In the past decade, the number of meatless meat offerings have grown exponentially, going beyond burger patties and sausage franks to “chicken strips” from Huera, yakiniku “beef” from Next Meats, fishless fingers from Quorn, “chicken” katsu from Tindle, shredded “pork” from Karana, including Yeung’s own OmniFoods, which offers a wide array of Asian-inspired meat alternatives like dumplings and vegan luncheon meat.
When David Yeung, 45, made the decision to go full vegetarian in 2001—for humanitarian reasons — he subsisted on a diet of mostly tofu, tempeh, mushrooms and fruits with gluten as the plant-based meat alternative. “Social events proved very challenging. Back then restaurants didn’t have much to offer. Your friends feel bad for you, and then you feel bad for yourself, and the restaurant people feel like you are just trying to annoy them,” he laughs.
You can imagine the joy he felt when plant-based meats by pioneering brands like Beyond Meat arrived into the scene in 2012. “As a vegetarian, I’m delighted to have more choices, especially food that I grew up with and have an emotional attachment to such as hot dogs, burgers, nuggets and luncheon meat. Sometimes we crave meat not just for the taste but for the emotional connection and memories. Having something plant-based that tastes like the real thing is an awesome feeling,” says Yueng, who is from Hong Kong.
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