San Francisco's Food Truck Dining Scene

Fort Point is the building under the Golden Gate Bridge under blue skies

Yesterday morning we arrived in San Francisco and the blue skies were such a welcome sight from so much rain in Hong Kong.

My cousin took us around in the afternoon, first to Fort Point, which is located under the Golden Gate Bridge -- but it was the fort that was built just before the Civil War, and that position considered as the "key" to the whole Pacific coast.

Looking down inside the fort, that was never used in warfare

The thick brick walls were considered impenetrable, but in the end the fort was never used in warfare.

We got to take look around -- free admission as it is considered on national park land -- though there isn't much to see. My cousin and I climbed up three floors to get to the top to see the underbelly of the bridge, and have a better view of both the Bay Area and the Pacific Ocean on the other side.

Afterwards we grabbed an early dinner at Off the Grid at For Mason nearby in the Presidio area. Every Friday, several food trucks gather in this spot, and with a DJ, some stands selling beer, wine and cocktails, the place was rocking, and hot, with the sun still blazing at 6pm.

Delicious grilled half lobster from Maine with parsley

As my parents had never been to a food truck festival before I was worried about their reaction, but they were game to try this new way of dining. We managed to grab a very tall table and eventually some high stools and we were in business.

Our first dish was a no brainer -- fresh half lobster from Maine cooked on a mesquite grill. The lobster wasn't too big, but the taste was delicious, juicy, meaty and a smoky taste. We even tried to dig out as much meat from the claws as possible.

Then we got some carbs -- a paella with chick peas, chicken, tomato and shrimp. It was quite filling but also very tasty, evidenced by the rice dish being cooked for a long time so that it soaked up all the flavours of the ingredients. Another dish we tried were tater tots garnished with some sour cream and chives.

A few food trips served Filipino food

We washed it all down with some fruit juices from Hawaiian Sun -- the guava and passionfruit with orange flavours were refreshing! And we did some people watching as many brought kids or their furry ones (ie dogs) with them.

There were many other dining options, particularly Filipino, such as lechon, sisig, and adobo, while a Shandong-style dumpling food truck was extremely popular with its constant long queue. You could also get pizza, satays, and Nepalese momos.

For dessert, there was a frozen custard bar that could be covered in chocolate sauce with nuts, and looked so good, but we were already too full. There was also a stand that sold cookie dough, or macarons, or ice cream in between two maracons. Tempting but we had reached our quota!

A big crowd for a Friday evening chowing down

Off the Grid
Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture
2 Marina Boulevard
San Francisco, CA
94123
offthegridsf.com

Greg So: Trying to Leave on Good Terms -- Not

Commerce minister Greg So when he announced HKTV did not get a license

Outgoing Commerce and Economic Development minister Greg So Kam-leung has revealed that HKTV should have gotten a free-to-air license four years ago, and that he almost cried when when he had to announce the government's "collective decision" which resulted in 300 people in the broadcast industry out of work.

In 2013, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and his advisers rejected the application by outspoken businessman Ricky Wong Wai-kay for the broadcast license due to a "basket of factors" -- which are still unknown to this day.

So claims at the time he felt HKTV should have a TV license

"At the time I suggested three licenses should be granted because I believe in competition," So said on a RTHK program on Monday. Only i-Cable's Fantastic TV and PCCW's HK Television Entertainment Company were awarded licenses.

"I tried my best to convince the members at the Executive Council meeting, but I also had to respect the collective decision," he added. "I was trying not to cry when announcing the news [as some 300 people would lose their jobs]," he said.

Are we supposed to feel sympathy for So? Does he want the public to think he was the only rational person in the room but no one was listening or that he was out-voted?

When he was asked about his feelings over implementing a decision he did not believe in, So said: "It was part of my responsibilities... I had to explain to the public. This is the spirit of accountability system."

How about more like, I had to go along with it, otherwise I'd probably be sacked?

Why was So not questioned about the food truck debacle?

So also talked about Uber and its ongoing legalization problems in Hong Kong. He suggested that perhaps the government's regulations were perhaps not accommodating enough for this sharing economy trend.

"If its business model does not contradict the objectives behind our legislation, shouldn't we consider amending the law to allow better development for a sharing economy?" he asked.

Guess that hot potato will be passed onto chief executive-elect Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's administration to handle come July 1.

