To bread or not to bread?

That is the question I ask whenever I sit down to a nice dinner and the server plops down a warm basket of freshly baked goods.

For me, it has always been a struggle and a dilemma to resist nibbling on the provided carbs before a meal, especially if I am feeling a little bit hungry. Deep down, I know it is not wise to fill up on pastries ahead of dinner, but I am such a dough bro that it is difficult to resist drenching the courtesy buns in butter, olive oil, balsamic, tapenade or whatever condiment is provided.

At some of the better establishments around town, these complimentary breads, often baked in-house, are just too good to abstain. I love the warm sourdough at Octavium in Hong Kong. The basket of brioche, focaccia and petit baguettes at Caprice is fantastic, but the ultimate opiate is their tower of Bordier butter. And who can resist the endless soft grissini (breadsticks) laid on the table at Grissini.

When I was younger and carbs were not an enemy, I would happily devour my share of dinner breads and still be able to eat like a horse. Now in middle age, restraint and discipline are necessary traits.

Freshly baked grissini at Grissini at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong hotel, Wan Chai. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

For restaurants, serving free bread is an equally complicated proposition. It is such a time-honoured gesture of hospitality; to do away with it would alienate old-school customers. But in these belt-tightening times, is this added cost really a necessity? The predicament is magnified when diners do not touch the bread, and it just goes to the bin.