Write to Win (Round 9): Design and name three dishes for a restaurant menu

A great cook delivers deep, complex flavours while infusing their story into the food. As an aspiring chef, I will give you a glimpse into my world through a three-course menu.

Many adults find talking to teenagers confusing and challenging. Let’s relax and enjoy an appetiser, “Iceberg”, the first step to understanding one another.

The dish is a mystery, presented beneath a shimmering cloud of dry ice. Once the mist clears, the appetiser is revealed to be cold gelatin-form vegetable soup cubes on iceberg lettuce leaves. Place a cube in your mouth, which will melt to release rich flavour.

Now, before you leave this restaurant and give it a one-star review – hear me out.

This starter is how you view many teenagers, where what you see on the outside does not necessarily show you what is within. Until it melts in your mouth, with warmth and patience, you do not appreciate the appetiser’s complexity.

For the main course, “Raining Tacos”, you are served various ingredients, and tortilla shells shaped like umbrellas. You will use this to craft your own taco!

Your combination might resemble a teenager’s mind: creative and unique but perhaps a little messy. Thoughts constantly race through our heads, maybe at twice the speed of yours.

Finally, dessert. Lake of Lava, or “LOL”, is a lava cake that is soft on the outside and filled with molten chocolate. Adolescents might seem distant at times, but there are layers to us. We are warm and sweet, full of passion and curiosity.

The molten chocolate in the lava cake does not erupt; it slowly flows out when it opens up. Likewise, our relationship with you might take some time and patience to build.

You might finish this three-course meal perplexed. But that is just how the teenage world is, and now you have had a taste!

Write to Win (Round 8): Which animal would judge humans the most?

Have you ever had a meal that feels like a game?

I love creating immersive, interactive experiences for my family. If I could design and name three dishes for a restaurant menu, I would present an unforgettable and educational dining adventure, reflecting Hong Kong’s distinct history and cultural diversity.

First, the “Dim Sum Discovery” starter. Imagine a traditional bamboo steamer basket with dim sum items like siu mai, har gow and char siu bao. Each piece would be placed on top of a paper card detailing the story behind a historical Hong Kong landmark like Murray House or the Tian Tan Buddha (Big Buddha).

As diners lift each dumpling, they will learn about Hong Kong’s heritage, connecting them with the city.

The main course is a mini buffet, “The Cultural Mix & Match”. As a “build-your-own” dining experience, you will mix and match various dishes from places such as Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Japan, Thailand and South Korea. It will include fish and chips, sushi rolls with soy sauce and slices of crispy roast duck with pancakes.

You can even pick out ingredients to make a DIY Thai papaya salad, following the instructions provided at your table. This hands-on experience showcases Hong Kong’s role as an international city, highlighting the diverse cuisines found here.

To finish, the “Tramcar of Tomorrow” dessert represents Hong Kong’s future. On each table, you will find a train track featuring a handcrafted miniature wooden tram – one of Hong Kong’s beloved forms of transport.

Diners can slide open the tram’s little windows, revealing the mini fruit tarts inside its compartments. This dessert blends nostalgia with innovation, envisioning the city’s bright and colourful future.

Through each dish, diners journey through Hong Kong’s past, present and future. The three courses are delicious, interactive and educational, telling a story that will make the meal truly unforgettable.