However, during the RTHK program, did no one challenge So on the abysmal failure of the food truck initiative? Last week the government finally admitted that perhaps some of the locations weren't good for customers. Hello?! We could have told you that!

He should have been raked over the coals for this half-baked idea that got worse and worse.

But perhaps this topic was one he insisted on refusing to talk about, though he was keen on getting the sympathy vote from the public.

Sorry Mr So -- can't have it both ways.

Food Trucks Prove a Tough Business

Food truck locations focus on tourists than locals for business

Looks like food trucks in Hong Kong aren't working out as well as the government had hoped.

The 12 food trucks -- one dropped out before it even started -- were not allowed to stray from its location, were not allowed to adjust the menu, and had to draw a lottery for where they would next be, which meant they could be back in the same place due to their own bad luck instead of being evenly rotated around eight sites.

But now it seems there is an easing of the food truck restrictions with two more locations, Science Park in Sha Tin and AsiaWorld-Expo near the airport when there are events held there.

Yesterday Greg So sampled some food truck dishes

"Some of these venues, in certain time periods, have very little business. So we want to enrich the program, by giving them [the operators] more choices," says commerce minister Greg So Kam-leung, who was sampling food at the most popular food truck destination just outside Disneyland. It's popular because people don't want to pay the exorbitant prices inside the theme park.

The least popular sites are at Ocean Park, Salisbury Garden in Tsim Sha Tsui, Central Harbourfront and Energizing Kowloon East in Kwun Tong.

So reported that daily revenue from the 12 food trucks ranged from HK$3,000 to HK$25,000. As a result, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau decided to allow operators in locations with slow business to go to other locations for a short period of time. In addition, food trucks at Kowloon East could go to Tsim Sha Tsui in the evenings.

Science Park is expected to have 250,000 visitors next year, while AsiaWorld-Expo is booked for 66 days a year.

"We think these two locations are worth a try," So said.

Is this grilled squid a dish that can be eaten as a street food?

But lawmaker Kwok Wai-keung, of the Federation of Trade Unions, said adding new tourist sites just repeated previous mistakes.

"The scheme should focus on residents and encourage small businesses instead of giving tourists priority," he said.

Last month, Capital Cafe quit the food truck business before it even started, citing concerns over the profitability of the scheme, blaming costs and government requirements.

We tend to agree with Kwok. Having visited many of the food trucks myself for a story and seen the situation, the food trucks are just a gimmick, instead of what they are really meant to be -- a platform for chefs to try new culinary ideas and create snacks or food that are easy to eat while standing on the street.

Some dishes were hard to eat standing up or consume using one hand, or they were just too bizarre like fish maw soup. Who buys such a product from a food truck? Many featured pineapple buns made into hamburgers. It's novel, but does it actually taste good? (not really). And price-wise they were hardly value for money.

It's another government scheme that has no imagination and not well thought-out either, as the restrictions are just ridiculous. The whole point of food trucks is having several together in one spot for consumers to choose what they want to eat. And the food trucks should be able to move around to whatever locations will bring them business.

Why not food trucks in Causeway Bay like Victoria Park or on a pedestrian-only street in Central to catch the office crowd?

But the government doesn't seem to understand that...

Finally the Showdown

Thousands showed their support for John Tsang on Friday evening in Central

This is it -- the campaigns by the three candidates to become Hong Kong's next chief executive are over and the voting begins tomorrow.

There wasn't much mudslinging unless you call Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's husband having to come out and deny he had a mistress digging up dirt a mini scandal.

On Friday her rival John Tsang Chun-wah had an open double-decker bus roam around Hong Kong spouting his campaign slogans and in the evening ended in a huge rally in Central by City Hall.

He gave a passionate speech that appealed to several thousand people who showed up.

Carrie Lam's last day on the campaign trail

"Most of you here don't have votes, but still I yearn for your support. Without your support, how would there be any meaning even if I win all Election Committee votes?"

Tsang definitely came across as the every man to the middle class -- oh wait -- his definition is that they drink coffee and watch French movies. And probably eat from food trucks.

But does anyone remember he was conspicuously absent during the Occupy protests? What does he have to say about that? Does he really represent us? Or is he filling the void that Lam can't be bothered to, or isn't capable of doing because she has no clue where to buy toilet paper?

Meanwhile there are reports that on paper Lam has secured 750 votes for tomorrow, but Tsang believes a good chunk of those votes could at the last minute switch to him, seeing as he has a greater popularity with the public than she does.

