(HKTKWW Reporter Lu Jingyi) Every Chinese New Year, a pot of Poon choi which means “all the containers are full-big money is made”is indispensable for most Hong Kong families who value auspicious meanings. As the one-hour living circle of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area gradually takes shape, cold chain delivery has made it possible for a wider variety of Pre-cooked "New Year's Food"to be served on Hong Kong tables. Hong Kong is well-known for its fast-paced lifestyle and high dining costs. Hong Kong now benefits from the convenience of Pre-cooked Food, even the Poon choi, requiring numerous ingredients and advanced cooking techniques, can now be easily prepared at home . On the eve of the New Year of The Dragon, reporters visited one of the Poon choi producers for Hong Kong in the Greater Bay Area, delving into the journey behind the provision of these pre-cookde Poon choi across the border. With the booming sales of the New Year’s food,refrigerated trucks loaded with Cantonese precooked New Year's food are arriving in Hong Kong one after another.The reporters tracks back to the source, visiting the pre-cooked food production base for New Year's food in Shunde, Foshan,operated by Guangdong Pinzhen Fresh Technology.They explore the production line specifically dedicated to supplying Poon choi to Hong Kong.Entering the spacious and clean production workshop, a cool feeling rushed over their face. To ensure freshness, the workshop is maintained at a temperature between 10-18℃. Moreover, the reporter saw through the glass window in the visiting passage, The workshop is fully sealed from floor, walls to ceiling,resembling a giant refrigerator. This meticulous sealing demonstrates the company's stringent attention to detail and its high regard for food hygiene and safety standards.

"Pre-cooked Cantonese New Year's Food Poon choi, are enjoying hot sales in Hong Kong(photographed by Xuhong)." The production process of the Poon choi is meticulous, involving the selection, preparation, and cooking of over a dozen types of ingredients. The production workshop is divided into separate compartments for different stages of the process, each bustling with activity. In the processing area, workers dressed in anti-dust suits, Focusing on cleaning and selecting food material. Inside the cooked food department, ingredients undergo individualized processes such as frying, boiling, simmering, braising, stewing, and stir-frying before being assembled in a step known as "building the basin." Notably, there are dedicated employees who weigh each piece of ingredient to ensure consistency, then layer them according to a specific sequence within the basin, topping it off with a rich abalone sauce. Upon completion, the Poon choi proceed along a conveyor belt for automated packaging and are subsequently transferred to cold storage, where they remain at low temperatures throughout the entire process. The R&d personnel informed the reporters that for certain ingredients of the Poon choi requiring pre-processing, they would be marinated or simmered ahead of time to enhance the depth of flavor. Quick freezing and thawing techniques are very important in pre-cooked food , this production workshop utilizes freezing methods so that even after cooking, the pre-cooked Poon choi can retain over 95% of its original taste. To ensure freshness and texture, they produce each batch on a daily basis. Freshly made Poon choi load and depart at 7am, arrive in Hong Kong at 12:30pm , taking less than half a day to reach their destination. "The first batch of Poon choi sold to Hong Kong were sold out within just two days before the Chinese New Year" said Chen Cuiying, founder and CEO of Guangdong Pinzhen Fresh Technology, with a smile on her face. They also received additional orders from their Hong Kong clients before the Chinese New Year, but due to the rush of producing Poon choi for shipment to Australia and New Zealand, they couldn't fulfill these 'top-up' orders.The Hong Kong market is a significant stop on the journey of Cantonese pre-cooked New Year’s food "going global". Many Cantonese pre-cooked food are specifically targeting the Hong Kong market. Chen Cuiying informed that in order to cater to the taste of Hong Kong people, there are also special flavor adjustments for Hong Kong Poon choi This time, the Poon choi R&D team consisted of 30 people, and they collaborated particularly with Hong Kong enterprises such as  TONG SHUN HING POULTRY (HK) CO., LIMITED and the President of the Shunde Chefs Association. "We tailor the combination and pricing of the Poon choi according to the taste preferences and consumption levels of Hong Kong people, and most of the ingredients come from suppliers within the "Vegetable Basket" in the Greater Bay Area, ensuring both freshness and quality."

