Ah yeah, the difficulty of biting is why I don't serve it quite like this. Also for cleaning reasons, sometimes some grit will be trapped in the base.
I usually separate the leaves out, and if it's too big, will give them a few chops to make them more bite-size. This means I don't just get a face full of only bok choy.
Honestly I just picked it here because I thought it'd look nice giving a big hit of green color and gives a good texture addition since everything else is pretty soft, this adds some crunch to the dish. For me there's no vegetable that really stands out to me where I will look forward to it, except maybe roast potatoes lol