While public opinion does matter to a degree, Beijing has strongly hinted it wants Lam to become the city's next leader.

Is Tung Chee-hwa showing who his preferred candidate is?

From former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa giving her a bear hug early on, to senior Chinese officials having meetings with some of the Election Committee in Shenzhen that its preferred candidate was Lam, it's quite obvious she is expected to win tomorrow.

Then why even bother having this "small circle" election, when only less than 1,200 people get to vote?

If this is Beijing's idea of a "democracy", we want no part of it, which is why the pan-democrats voted down the electoral reform. While everyone would be able to vote, they would only be able to choose from approved candidates by Beijing.

It's kind of a no-win situation for Hong Kong -- Beijing will always insist it get things its way. There are no compromises.

Protests have been planned tomorrow if and when Lam wins... maybe that's enough to scare voters into putting their money on Tsang. While he has the popular vote, would he have Beijing's blessing?

We will find out tomorrow...

Arthur Li Dismisses John Tsang as CE

Arthur Li says John Tsang isn't the best person to be the leader of Hong Kong

Arthur Li Kwok-cheung can't help himself from bad mouthing Chief Executive candidate John Tsang Chun-wah.

The professor who is an Executive Council member of Hong Kong and a delegate of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, says Tsang gives the public the impression he is a "gentle and nice guy", but that the city's next leader had to be more than that, adding that Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor fits the bill.

"Carrie is extremely hands on, very dedicated and will tackle problems. She will not shy away from difficulties. John is a very nice person, he will sit back, relax and let you get on with it," explained Li.

Li says Carrie Lam is more diligent at getting the work done

He said having a laid-back management style was the worst thing for Hong Kong, which is facing stiff competition from Singapore, Shenzhen and Shanghai.

"Executive Council members have worked with [Lam and Tsang] for a number of years and have seen how they performed. I do not think a single Exco member is supporting Tsang," said Li in Beijing.

Li cited examples of how issues were handled by Tsang, such as HKTV not getting its free-to-air license, Cable TV is shutting down, and how the recently debuted food trucks in the city aren't working out well. "It's disaster after disaster after disaster," he said.

While Tsang came up with the idea of having food trucks in Hong Kong, it was Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So Kam-leung who implemented it, but less than a month in, some operators are complaining about the locations and the lack of customers. One operator has already decided to quit even before rolling out his food truck, despite having paid for it.

John Tsang came up with the idea of food trucks in HK

However, Tsang has said in a previous interview that teamwork and mutual trust are important.

"I rely on my people to do things because... the people you appoint are the people you should trust," he said. "If you don't trust them, why appoint them? And if you appoint them, but you still don't trust them, there must be an issue in your judgment."

Interesting that Li is so outspoken and critical of Tsang -- is he a proxy for Leung Chun-ying, whom Li supported in 2012? For his loyalty, Li was rewarded with an appointment to the governing board of the University of Hong Kong, a move that was strongly criticized by academics in the institution.

May we also add he is the younger brother of David Li Kwok-po, chairman of BEA Bank, and they are the grandsons of the bank's co-founder, Li Koon-chun.

There probably aren't many people on the fence who need to be swayed in this three-horse race -- people on the Election Committee pretty much know who they are voting for. Maybe Hong Kong people want an easy-going guy?

Mr Pringles' Platform and Zhang Dejiang's Meetings

John Tsang officially announced his platform today

Everyone's eagerly talking about the race for the next chief executive of Hong Kong. While many believe it will be Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor who has the upper hand, they have a preference for former Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah.

They call him "potato chips" because he looks like the logo of Pringles chips, a man with a moustache known as "Julius Pringles". Many feel he is more down to earth than Lam, who revealed how out of touch she was when she took a taxi in the middle of the night from her Convention Centre serviced apartment back to her old digs on The Peak to get toilet paper.

Tsang revealed his platform today, promising electoral reform, but also he would enact Article 23, the contentious law on national security that was shelved in 2003. He would give tax breaks to SMEs and allowances for low-income families.

Some believe that he is still favoured by Beijing, otherwise why was he kept on as financial secretary when Leung Chun-ying became Chief Executive? They think that Beijing had a hand in having Tsang stay on...

Zhang Dejiang had meetings with Hong Kong heavyweights

A friend said she liked Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee and we asked her why. She said she's a hard worker, and she has had a tough life -- her husband died young so she was a single parent raising her daughter. As for trying to implement Article 23, she was only doing what she was told to do.