As the Chinese New Year approaches, Cantonese-style New Year’s food  Poon choi are beginning to make their way into the Hong Kong and Macao markets. The image shows a pre-cooked Poon choi for the Hong Kong market.The picture shows the Poon choiprepared by the joint efforts of Guangdong Pinzhen Fresh Technology Co., Ltd. and  TONG SHUN HING POULTRY (HK) CO., LIMITED (provided by the interviewee). "From the procurement of raw materials to storage, the entire production cycle is approximately 7-10 days," said Chen Cuiying. Selecting ingredients,development by chefs, conversion through freezing technology, and then large-scale factory production,the entire process is quite intricate. "Once entering the production process, the chefs are responsible for cooking and seasoning; we strive to simplify complex culinary processes into steps that each employee can handle." She explains that they achieve standardization in Poon choi’s quality by monitoring and controlling critical parameters such as processing temperatures and duration throughout every stage of the process." Reporters have learned that, including Poon choi, an increasing number of Cantonese pre-cooked New Year's food are entering the Hong Kong market. In recent years, Guangdong has vigorously promoted the development of the pre-cooked food industry, gradually becoming a national highland for such products with its development level ranking first in the country. In previous years, most of the food supplied by Guangdong to Hong Kong was primary agricultural products, and the relationship between the two sides was simply producers and consumers. However, with the introduction of pre-cooked food deepens the cultural exchange of food in the Greater Bay Area. Today, a variety of authentic Cantonese pre-cooked food like salt-baked chicken, pigeons, goose heads, pickled fish, pork feet in ginger sauce, and so on, are transported to Hong Kong via cold chain logistics, bringing a brand new "New Year food" experience to Hong Kong citizens. “The rapid export of pre-cooked food requires the attention and recognition of many departments to succeed.”said Chen Cuiying, The Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture assists enterprises in sourcing high-quality ingredients from within the Greater Bay Area,also connecting with overseas markets including Hong Kong. Concurrently, customs departments are working to streamline cross-border logistics channels, allowing Cantonese pre-cooked food products to reach Hong Kong as quickly as possible. Chen deeply appreciates this "When producing Poon choi for the Hong Kong market, I genuinely experienced the 'Greater Bay Area Speed'. This is not only about the speed of transportation but also the seamless coordination among various departments, which truly demonstrates the convenience of a unified market within the Greater Bay Area." "No Chicken, No Banquet" The pre-cooked New year’s food blanched chicken for Hong Kong are hot selling In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, there is a culinary custom that says "no chicken, no banquet." In Hong Kong people's reunion dinners, chicken is almost an essential dish in every household. As the largest mainland supplier of food to Hong Kong and Macao, Guangdong provides up to 75% of the poultry meat consumed on Hong Kong tables daily.

The picture shows the production line of Pre-cooked blanched chicken of  TONG SHUN HING POULTRY (HK) CO., LIMITED， This production technology is processed through a microwave+low-temperature slow cooking process to restore the taste of the dishes to a standard level (Provided by the interviewee) As the Chinese New Year approaches, within the pre-cooked food production workshop of  TONG SHUN HING POULTRY (HK) CO., LIMITED, which located in Huizhou, is extraordinary hustle and bustle, pre-cooked blanched chicken are being processed and packaged for delivery to Hong Kong.Shortly thereafter, the refrigerated trucks will pass through the Shenzhen Hong Kong land port, and take a three hour’s drive directly to Hong Kong. Tang Zhenfeng, General Manager of  TONG SHUN HING POULTRY (HK) CO., LIMITED, informed that in this year, the supply volume of pre-cooked blanched chicken and other pre-cooked New Year's foods to Hong Kong remains stable. At present, they mainly supply blanched chicken and other pre-cooked new year’s food to the Business of the Hong Kong market, catering to major restaurants and banquet halls. They anticipate sales to be on par with previous years. Tang Zhenfeng mentioned that in this year, they have partnered with Guangdong Pinzhen Technology, a Shunde-based of Poon choi producer, to create Cantonese-style pre-cooked Poon choi tailored to Hong Kong tastes. The two containers of Poon choi already shipped to Hong Kong have sold out, which "clearly demonstrates the increasing acceptance of pre-cooked  foods in Hong Kong." According to Tang Zhenfeng, such fresh pre-cooked foods are well-suited for short-distance rapid distribution and can be easily marketed within the Greater Bay Area's one-hour living circle without any pressure. He firmly believes that in the future, there will be more pre-cooked New Year’s food from Guangdong with diverse categories for Hong Kong citizens to choose from, and the “New Year's food economy” within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will continue to grow significantly.