Sustainability expert and food futurist Sonalie Figueiras is the founder of the media platform Green Queen. She spoke to Andrew Sun. These days I am plant-based, but I grew up an omnivore and was always excited by food.
My parents (a Punjabi mum, a French-Italian dad) were foodies who frequently took me to restaurants and cooked from scratch at home; for sure, our family’s passion is cooking and eating. I started cooking early, too. I remember making my first pesto pasta with sun-dried tomatoes when I was eight or nine.
My on-the-go lunch fave is the made-to-order flats at Treehouse (Shop 1, G/F, H Code, 45 Pottinger Street, Central. Tel: 6022 3262). For a more budget-friendly and delicious meal, the masala dosas at Sangeetha Vegetarian Restaurant (Wing On Plaza, UF1-4 & 31, 62 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.
Tel: 2640 2123) are it. When I need to take someone out for lunch, Mak Mak (Shop 217A, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central. Tel: 2983 1003) has reliably good veggie Thai food that always impresses.
Also, I would take visitors to Arcane (3/F, 18 On Lan Street, Central. Tel: 2728 0178) for Michelin-star quality cuisine, followed by some vegan gelato at Messina (37-43 Pottinger Street, Central). Outside Hong Kong, I love the street food in Vietnam, the ramen in Japan and I have a special love for the dishes of Santiago, Chile.
In Italy, Sosta del Pio (Localita Sosta del Papa 6. 50021 Barberino Val d’Elsa, Italy. Tel: +39 055 807 5923) is a back-roadside spot in Tuscany.