Others like former judge Woo Kwok-hing's personality, but feel he might be "too delicate" to do the job of chief executive in terms of health. They fear another Tung Chee-hwa situation would happen. But he definitely has better Chinese calligraphy skills than the other three candidates.

Adding to the mix is the National People's Congress chairman Zhang Dejiang, who is also the state leader overseeing Hong Kong affairs, go to Shenzhen to meet with influential Hong Kong businessmen and pro-Beijing political parties.

His visit comes a week before the nomination period for the next chief executive begins next Tuesday.

While people who attended the meetings refused to divulge what was said, they would only say it was normal for Beijing to want to know people's opinions on things.

Uh huh.

John Tsang biting into his pineapple bun in Tsim Sha Tsui

The fact the visit was announced after the fact is also curious, but we will leave it at that.

In any event, the other day Tsang visited one of the first three food trucks that have opened for business in Tsim Sha Tsui and got a pineapple bun for HK$20. While he said it tasted good, it was expensive for HK$20.

Excuse me? Isn't he the one who wanted to bring food trucks to Hong Kong? It ain't cheap to set it up, at a minimum of HK$600,000 in start-up costs alone.

Maybe his platform should include measures to prevent landlords from jacking up rents so that small local eateries won't go out of business!

Getting Closer to Food Trucks in Hong Kong

The 16 winners of the cooking competition with Gregory So (in white)

Food trucks in Hong Kong are one step closer to reality after a cook-off was held yesterday at the Chinese Culinary Institute in Pokfulam.

Fifty-one applicants presented their signature dishes to nine judges, many of whom are celebrity chefs, and from there 16 winners were chosen.

What was strange was that the whole process was opaque -- the media wasn't allowed to watch the actually cooking and taste the food, nor did they taste the winning entries either.

Reporters were only shown pictures of the dishes, photographed against dark backgrounds, as if to make them look cooler, but instead made them look less like food truck food.

So wore a chef jacket, but boasts no culinary skills

At the press conference, Gregory So Kam-leung, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development wore a chef's jacket, even though he professed to not have a sophisticated enough palate to judge the applicants' food...

However, six judges came on stage and commented on the winning dishes, some of them making them sound more delicious than they looked. One example from Tan Sing Cafe was a pineapple bun "hamburger", complete with a patty, lettuce, tomato and fried egg.

Another was a whole grilled squid on a bed of greens. It immediately made me think of "chao yao yu", which means deep-fried squid, or the Cantonese slang for "being sacked".

One winning dish from Mitsu Company featured fried rice (also with a fried egg on top), served on a plate that looked like an artist's palette, and on the edge were small containers to hold several different sauces. How was that dish, called "sakura shrimp umami sauce fried rice" supposed to work in a real food truck situation? Does that mean diners have to eat the dish on the plate near the food truck and then return the dish afterwards?

We also wondered about a fish maw soup -- how much was that going to cost? And isn't fish maw expensive?

When reporters talked to some of the winners, they admitted they didn't expect this food truck venture to make much money; they looked at it as an opportunity to be pioneers in this field in Hong Kong and saw it as a way to gain more experience in the food industry.

One successful applicant, Raymond Chu Wai-man, was a chef in the UK for 17 to 18 years, and when he heard Hong Kong was starting a food truck culture, he specifically came back to his hometown to try to get a food truck license.

He'll be selling a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches and real fruit smoothies to go with them.

Turns out only a few were big players, and they weren't even Maxim's, Cafe de Coral or even Butcher's Club. However a subsidiary of Chee Kei, a famous wonton noodle chain won, as well as Beef & Liberty, best known for its burgers and its winner was the slow-cooked pulled pork burger which is already on its menu.

Winning the food test doesn't mean the 16 successful applicants will automatically get food truck licenses -- they still have to individually apply and comply with the requirements of each of the departments involved.

Seems like a lot of hoop jumping for the applicants, while legislation hasn't caught up with the demand for food trucks in the city.

Isn't that like putting the cart before the horse?

The last thing the government should do is leave these 16 winners in a lurch if laws aren't in place to help foster this fledgling industry. They really have invested a lot of time and effort into this project.

In the meantime, what about also boosting our local food culture of dai pai dongs? They're an even more interesting food attraction than food trucks, no?

Plans to Resurrect Queen's Pier?

