By Arthur Tam
Swire Properties has again teamed up with social enterprise Honestly Green to organise the highly-anticipated, sustainability-driven Tong Chong Street Market (TCSM) taking place every Sunday from 5 November to 11 February (except 3, 24, 31 December) 2018. Focusing on the concept of “Sunday-Market-on-Wheels” with a brand new, unifying design this time, over 40 innovative food vendors and local farmers will be serving food and selling seasonal produce in a multitude of colourful food truck and movable food stalls while market-goers can enjoy their meal inside of an iconic double-decker bus.
To keep the event fresh and exciting, TCSM will have different food themes this time, for which the 40 vendors specialise in one style of dish or beverage.
To kick off the buzzing event on 5 November, TCSM has collaborated with Twins Kitchen to present the Hong Kong Coffee Festival featuring local and international brewers who will serve some of the most fragrant artisanal roasts. While visitors sip their slow drip, they will have an opportunity to engage in interactive workshops hosted by experts to learn about the philosophy behind coffee brewing and tasting.
Here are the brewers, who are going to keep you well-caffeinated throughout the November Sundays.
APF. KAFE
At APF. KAFE, it is all about simplicity and focusing on the richness of the beans, all sourced from SEVEN SEEDS, a Melbourne-based roaster. The cute coffee house is located in a charming area next to a park and river in Guangzhou and was started by Peter Fong in 2016. They offer an espresso-based drink menu with only two options, black or white, as a way to create an unpretentious atmosphere for customers. Here is your opportunity to try APF’s coffee without taking a train to the mainland.
Roastery Lab by The Coffee Academics
The Coffee Academics is probably one of the most popular and successful artisanal coffee chains in the city. And as part of the brand’s philosophy to expand the culture and knowledge of coffee throughout the city, it set up the Roastery Lab, a research institution that teaches the public how to store beans, roast them and ultimately brew them for the best cup of coffee. Besides coffee, the Coffee Academics kiosk will also be serving their signature chilled Nitro Cascara Tea.
Hazel & Hershey Coffee Roasters
This retail boutique cafe is a one-stop shop for all your coffee needs. Whether you need beans, coffee-making equipment or just an artisanal brew, H&H is the place to go. At TCSM, they will be serving a Nitro Cold Brew. As the name suggests, the coffee is cooled using nitrogen to achieve extra smoothness and extract a fruity sweet flavour from the coffee.
Common Ground
Caleb and Joshua Ng, who curated the coffee vendors showcasing at TCSM through their consultation company Twins Kitchen, are coffee lovers who have turned their cafe Common Ground into quite the cool hangout spot in Sheung Wan. They will be preparing their refreshing coffee soda cocktail infused with roselle and ginger at the market.
Home Brewers
For casual coffee enthusiasts who want to make a good cup of coffee without all the complicated machinery, Home Brewers will teach you how. Here, you can learn how to make a great cup of coffee from the comfort of your home by 2017 Hong Kong Aeropress Champion Alfred Kwok (See interview with Alfred here), Honestly Green founder and TCSM collaborator Janice Leung Hayes, architect and designer H. C. Ng and former cafe owner Michael Wong. They will share some recipes and their philosophy behind coffee.
Return Coffee Roastery
If you want to keep up with the latest trends in coffee, Return Coffee Roastery has you covered with their up-to-date innovations. At the market, they will be serving their signature Return Black, which is a black sesame soy latte, a drink that originated in Melbourne. Another signature is Return Dirty, which is like a reverse espresso with milk. Don’t miss out on their unique brews.
Urban Coffee Roaster
The UCR is becoming quite popular and recently opened its third outpost in Sheung Wan, which is a pop-up and will only be in the area for six months. Many of the cafe’s drinks utilise roasts exclusive to UCR like the highly regarded Oma Block Gesha 1931 from Ethiopia. Apart from coffee, this place is known for serving delicious dishes like avocado and poached egg toast or curry potato rosti.
Goodman Roaster
This roaster specialises in Alisan Coffee, which is brewed from organically grown, handpicked, high-quality beans from the Alishan mountains in Taiwan. Founded by Japanese barista Atsuomi Ito, the goal at Goodman Roaster is to spread the rich, sweet taste of Alishan Coffee around the world.
Café Sausalito
If you’re a fan of Northern California, specifically the Bay Area, Café Sausalito has the roast for you. Named after a charming bayside city, this coffee shop’s signature drink is the Gray Area Espresso, which is a shot of iced coffee mixed with sparkling Earl Grey tea. This drink is a tribute to the chill, relaxing vibe of Sausalito.
Coffee Engineering
As its name implies, Coffee Engineering puts a scientific spin on the art of making coffee. So, for TCSM, they are serving a special concoction called the Siphon Delight, which is coffee brewed with sweet spice and apple in a siphon. This recipe is the ideal comfort beverage for autumn and winter.
Black Sugar Coffee
This cafe is easily identifiable by its shiba inu dog logo and mascot, which is there manning the shop. Besides being pet-friendly, Black Sugar Coffee is an avid supporter of the arts and serves coffee from beans hailing from Taichung in Taiwan.
Read on to find out about the food vendors this time. For TCSM's event details, click here.