GBA Lifestyle News
An elevator convo with Silvana and Cecilia Leung. See here for more from our Next Up series.
What do you do?
We are founders of Hong Kong Foodie tasting tours, a food tour operator in Hong Kong that’s passionate about spreading Hong Kong’s culinary culture.
How does your business work?
Led by true locals from this gastronomic mecca, Hong Kong Foodie offers unique, small-group walking tours to help participants explore Hong Kong’s culinary culture. Our mission is to lead hungry souls from around the world to wander off the beaten path and taste some of Hong Kong’s favorite foods. We have researched throughout the city, tried numerous eateries, and talked to restaurant owners before putting together itineraries that feature multiple small, family-run eateries serving many of the locals’ most-loved foods.
During our excursions, our foodie guide will also lead our participants to discover some of Hong Kong’s other aspects — its history, culture, architecture and neighborhoods. Our goal is for everyone to return to these neighborhoods with confidence and to take advantage of the wide range of food and cultural options that our city has to offer.
How did your business get started?
We love food and we love to travel. On our trips, we seek truly local experiences, particularly with local cuisine. Food is a great way through which to learn about a culture. Even before we started Hong Kong Foodie, we were showcasing different local eateries to friends and family both from abroad and here in Hong Kong.
In 2011 when we first started, there were few walking tours to highlight local Hong Kong experiences and no licensed tour operator providing food tours in Hong Kong. As such, we saw an opportunity and combined our passion to create Hong Kong Foodie tasting tours.
Who are your clients?
Anyone who is curious and passionate about Hong Kong’s culinary culture — visitors to Hong Kong, expats, and locals alike.
What’s a day in your working life like?
No two days are alike. Our work ranges from ensuring tours are run smoothly on a daily basis, recruiting new team members, strategizing new tours, planning and executing marketing campaigns, meeting with new and existing partners, responding to customers’ feedback, and, of course, leading foodie tours.
We are also two of the founding members of the Global Food Tourism Association. With Cecilia as the Asia-Pacific chair of the organization, we also devote time to build food tourism in this region and around the world.
Where do you see your business in future?
We want to continue our journey to promote Hong Kong’s culinary culture, our small and family-run local eateries and also food tourism worldwide. Also, of course, we will be launching more tours. Stay tuned for a new tour route soon!
