Artist Steven Tang draws Hong Kong foodCEFR B1
1 Nov 2025
Adapted from Hong Kong Free Press, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Jeanne Rose Gomez, Unsplash
Steven Tang is a 26-year-old Hong Kong artist who draws familiar local dishes with coloured pencils and posts them on Instagram. He began in 2018 and has attracted more than 45,000 followers. Many people praised the lifelike quality of his work, and his first public attention came from a bowl of Yunnan-style rice noodles at TamJai in 2018. He was later featured in Art Central in 2023 and at the Affordable Art Fair last year.
Tang is self-taught and began as a foodie who wanted dishes to come alive on paper. He sometimes takes photographs for reference, and other times he buys food and brings it to his studio to arrange an "ideal" version. He then adjusts form, colour and composition so the finished drawing looks more visually pleasing. He also avoids heavily sauced dishes because they do not look inviting on paper and thinks about what "can sell".
He aims to record tastes that may be fading, such as a two-dish rice meal from a Chinese University of Hong Kong canteen that later closed. After more than seven years of food art, he finds it hard to present familiar dishes in new ways. He also spends more time planning social media posts because platform algorithms changed. His biggest difficulty is finding time to run a studio and teach classes while producing new work. He will hold his first solo exhibition next September and needs more than ten new drawings.
Difficult words
- artist — A person who creates art.
- drawings — Pictures made with lines or colors.
- essence — The most important quality of something.
- pencils — Tools used for writing or drawing.
- exhibitions — Events where art is displayed.
- Instagram — A platform for sharing photos and videos.
- memory — The ability to remember things.
- challenging — Difficult to do or understand.
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- What do you think is the importance of preserving traditional foods?
- How does social media influence an artist's career today?
- Why might artists feel threatened by AI?
- In what ways can art exhibitions benefit artists?
Related articles
Study finds similar narcissism patterns across countries
An international study of over 45,000 people in 53 countries found consistent narcissism patterns. Younger adults and men scored higher, people in wealthier countries scored higher, and group-oriented cultures did not differ much from individualistic ones.
Concerns over arts funding and the future of Bocas Lit Fest
Marina Salandy-Brown links recent funding changes to wider problems in how Trinidad and Tobago values culture. She describes lost sponsorships, gaps in state support and calls for a statutory Arts Council with stable funding.
Shared social media and changing networks in rural families
A study of rural students and one of their parents finds that university often increases who young people meet, while social media usually broadens networks. Sharing platforms between parents and children has mixed effects on network diversity and tolerance.