Eat Your Way Through Sustainable Meals Across Asia
If you still think sustainability is a passing trend, data proves otherwise. Entire industries are embracing the movement and in 2018, a recorded 89 percent of businesses have acknowledged the need to address Sustainable Development Goals, reported by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. This wave of eco practices has reached the hospitality realms and currently, Asian hotels and restaurants now have to consider reducing their carbon footprint and think about sustainable seafood.
The travel boom is not exactly contributing to the accomplishment of these goals but a number of award-winning international establishments are, at the very least, giving their customers peace of mind by serving up goodness on a plate.
Tokyo: A sustainable Alain Ducasse dining concept makes its home at the Palace Hotel Tokyo
The five-star Palace Hotel Tokyo has most recently welcomed a new dining concept from none other than Alain Ducasse. On November 1, Ducasse and his team unveiled Esterre, where French haute cuisine meets sustainable, organic, and local ingredients. The chef says his menu will feature only the finest ingredients mother nature has to offer, and this means seasonal dishes, too.
Taipei: On Mondays, they eat green
The metropolitan city of Taipei is quickly becoming one of the top Asian cities for vegetarians and the Grand Hyatt Taipei is taking advantage of this claim by going meatless on Mondays. In partnership with Green Monday, the hotel and its nine restaurants are trading their meat for plant-based alternative omnipork one day a week. In particular, the hotel’s Yun Jin Chinese restaurant has introduced all-new vegetarian offerings to sate the growing number of leaf-eaters in the city.
Vietnam: A seat at mama's table
Moving southward on the world map, The Anam is doing its part by working with actual mothers to prep authentic Vietnamese meals every Friday. Heirloom recipes are usually on the table and there’s novelty in knowing that the staff of half a dozen mothers are lovingly plating up fresh and healthy food for Anam’s diners. The Anam has decided to dub this slow-cooking affair “Mama’s Cooking.”
Bali: A novel take on farm-to-table cooking
The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah in Ubud, Bali uses only the freshest produce from thriving gardens and fields as close to the hotel as possible. Its chef, Khairudin Nor, personally collects the edible weeds and bark from a vegetable garden 50 yards away. Ingredients such as tofu are homemade and eggs are sourced from a nearby farmer. The hotel’s spa has also followed suit in this initiative and now produce massage oils from the botanicals in Nor’s garden.
