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MR. BERNACCHI:-What was the reason for the withdrawal: that in the prosecuting officer's opinion it should not have been brought, or failure to deliver the summons?
CHAIRMAN:-Sir, we must have notice of that question.
(4) DR. A. M. S. BELL asked the following question:-
The Council's present policy is to restrict light refreshment restaurants to the sale of such items as sandwiches, cakes, etc., which are not always compatible with the taste of many of the local residents. To meet the needs of the residents, could consideration be given to permitting the sale of congee, wan tan and noodles from such restaurants?
MR. WILFRED S. B. WONG, CHAIRMAN OF THE FOOD AND FOOD PREMISES SELECT Committee, replied as follows:
I am of course prepared to put this matter to the Food and Food Premises Select Committee, of which you Dr. BELL are a member, for consideration.
However, I must point out at this stage that this question is not as simple as it appears. In serving hot Chinese dishes, there are such matters as ratio of kitchen to seating space, type of ovens and fuels and details of dishes which might be sold.
No doubt, these details will be gone into and examined in the light of our present policy which places emphasis on food hygiene, especially where hot Chinese dishes are concerned.
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, I have some supplementary questions. Mr. Wong is, of course, quite correct in saying that I am a member of the Food and Food Premises Select Committee. If I may have your permission to say this first, I have brought this question to the Council because of the lack of success in the Committee to discuss the question. Therefore, I would like to ask one or two questions here in public. In my question I mentioned specifically three types of dishes, congee, noodles and wan tan. Is it not true that cooked food stalls which are fairly widely distributed over the Colony, Mr. Chairman, have very little in the way of ratio of kitchen space to seating accommodation, and yet they produce hot Chinese dishes?
MR. WONG:-Mr. Chairman, I would be very pleased to answer Dr. BELL's question in three stages. In the first place, I think the Committee at which this question was discussed was the Resettlement Management Committee and not the Food and Food Premises Select Committee. I hope my impression is correct. Secondly, as far as the licences for light refreshment restaurants are concerned, they apply to several hundreds of restaurants, and whatever we do for one will have to apply to restaurants throughout the Colony. The question of cooked food stalls is not under the control of this Food and Food Premises Select Committee. It is an institution that is allowed to be carried on. It is not under the supervision of the Food and Food Premises Select Committee and this Council as far as food hygiene is concerned. Also, I would like to state that I will keep an open mind until this matter is properly brought up either at the Food and Food Premises Select Committee or at a joint meeting of the Resettlement Management Committee and the Food and Food Premises Select Committee.
DR. Woo:--Mr. Chairman, may I refresh Mr. WONG's memory. I think the Committee agreed to extend the licences of light refreshment restaurants to allow them to sell congee or wan tan. That was my impression.
MR. WONG:-It was mentioned. I do not think the Committee has passed a resolution to automatically allow congee, wan tan and noodles to be included in the light refreshment restaurant licence. We have not come to a conclusion, and as I said, I would very much welcome this proposal being brought up where we can have the benefit of the views of the department and the Health Officers. It has not been put forward in the form of a proposal.
MR. BERNACCHI:-Mr. Chairman, I would like to preface my question to Mr. WONG with a personal statement. In my capacity as Chairman of the Ad Hoc Sub-Committee on restaurants in resettlement areas, we recommended exactly the same as in the question, namely, that light refreshment licences be extended to the sale of congee, wan tan and noodles. That was passed at the Resettlement Policy Select Committee, and referred to other Select Committees for their comments. I do not think we have yet had the comments of the Food and Food Premises Select Committee. Now my question is, has this report been discussed at the Food and Food Premises Select Committee?
MR. WONG:-I think Members of the Food and Food Premises Select Committee have received that report, and I would very much welcome that this subject be brought up first on the agenda at our next meeting.
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, this matter has in fact been discussed at the Food and Food Premises Select Committee, and the answer was that the majority of the Members were in favour of this, but for some reasons we seemed to get nowhere. This is my reason for bringing it up here now because it does concern resettlement in quite a big way. There is a large number of what were single-bay restaurants in resettle-
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MR. BERNACCHI:-What was the reason for the withdrawal: that in the prosecuting officer's opinion it should not have been brought, or failure to deliver the summons?
