A Comparison of Cold-Water Thawing Options in Chinese Restaurants

Abstract

Considering all types of restaurants in Hong Kong, Chinese restaurants have the greatest numerical count, and they represent a significant proportion of local restaurant receipts. Chinese restaurants are also very popular all over the world. However, previous researches showed that Chinese restaurants generally consume more water than other types of restaurant. Specifically, the unique cold-water thawing process in commercial Chinese cooking may increase water consumption in Chinese restaurants. This unique feature has yet been explored in printed literature, thus two case studies and a series of field tests were conducted to examine the cold-water thawing process in Chinese restaurants. The aims were to determine the proportion of water consumed by cold-water thawing, compare the performance and estimate the payback period of various cold-water thawing options. Findings showed that cold-water thawing accounted for around 30% of the water consumption in the studied restaurants. Among various cold-water thawing options, the thawing machine and the microbubble machine showed better overall performance. Their payback periods were around 15.5 months and 10 months respectively. The information and recommendation from this paper can serve as a useful reference for restaurant investors, operators, managers, and consultants in controlling water consumption, and minimizing sewage-related environmental impacts.

Keywords

water consumption Chinese restaurant cold-water thawing sewage

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