Remember this? Queen's Pier in Central before it was dismantled in 2008

I still miss Queen's Pier in Central. It used to be so convenient to take the Star Ferry from there to Tsim Sha Tsui and back.

But when I happened to visit Hong Kong in 2008, there were signs all over the pier area, and people protesting its demolition. It was surprising the government would move such an important landmark.

When I moved back two years later, the pier was long gone and you now have to schlep across a long blue walkway all the way to where all the outlying island ferries are just to catch a short Star Ferry ride to Tsim Sha Tsui.

People passionately protested the demolition but to no avail

You really do weigh if it's worth going all the way and take the MTR instead, and so it's not surprising why the Star Ferry keeps losing money. The government seems to want to make it more difficult for people to take cheap transportation that is a part of the local culture.

But wait -- the government hasn't completely killed it -- there are plans to resurrect Queen's Pier and place it somewhere around where piers 9 and 10 are now, which currently aren't being used for anything, except by photographers and anglers.

Yes -- it will not be an actual functioning pier, but a shrine to its former existence.

Why dredge up the past? It wasn't even a nice-looking structure. And more importantly why waste up to HK$305 million taxpayer dollars doing this when the money could be used elsewhere like helping the poor?

Several activists opposed the proposed plan and are calling for the pier to be restored in its original spot, though that could be costly too.

A drawing to show where Queen's Pier would be relocated

"If you put it closer to the original location, it has a much higher heritage value because Edinburgh Place will be complete. And, you have it closer to the old waterfront for tourists, students and children to come back here and realize the waterfront used to be here," says Southern District Councillor and co-founder of Designing Hong Kong's Paul Zimmerman.

Queen's Pier was opened in 1953 as a public pier, and the ceremonial location where Hong Kong governors would arrive and depart before 1997.

And now the structure is being stored in a warehouse...

First of all, why didn't the government listen to the people? And then second, why does it think that everything will be rectified by reassembling the structure for no good reason?

The Star Ferry Terminal has moved a much further distance

The government seems so completely out of touch with what is going on in the city, and thinks that it can spend taxpayer money on frivolous projects, when one in five people in Hong Kong are living below the poverty line and so many people are in need?

Even worse is that we residents have no recourse to vote them out.

After having watched Ten Years, I now see why the movie resonates with people so much. It really does capture the pessimistic mood, the sense of helplessness and frustration people have. Just like in the film, people feel the government is in cahoots with Beijing, and no one is looking out for them, so they have to defend themselves.

That's just a movie, but that's the sentiment people have in reality.

Reassembling Queen's Pier is the most absurd proposal I've heard since Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah's suggestion to bring in food trucks to Hong Kong.

Do they not care about the future of this city and what its residents want it to be?

HK Financial Secretary Promotes Tourism

John Tsang (right) with some fencing students at La Salle College

Tourism is down in Hong Kong, with hotels offering cut rates on rooms -- even Disneyland is slashing its room rates in half -- and there are lots of shopping incentives -- if you have the money to spend.

To pitch in and do his part, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah is starring in a new mildly amusing video encouraging people to visit the city.

It starts off in his alma mater La Salle College where he is a fencing coach -- who knew Tsang was a fencer! -- and then he asks a group of students if they are talking about him.

They reply they talking about Hong Kong and one asks the senior official in a Cantonese pun, "Sir, would you tai sou?" which means "shave", referring to his moustache.

He doesn't miss a beat and instead says, "No, but I'll definitely tai show", or "watch a show".

Groan.

Then the video continues much like any other tourism video with flashy nightlife scenes, mouthwatering food, verdant hills, famous landmarks and so on.

Should we be impressed? Amused? Proud?

Just seems weird the Financial Secretary would do this, but then again practically everyone else in the administration is mired in mini scandals (Paul Chan Mo-po, Gregory So Kam-yuen), or burned out (Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor).

Then again Tsang is the one trying to promote his food truck idea too which is somewhat touristy...

John Tsang's "Localist" Budget

Financial Secretary John Tsang had some breaks for people this year

Today Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah got some rare praise today for his ninth budget that seemed to be more sympathetic with Hong Kong people who have been and will be struggling because of the sluggish economy.

In his speech that took an hour and 25 minutes to read out, Tsang began with giving his take on recent events in the city, describing the Mongkok riots as having turned Hong Kong into a "strange and alien place".

Will Cantonese films like Ten Years get more funding?

"I believe many people share my feelings towards the incident. Distressed and angry, I was perplexed as to why violence had flared in Hong Kong," he said.