CHAIRMAN:-Sir, we must have notice of that question.
(4) DR. A. M. S. BELL asked the following question:-
The Council's present policy is to restrict light refreshment restaurants to the sale of such items as sandwiches, cakes, etc., which are not always compatible with the taste of many of the local residents. To meet the needs of the residents, could consideration be given to permitting the sale of congee, wan tan and noodles from such restaurants?
MR. WILFRED S. B. WONG, CHAIRMAN OF THE FOOD AND FOOD PREMISES SELECT Committee, replied as follows:
I am of course prepared to put this matter to the Food and Food Premises Select Committee, of which you Dr. BELL are a member, for consideration.
However, I must point out at this stage that this question is not as simple as it appears. In serving hot Chinese dishes, there are such matters as ratio of kitchen to seating space, type of ovens and fuels and details of dishes which might be sold.
No doubt, these details will be gone into and examined in the light of our present policy which places emphasis on food hygiene, especially where hot Chinese dishes are concerned.
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, I have some supplementary questions. Mr. Wong is, of course, quite correct in saying that I am a member of the Food and Food Premises Select Committee. If I may have your permission to say this first, I have brought this question to the Council because of the lack of success in the Committee to discuss the question. Therefore, I would like to ask one or two questions here in public. In my question I mentioned specifically three types of dishes, congee, noodles and wan tan. Is it not true that cooked food stalls which are fairly widely distributed over the Colony, Mr. Chairman, have very little in the way of ratio of kitchen space to seating accommodation, and yet they produce hot Chinese dishes?
MR. WONG:-Mr. Chairman, I would be very pleased to answer Dr. BELL's question in three stages. In the first place, I think the Committee at which this question was discussed was the Resettlement Management Committee and not the Food and Food Premises Select Committee. I
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hope my impression is correct. Secondly, as far as the licences for light refreshment restaurants are concerned, they apply to several hundreds of restaurants, and whatever we do for one will have to apply to restaurants throughout the Colony. The question of cooked food stalls is not under the control of this Food and Food Premises Select Committee. It is an institution that is allowed to be carried on. It is not under the supervi- sion of the Food and Food Premises Select Committee and this Council as far as food hygiene is concerned. Also, I would like to state that I will keep an open mind until this matter is properly brought up either at the Food and Food Premises Select Committee or at a joint meeting of the Resettlement Management Committee and the Food and Food Premises Select Committee.
DR. Woo:--Mr. Chairman, may I refresh Mr. WONG's memory. I think the Committee agreed to extend the licences of light refreshment restaurants to allow them to sell congee or wan tan.
That was my impression.
MR. WONG:-It was mentioned. I do not think the Committee has passed a resolution to automatically allow congee, wan tan and noodles to be included in the light refreshment restaurant licence. We have not come to a conclusion, and as I said, I would very much welcome this proposal being brought up where we can have the benefit of the views of the department and the Health Officers. It has not been put forward in the form of a proposal.
MR. BERNACCHI:-Mr. Chairman, I would like to preface my question to Mr. WONG with a personal statement. In my capacity as Chairman of the Ad Hoc Sub-Committee on restaurants in resettlement areas, we recommended exactly the same as in the question, namely, that light refreshment licences be extended to the sale of congee, wan tan and noodles. That was passed at the Resettlement Policy Select Com- mittee, and referred to other Select Committees for their comments. I do not think we have yet had the comments of the Food and Food Premises Select Committee. Now my question is, has this report been discussed at the Food and Food Premises Select Committee?
MR. WONG:-I think Members of the Food and Food Premises Select Committee have received that report, and I would very much welcome that this subject be brought up first on the agenda at our next meeting.
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, this matter has in fact been discussed at the Food and Food Premises Select Committee, and the answer was that the majority of the Members were in favour of this, but for some reasons we seemed to get nowhere. This is my reason for bringing it up here now because it does concern resettlement in quite a big way. There is a large number of what were single-bay restaurants in resettle-
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