is yours to keep.

While every care is taken to ensure accuracy, the publisher and Ethiopian Airlines assume no liability for error or omissions in this publication. All advertisements are taken in good faith, and the opinions and views contained herein are not necessarily those of the publisher. All copyrights and trademarks are recognized. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without written permission by the publisher. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review. © 2012.

north aMerica sales

John Baltes

418 Fourth Street, NE

Charlottesville, VA 22902

U.S.A.

+001 434 961 2500 (phone)

+001 434 961 2507 (fax)

[email protected]

V o l u m e 2 9 | N u m b e r 4

LiN

ds

Ay

GiL

mo

rE

/ J

ou

rN

Ey

Gr

ou

p

glenna gorDon is a freelance documentary writer and photographer who splits her time between West Africa and New York. In addition to her own photo projects, she also covers news and features, does work for NGOs and trains photographers in Africa. See her story, “Boxing Dreams,” on p. 39.Rooted in: New York City, though she's working on long-term documentary projects in Liberia and other stories throughout West AfricaDream destination: Namibia—“the beauty of desert climates speaks to me”

Michele koh Morollo is a freelance travel, dining, architecture and design writer for numerous print and online publications across Asia, the U.K. and North America. Her works appear in Lonely Planet Asia, AFAR magazine, Epicure magazine and Yahoo Asia. She is also a published author and poet who spends her free time tinkering with short stories. Follow her to Hong Kong, where she shares the joys of eating locally, in “From Farm to Plate” on p. 32. Rooted in: Hong KongDream destination: Bhutan

DaviD Mcintyre is an American photographer who, though originally from Los Angeles, has lived in Hong Kong and Beijing for the past 18 years with his wife and two children. Some of his more memorable experiences have been covering Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China; photographing the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, as well as the Beijing and Vancouver Olympic Games; skydiving in New Zealand; and traveling by train through nine Asian countries. See “From Farm to Plate” on p. 32.Rooted in: Hong KongDream destination: Bangladesh (where he has already been four times)

siMi BhagWanDass is a travel blogger and avid adventure seeker. So far she has added sharing a homestay with baby alligators in Egypt, camping in the Sahara and jumping off mountains in Austria to her list of experiences. Read about her experience encountering a mobile waffle truck in Brussels on p. 57.Rooted in: CanadaDream destination: Summer backpacking trip through Mongolia

saM iMenDe is a summer consultant at Dalberg, a global development-consulting firm, and is a managing partner of a start-up African brand, ENZI Footwear. He was born and raised in Kenya and holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wake Forest University. Read his review of Reverse Innovation on p. 56.Rooted in: NairobiDream destination: Brazil, for the 2014 FIFA World Cup


F r o m F a r mN e w c u i s i n e o n t h e m e n u

By M i c h e l e ko h M o r o l lo sh

ut

tE

rs

to

ck

.co

m/

mA

zz

zu

r


t o P l a t ei n H o n g Ko n g

P h otos By Dav i D g . M c i n t y r e

Basil is incorporated into an organic caprese–style salad at hong kong's Posto Pubblico restaurant.


sh

ut

tE

rs

to

ck

.co

m/

mA

zz

zu

r


With more than 11,000 fine dining restaurants and

casual eateries, Hong Kong is certainly one of the

world’s best cities for food. Unfortunately, its love

affair with shark fin and turtle soups has received

much criticism from animal rights groups in recent

years; at the same time, cases of contaminated meats

and vegetables imported from mainland China, as well

as the liberal use of MSG in Cantonese-run restaurants,

only add to the perception of an irresponsible and

unhealthy dining scene. ¶ But things are looking up,

as local organic farms and restaurants celebrate the

pleasures of eating ethically and homegrown.

Both commuters and tourists enjoy ferry crossings from the more-than-100-year-old star Ferry company — connecting hong kong island and kowloon, across victoria harbour.


one of the star Ferry piers plays host to

a twice-weekly farmer's market,

boasting carrots and other fresh produce. leo chung, below, is

sourcing supervisor of homegrown Foods, a direct-to-household

service from local farms. (FAr riGht) chung and

ng Ping leung, owner of Zen organic, check

romaine lettuce at leung's farm.

Homegrown goodness

While socially conscious eating has gone

mainstream in Europe, North America

and Australia, it is slower on the uptake

in many Asian countries. In Hong Kong,

agricultural space is limited, so most

foods are imported and sustainable din-

ing has taken longer to gain momentum.

“I can never quite tell if my oranges,

which might have been picked too early

from a farm in Florida, will be sweet and

juicy or dry and tasteless,” says Hong

Kong local Vickie Chan, who enjoys

cooking and throwing big weekend par-

ties for her friends yet finds the markets

to be a gamble.

Although Hong Kong isn’t exactly an

agricultural nation, there is still much

arable land in the New Territories, a low-

density, 952-square-kilometer region (368

square miles) stretching from Kowloon

to the border of China, where much of

the city-state’s food is produced.

Before the 1980s, the New Territories

consisted mainly of old villages, open

fields and duck farms. Since then, it has

become more urbanized, thanks to mas-

sive, government-subsidized housing

projects. Yet it still retains much of its

rural character as compared to other parts

of Hong Kong. Here, wide-open spaces,

countryside and rugged mountains stand

in stark contrast to the urbanity of the

main island and Kowloon. So you’ll be

forgiven if, upon visiting, you think

you’ve stepped into another world.

Organic farming started in Hong

Kong in the 1990s with just 10 farms, but

today there are more than 400, and the

government has an assistance program

for conventional farms that wish to con-

vert to organic practices. Since 2004, the

area has witnessed a threefold increase in

such farms.

