Café Life
Life Café, Soho, Hong Kong.
It was circa 2010 in Hong Kong, and I found myself craving a simple salad. Noticing a cosy place named “Life Café”, perched off the mid-levels escalator, I stuck my head in, listening to sounds of Buena Vista Social Club playing in the atmosphere.
I ordered the “Life Salad”, a hearty salad of tender greens, shredded carrot and beetroot, sprouted seeds, warm homemade hummus and flaxseed crackers. It hit the spot and I became a regular salad muncher there.
Life Café had a good run, in a notoriously transient city for culinary ventures, though in 2015 the place was sadly no more. Reminiscing about Hong Kong whilst preparing a salad for lunch, the “Life Salad” popped into my mind. So I made one. As a tribute to “Life Café”, here is my version:
Salad base
Ingredients:
- Chopped romaine, escarole and radicchio
- Shredded carrot, beetroot, fennel and white cabbage (use a food processor if available)
- Afalfa sprouts, sprouted seeds or pumpkin/sunflower seeds
- Sliced red bell pepper
- Fines Herbes
Cannelli bean hummus
Ingredients
- 400g tin of Cannelli beans (Italian white kidney beans)
- 1 clove of garlic
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Juice of one lemon
- Dash of flaxseed oil (optional)
- Salt and pepper
- Spanish pimentón to garnish
Method:
Blitz all the ingredients in a food processor or blender, add a splash of water if needed to achieve the desired consistency. Spoon into a bowl and dust with pimentón.
Flaxseed crackers
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of golden flaxseed
- 2 tbsp of dark flaxseed
- 2 sundried tomatoes
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Fresh oregano leaves and chopped fresh rosemary
- Pinch of salt
- Splash of water
Method:
Using a blender, blitz the golden flaxseed and all other ingredients into a coarse flaxmeal. Add the dark flaxseeds and water. Mix well. Roll the mixture into a thin layer on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment. Top with another sheet of baking parchment and bake at 180 for 30-40 mins or until nicely toasted. Leave to cool and break the layer into crackers.
Assemble the salad, add a dash of flaxseed oil (optional) and enjoy.
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While nowadays there are plenty of health-conscious eateries in Hong Kong, born out of the naturally arising flow and demand for nourishing fare, the cosy, wooden shackiness of Life remains tough to beat. It was the vibe, the earthiness, the music and the crowd. The food was simple and tasty, no great shakes really, but for a satisfying lunch, or quick bite on my way home, it was the place I wanted to be time and time again. Life was a kind of sanctuary, redolent of a time and place, and perfect for salad-munching alone, or among compadres.
Good times.
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