Hong Kong’s Plant-based Gourmet Brand – Plant Sifu™ Partners with Shanghainese Bistro Chain – Shanghai Lao Lao For the Celebration of New-Age Meat-free Shanghainese Delicacies
Exclusive “Veggie Lao Lao” Campaign Redefines Four Shanghai Dining Classics
Hong Kong – Plant Sifu™, Hong Kong’s first locally established and produced plant-based meat brand, is collaborating with xiaolongbao and hand-pulled noodles expert Shanghai Lao Lao Lao to launch a plant-based meat menu to celebrate the Shanghainese bistro chain’s inaugural venture into new-age Chinese cuisine. The Plant Sifu™ “Veggie Lao Lao” collaboration is available across Hong Kong at all 14 outlets until 30 April 2023.
Shanghai Lao Lao has chosen four of its all-time best-selling dishes to be recreated using Plant Sifu™ plant-based pork as a delicious, wholesome alternative to meat, including its artisan xiaolongbao (steamed soup dumplings). “We want to popularise the idea of a plant-based lifestyle through this collaboration with Plant Sifu™, showing that Shanghainese cuisine can be light, with less meat, but taste equally good,” says Stanley Wong Yiu Man and Chan Kim Fung, Assistant Executive Chefs of Shanghai Lao Lao. “Offering a plant-based option to our signature dishes gives customers, loyal and newcomers, a comforting sense of familiarity when trying something ‘new’.”
“Our collaboration with Shanghai Lao Lao represents the first ever plant-based menu for this authentic Shanghainese label under the Café de Coral Group. Since the brand is known for its exceptional craftsmanship, authenticity, and quality, its endorsement is a major testament for Plant Sifu™ as the preferred plant-based option for Chinese and Asian cuisines,” says Joshua Ng, co-founder of Plant Sifu™ parent company Good Food Technologies. “The debut menu includes a plant-based version of xiaolongbao, the globally renowned Shanghainese dim sum staple, which is also Shanghai Lao Lao’s number-one selling item.” The plant-based pork promotion provides nourishing satisfaction and a healthy respite from overindulgence during the festive winter season.
Four Shanghai Lao Lao signatures are reimagined, headlined by the handmade Steamed Pork Dumplings with Plant-based Meat (HK$43 / 4 pieces), which feature Plant Sifu™ GROUND pork. Perfect for steamed dishes, plant-based GROUND pork exemplifies the company’s patented AROMAX™ technology of a 100% plant-based high-fibre and low-calorie konjac that emulates “pork fat” for next-level tenderness and aroma. The dumplings are made in-house at the restaurants’ open kitchens, with each little parcel enriched with tailored vegetable broth, and a strict standard of hand-folding the thin skin 22 times at the top to seal in the goodness. The new Plant Sifu™ version will equal the juiciness and flavour of the traditional meat dumpling recipe.
The other three special dishes showcase the zero-fat Plant Sifu™ MINCE. Noodles in Spicy Sesame & Peanut Soup with Minced Plant-based Meat (HK$68) highlights another Shanghai Lao Lao speciality – toothsome hand-pulled noodles. The noodle soup is a fiery indulgence of chilli oil and fragrant nutty sesame sauce, served with generous helpings of plant-based pork and savoury fermented vegetables.
Stir-fried to order, Sautéed String Beans with Minced Plant-based Meat (HK$80) is the Shanghainese bistro’s go-to vegetable dish. The green beans are deep-fried first to lock in their lovely crunch, then stir-fried with plant-based pork and plenty of ‘wok breath’. As every family’s favourite dish, Braised Bean Curd & Minced Plant-based Meat in Spicy Sauce (HK$78) is a healthy concoction of tongue-numbing chilli-laced bean sauce, silky tofu and lean plant-based pork mince, which is best served with a large bowl of hot white rice.
All Plant Sifu™ plant-based pork products are rich in protein and made with high-quality non-GM soybeans with no added MSG, preservatives, additives or colouring. The brand is beloved by Hong Kong’s leading chefs and Michelin-starred restaurants, especially in Chinese cuisine, for the versatile cookability and mild flavours that provide free rein for the creation of luscious traditional and inventive dishes.
Like Plant Sifu™, Shanghai Lao Lao has risen to become a dominant force in its sector. Growing from a single outlet at Hong Kong International Airport, the burgeoning budget-friendly restaurant chain delights diners with its unique renditions of Shanghainese delicacies, vibrant range of cooking techniques, and handcrafted dumplings and noodles.
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