- These aren’t your average Deliveroo orders – think Peking duck with steamed pancakes, or a US$230 Hokkaido horsehair crab hotpot
- Belon, Duddell’s and Nikushou all said packaging was one of the biggest issues they faced in creating their takeaway menus
When Anthony Ng Tak-lun first heard reports in late December of a cluster of viral illness in Wuhan, China, he knew he had to modify his restaurant operations.
Having gone through the Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic 17 years ago, although not as a restaurateur, he understood the priority had to be offering a takeaway menu to his customers at Nikushou, a Japanese grilled meat restaurant in Hong Kong, and Seiku, which specialises in kaiseki " a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner " in Shenzhen.
"We also talked with our staff about opening for lunch, which we hadn't done for the past three years," Ng says.
He worked with his Japanese chef in Shenzhen to develop a lunch menu at Nikushou, which doubles as the takeaway menu, and started offering it to customers at the end of January.
It's not the sort of thing the average office worker will order from Deliveroo. Dishes include prawn cutlet sandwiches (HK$108; US$14), wagyu tendon curry rice (HK$148) and koko don (HK$148) " a rice bowl with mentaiko chicken and egg.
There are also much pricier items, such as Nikushou's signature wagyu cutlet sandwiches (HK$418), chirashi don (HK$488) " various slices of sashimi on rice " and saba bonzushi, thick pieces of mackerel pressed onto vinegared rice that needs to be ordered a day in advance and costs HK$588.
Regular Nikushou customers who contact the restaurant directly (rather than through Deliveroo) can order a special gourmet treat: Hokkaido kenagi (horsehair crab) and daikon white radish in miso hotpot for HK$1,800. Everything is cooked in a pot and delivered immediately to the customer's home.
But what happens to the pot? "The customers wash it and send it back to us," Ng says.
One of the largest delivery orders Nikushou received included a whole snow crab with vinegar jelly, the Hokkaido crab with hotpot, curry rice, and saba bonzushi, Ng says. The price? HK$5,600.
If a customer is within a 1.5km (0.9 mile) radius of the restaurant in Causeway Bay, staff will hand-deliver the order; if not, the restaurant uses GoGoVan or Lalamove to transport the food.
Before the coronavirus outbreak fully hit Hong Kong, Nikushou received on average two or three orders for takeaway a day; now it's usually between eight and 10 orders.
"Takeaway brings in some revenue, considering there's been a plunge in customers for dinner (because of the coronavirus)," Ng says. "It helps a little bit, but it's very good in the sense that it motivates the team."
He explains the kitchen has had to adjust its cooking times so that dishes don't arrive overcooked.
"The cutlet sandwiches are obviously better (eaten) at the restaurant " with takeaway, by the time you get it, it's not as moist or as fresh. We ask the customer whether they can reheat them, and if so, we separate the ingredients and instruct them on how to assemble it.
"When it comes to deep-fried pork cutlets with curry rice, we shorten the actual cooking time of the cutlet because it will still be cooking when it's being transported."
The weakest link in the takeaway process is the packaging, he says. His cooks adapt according to the dish, using aluminium foil to wrap the wagyu onsen egg rice, and plastic wrap for the sandwiches to keep them warm. "Overcooking and heat loss deteriorates food quality," Ng says.
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At Belon, a one-Michelin-star neo-Parisian bistro in Hong Kong's Central business district, they were somewhat prepared for takeaway before the coronavirus hit, as regular customers were already asking for items such as dessert or loaves of bread to eat at home, chef Daniel Calvert says.
"One-and-a-half years ago we designed a box for our mille-feuille," Calvert explains of the dessert that has layers of puff pastry with custard piped in between. "The box opens so that the dessert is on its side. We've had guests ask for it for takeaway so we designed a box for it."
Other items available for takeaway include Belon classics such as Nicoise salad with hamachi (HK$368), whole roasted chicken (HK$888) and wild garlic ravioli with burrata (HK$288) " items that Calvert chose because they travel well.
"If this (pandemic) continues, we might do weekly specials or make savoury pies," he says, adding that the restaurant uses lined cardboard boxes to cut down on plastic.
One-Michelin-star Chinese fine-dining restaurant Duddell's started doing takeaway in February " a necessity, they felt, although it was a challenge.
"Doing takeaway is a different operation compared to regular restaurant operations," explains Lorraine Tjhin, public relations manager at Jia Group that owns Duddell's. "After the outbreak we saw more people staying at home and the demand for takeaway (rising). There are people who want to eat Duddell's food."
The whole menu was reviewed by the kitchen team to see what dishes would be suitable for takeaway, such as steamed pork patty with preserved mustard greens and barley, or items not on the regular menu, like spicy aubergine with minced pork and salted fish, and mapo tofu.
"People crave homey, comforting food," Tjhin says. Instead of expensive double-boiled soups for takeaway, the restaurant offers more humble daily soups made with seasonal ingredients.
The most popular takeaway item at Duddell's is the Peking duck with steamed pancakes (which have to be resteamed by the customer) for HK$788, and for an extra HK$100 you get an extra course of minced duck and lettuce wrap.
Just as at Belon and Nikushou, sourcing the best packaging for the food is difficult, Tjhin says. Items like soups and sauces can be messy if the container is not leakproof, and Jia Group " which includes restaurants Mono, Louise and Old Bailey " has tried various kinds of packaging, shapes, sizes and materials.
"Paper containers get moist and leak easily; some can keep the heat but retain too much moisture. If you have fried rice or something deep fried, there's too much moisture and the food becomes soggy," Tjhin says.
Food from Duddell's is further packed in thermal boxes when being transported to retain as much heat as possible, and delivered straight to the customer. If they live far away or are not eating immediately, they are advised on how to best reheat the food.
Duddell's offers a set meal box for lunch for HK$128 or a customised set appetiser and main for two to three people from HK$600. If takeaway orders are more than HK$800, the delivery fee is waived.
While Tjhin admits the cost of logistics is high, resulting in slimmer profits, she says the group believes it is important for the restaurant to have a presence in the takeaway market.
Nikushou
Order through deliveroo.hk or call the restaurant on tel: 2387 2878
Belon
Order through delivery.blacksheeprestaurants.com
Duddell's
Order through jiacatering.com
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