Hong Kong has arrived late to the

party, but at least it has arrived.

Going green

Consumers in Hong Kong are becoming

far more conscious about where their food

is sourced, because of the recent food

scares and scandals.

“Of course, our land is limited, but that

doesn’t mean we can’t get more imagina-

tive with our farming techniques,” says

Christine Smith-Mann, spokeswoman for

Integrated Hospitality Management, a

group that has started multiple restau-

rants with a commitment to local, “clean”

(pesticide-free) food.

IHM works with farms like Zen

Organic that use no chemical fertilizers,

herbicides, pesticides or genetically modi-

fied seeds. Additionally, organic farming

values greater crop rotation than tradi-

tional farming, explains Joey Ng, owner of


hong kong's central Market is a bonanza of fresh produce from local farmers. The owners of Posto Pubblico, a new york–style italian osteria, source their ingredients from 10 to 12 such farmers to produce healthy dishes like this ready-to-serve organic vegetable salad.

Zen Organic. That way, he says, “the soil

gets to rest and remains nutrient-rich for

generations to come.”

Ng’s 250,000 square-kilometer farm

is one of the pioneers in Hong Kong’s

burgeoning organic movement. There,

in the greenest area of Ta Kwu Ling in

the northern New Territories, you’ll find

Mediterranean varieties of heirloom and

cherry tomatoes, rainbow carrots, gor-

geous sweet peppers and creamy egg-

plants. Visitors are welcome Tuesday

through Sunday.

Other farms across the region also offer

educational and interactive experiences,

including Rainbow Organic Strawberry

Farm, Kadoorie Farm, Lavender Garden

and Wing Woo Bee Farm. Some even have

cafés, BBQ pits and petting zoos, so visi-

tors can easily make a day trip to one or

more farms in the New Territories to get

better acquainted with the land.

less is more and fresh is best

In 2009, the responsible food movement

in Hong Kong got a much-needed boost

when New Yorkers Todd Darling and

Rob Spina, the duo behind Integrated

Hospitality Management, opened their

dream restaurant. Posto Pubblico is a New

York–style Italian Osteria that uses only

local, organic produce.

Best friends since age 5, Spina and

Darling grew up in New York and had

always wanted to open a business

together. Spina’s family has owned and

operated Italian restaurants since they

emigrated from Italy to the U.S. in the

1940s. Following Posto Pubblico’s rapid

success, IHM launched two new Italian

restaurants, Linguini Fini in 2011 and

Pizzeria Pubblico in June 2012.

The approach in the Posto Pubblico

kitchen is less is more and fresh is best. There’s

no need to complicate things when you’re

using only the freshest goods, so most

dishes comprise four or fewer ingredients.

Posto Pubblico’s chefs serve up hearty

Italian classics such as veal piccata, egg-

plant parmigiana, cacio e pepe (a minimal-

ist pasta dish with cheese and pepper)

and desserts like Sicilian cassata icebox

cake. To further enhance the flavors and

nutrients, Posto Pubblico uses clean cook-

ing methods (baking, shallow frying and

grilling) for lighter and healthier meals.

“Before we opened,” Spina says, “Hong

Kong had never heard of New York Italian.

We saw a real opportunity to cut through

the clutter and do something completely

new in this city. Much like the way Italian

immigrants made the most of the pro-

duce available to them when they arrived

in New York, we are taking the same

recipes and working with local producers

as much as possible.”


“You just can’t compare the taste of

local produce versus imported produce,”

Darling says. “It’s a remarkable difference.”

More than 90 percent of the vegeta-

bles are served within 48 hours of being

harvested. Bread is baked daily in onsite

ovens and the mozzarella cheese is hand-

made every afternoon.

Friends of the Farmers

Darling deals with about 10 to 12 local

farmers and knows them all on a first-

name basis. They all have their own spe-

cialties and for many, what they produce

and how they produce it is a family legacy.

“At first they thought we were a little

crazy,” Darling says, “as none of our com-

petitors were taking the time to go out

to the farms and get produce. They just

weren’t used to it.”

Spina and Darling spent a year seek-

ing out and nurturing relationships with

these farmers, to develop a wider range

of crops and to keep an eye on the quality

and integrity of their food sources.

“Being able to look your local pro-

ducer in the eye, and personally seeing

the conditions in which your ingredients

are grown, is truly rare in Hong Kong,”

Darling says. “But having this luxury gives

you greater peace of mind that what you

are serving in your dishes is the best qual-

ity it can possibly be. And it’s important

that diners are confident about the qual-

ity of the ingredients too.”

Of course, sourcing locally affects a

restaurant’s menu. Some fruits and veg-

etables — like bok choi, choi sum, pump-

kin, beetroots and okra — only grow in

Hong Kong’s winter months; sweet corn,

lychee, mangoes, white eggplants and

spinach only grow during the summer.

So the menu at an organic restaurant is

never static, and diners can always expect

to be surprised by a new invention when

they return.

But Spina and Darling are not the only

ones making a difference. Margaret Xu, a

good friend of the duo, is a well-known

locavore and celebrity chef in Hong Kong

who whips up stunning Cantonese ban-

quet meals using local organic produce in

her private kitchen restaurant, Yin Yang.

There is also Life Café, a trendy little space

in the SoHo (South of Hollywood Road)

district that serves only organic vegetar-

ian fare and is almost always packed dur-

ing lunch. One of the newest kids on the

block is Teakha, an organic teashop and

bakery opened by Hong Kong food writer

Nana Chan in January this year.

Perhaps it’s only a matter of time until

Hong Kong’s reputation as a mecca for

fine cuisine will be replaced by a different,

healthier recognition entirely.

7.selamta september 2012. from farm to plate

Art & Photos