"I was shocked that our city could have turned overnight into such a strange and alien place that I hardly recognized. I was troubled why the core values that we long cherished had been devoured by violence and hatred."

He added: "Acute social conflicts will add uncertainties to the already adverse economic environment."

Then he went onto the task at hand, saying Hong Kong's economy grew 2.4 percent last year, but only expects it to expand 1-2 percent this year. Some of his main budget relief measures include reducing salaries taxes by 75 percent to up to HK$20,000, while government rates will be waived up to HK$1,000 per quarter, so homeowners can save up to HK$4,000 a year.

There will be extra allowances for those with social security, old age allowance, or disability allowance, but no rent reductions for those in public housing -- an area that even pro-Beijing lawmakers were not pleased about.

The government will spend more for more beds in hospitals

Spending on health care has almost doubled compared to 10 years ago to HK$57 billion, making up 16.5 percent of the government's expenditure. Most of the money goes to more hospital beds, more operating theatres and specialist outpatient services.

Either the government is not catching up with what public hospitals need, or way more people are getting ill -- which one is it?

Why not spend on trying to encourage people to live healthier so that healthcare spending can go down? In the long run it's better for everyone. The government is trying to get people to eat less, but it doesn't seem to be working when a good amount of space in supermarkets and convenient stores sell junk food...

Tsang is encouraging more companies to invest in research and development, and noted there are 1,600 startups in the city. That doesn't mean all 1,600 of them will succeed, I hope he understands, and many of them want to get to Silicon Valley and not necessarily stay here...

Interestingly, following the runaway success of local indie film Ten Years, Tsang has earmarked HK$20 million into the Film Development Fund to subsidize expenses incurred by locally-produced Cantonese films in distribution and publicity work on the mainland. Funding per film will double to HK$500,000.

Does this mean he will fund more films like Ten Years? Or just sappy Canto romantic comedies or martial arts flicks?

Commerce Secretary Gregory So selling the food truck idea

He is still keen on his pet project of food trucks in the city. Instead of 12 food trucks in six tourist spots, Tsang says the spots will increase to 16 due to "wild interest". However he didn't mention anything about hawkers, which was the cause of the Mongkok riots on February 8...

Perhaps most telling was Tsang's take on the "One Road, One Belt" policy that his boss Leung Chun-ying mentioned 44 times in his policy speech. Instead the Financial Secretary only mentioned it four or five times according to Civic Party leader Allan Leong Kah-kit.

"That has already highlighted their differences. I guess that is also what Tsang wants to highlight," said the lawmaker.

So while Tsang didn't please everyone, most were relieved he was thinking of those who need a few breaks, though they are only short-term measures. He is waiting to see how this year pans out before seeing if more tax breaks are needed, but really, does anyone see a bright spot in Hong Kong's economy anytime soon?

Creative Food Carts in Causeway Bay

Gregory So (right) seeing what it's like to operate a food truck in Australia

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah fantasized about Hong Kong having food trucks in the city, and then his colleague, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung estimated it would take HK$600,000 (US$77,102) in start-up costs, and only 12 of them would be in six tourist spots.

As expected the media and the public ridiculed these government officials for being completely out of touch with the concept of food trucks, how they would be regulated, and that the prohibitive costs would result in only big restaurant groups operating them.

One creative food cart served mini egg waffles to customers

So today some creative designers and hawker groups came out to Causeway Bay to show what they could do -- at a fraction of the cost.

It was their way of sending a message to the government to diversify its food truck offerings and lower start-up costs.

There were 10 small hawker carts, serving snacks like mini egg waffles, Chinese pudding and glutinous rice balls covered in desiccated coconut. The carts were added to old bicycles or small vans, with the construction costs ranging from HK$1,500 to HK$100,000 -- well below So's suggestion of HK$600,000.

"The purpose of the show is to demonstrate that cheaper food trucks could also be unique and artistic, while meeting hygiene requirements," said Chan Ka-hing, who designed some of the food carts.

Another designer, Niles Mak, pointed out the smaller carts would be better because they wouldn't block traffic, compared to a regular food truck.

John Tsang was inspired by the movie Chef to have food trucks

So how about it, Mr So and Mr Tsang? Why not encourage local hawkers to set up shop around town and not necessarily tourist-specific sites, and while we're at it, why not help dai pai dong stalls to flourish in the city?