Rubin Verebes is the managing editor of Foodie and is very opinionated. Transforming his hobby of eating and drinking into a career, he shares his account of Hong Kong’s F&B scene and the worldwide state of dining in Rubin’s Take, a monthly opinion column.
After having written about food all day long and then enjoying a meal or drink after work, I typically sequester at home to enjoy some quality time at night in front of my phone, scrolling Instagram for inspiration for my next meal.
In the past decade, food critique and admiration have taken on new forms online. Instagram is beset by creative Hong Kongers documenting every crevice of our edible city to showcase where we can enjoy good grub; we certainly must boast the highest numbers of foodies and influencers in the world.
The buzzwords “new restaurant,” “must try,” “affordable”, and “great quality” fill up my feed with a mélange of fancy visuals. These days, every eatery is seemingly a “hidden gem,” a term bestowed by gourmands to describe the discovery of a restaurant that hasn’t yet caught the attention of the hungry masses.
I have seen Michelin-starred restaurants that have earned decades’ worth of international coverage described as hidden gems, cocktail bars that do not care to gain more customers beyond their neighbourhood crowds, preferring to keep their operations low-key, the bakery or sweet shop now viral online that is actually a big chain across Hong Kong, and far-flung restaurants in the sticks that are booked out for weeks through word of mouth.
No restaurants here in Hong Kong are waiting to be discovered. If a restaurant has not yet caught one’s attention and has survived for a number of years, mass marketing has not been a priority in gathering regulars; they have already gained a loyal following.
With one restaurant for every 588 Hong Kongers in the city, we boast one of the world’s highest density of restaurants. No establishment that operates in Hong Kong has not been successful without the help of locals enjoying its food, presumably by organically discovering the restaurant.
I contend that the phrase “hidden gem” diminishes the true quality of a restaurant, bar, café, bakery, or any other food establishment in the city. There are many hidden restaurants across Hong Kong and tons of gems to enjoy, but to call something a hidden gem? It sounds oxymoronic and too simple.
Every corner of our city takes up life; you would be hard-pressed to find a restaurant hidden from public view, whether physically or on Instagram. There are other ways to highlight a restaurant beyond teasing its previous anonymity to the masses or calling it a gem without offering an explanation as to what makes it stand out.
Instagram cannot break a restaurant, but it can surely make it with legions of foodies preaching its greatness online. Whilst I support the online critique and promotion of Hong Kong’s restaurant scene, perhaps a different word to describe those restaurants offering modest but must-try dining experiences would be more apt.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author’s and do not represent or reflect the views of Foodie.
