Wagyu beef and Japanese Kobe beef are the prime cuts on dinner tables. Photos Provided to China Daily

What did we see this year on plates in Hong Kong? For vegetarians and carnivores, 2012 has been a fantastic year. Donna Mah wraps it up.

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With restaurants becoming more aware of the dietary needs of vegetarians and vegans, menus have been expanded and adapted to cater to these diners, and no more so than this year.

Yet, 2012 has also been a year for meat-lovers.

The steakhouse continues to be popular with Hong Kong diners with choices including Australian and Japanese Wagyu, OBE meat, free-range and USDA prime.

Restaurants are now covering all bases with dishes that cater to diners with different dietary requirements. We see many more menus indicating dishes that are gluten-free, egg-free, milk-free and meat-free, or a combination of these.

Where it works: Grassroots Pantry and Mana have both earned a lot of media attention and customers with their organic vegetarian dishes.

More organic ingredients are being used with vegetables being sourced from local farms in the New Territories of Hong Kong or from nearby Guangdong province.