JUNE 13, 2004
Prickly heat
Durians are going for as low as 50 cents each and they are not inferior stuff either
By Teo Pau Lin

DURIAN prices are so low this season you can pay like a pauper but eat like a king.

From Geylang to Clementi, many stalls are selling good-grade durians at 50 cents each. Two stalls at Block 539, Bedok North Street 3 have even slashed prices to as low as 10 for $1.

Stall owners say the harvest for Malaysian durians, which are in season between May and July, is plentiful this year.

'There are so many durians this year, we have to sell them cheap,' says Mr Ken Lim, manager of Chin Yong Fruits Trading in Sims Avenue.

Cheap does not mean dry, bland durians that taste like yesterday's dirty socks. You can find top-grade varieties among the 50-cent heaps.

Mr Lim's 50-cent durians come from his company's plantation in Johor Bahru. Each one is small - about the size of two fists - and contains about three to four small-sized seeds. He sells bigger durians at $1 or $2 each, or three for $6, $10 or $20.

But among the 50-cent baskets are quality grades like D13, with the rest of hybrid grades. Mr Lim sells more than 10 baskets of 50-cent durians a day, each containing about 30 to 40 durians.

But you have to sniff out the top quality ones and open them yourself because stall assistants will only open the more expensive varieties.

Still, durian lovers who don't mind a little do-it-yourself have not been deterred by putting their noses to the spikes.

Further along Sims Avenue at Hong Guan Fresh Fruits, 50-cent durians sell better than expensive varieties, says stall assistant Tee Chng Wan.

Customer Mohamad Arifin, 49, says: 'We bought 10 durians for 50 cents each two days ago and we ate them in an hour. They were good. So sweet and fleshy.'

The production supervisor and his wife had come from Marsiling a second time to buy more.

'We're getting 20 this time,' he adds.

Next door at Ah Hung Company, the price for small D24 durians is even lower at just 30 cents.

The durian bonanza seems to have had little trickle-down effect on eateries though.

Blue Ginger Peranakan restaurant in Tanjong Pagar Road says it is not stocking up on cheap durians to make its signature dish, durian chendol.

'We only use fresh durians, since we can get them all year round,' says a restaurant spokesman.

Singapore also imports durians from Thailand, which are in season between March and May, and Indonesia, which are in season between October and December.

For the rest of the year, durians come mainly from Malaysian plantations which produce the fruit in smaller quantities.

Mr Goh Kwee Leng, owner of the 727 Cakerie chain, says the quality of 50-cent durians is not consistent enough to be used in its range of durian cakes, puffs and crepes.

But the good news, he says, is that prices for the top Malaysian grades that he uses, like XO, D13 and 'black pearl', have gone down by as much as half this season.

'We won't change our prices but we'll consider putting more durians into each item,' he says.

When durians were in scarce supply about eight years ago, D24 grades were sold for as much as $20 per kg, says Chin Yong Fruit Trading's Mr Lim.

The last time a durian boom hit Singapore was in 2002 when his Johor Bahru plantation yielded 1,000 baskets of durians a day, and he sold the small ones for as little as 20 cents each.

Singapore imported 28,991 tonnes of durians last year, says the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.

Banned in the MRT and most hotels here, the pungent durian has become more widely available in supermarkets in recent years.

Cold Storage supermarkets now sell them - removed from the shells and wrapped air-tight inside styrofoam boxes - for only $2 per 500g box.

With such low prices, there's no better time to eat durians than now.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THORNY ISSUES

IF YOU'RE buying 50-cent durians, which some stall owners will not open, you will need to know how to choose one yourself. Follow these steps.

Listen: Tap the spikes with the flat of a knife. A ripe fruit gives out a hollow sound.

Touch: Give the fruit a few shakes. When a fruit is ripe, the seeds inside will move.

Smell: Bring the fruit close to your nose and inhale. It should give off a strong smell.

MALAYSIAN durian farmers have classified the fruit into different grades, according to their taste and texture.

No one particular grade is best. Different types appeal to different tastes. The main categories:

D2: The fruit is long and irregular in shape. It's harder to open as the inner shells tend to stick together. The meat is slightly pink and tastes a little bitter.

D13: The fruit is smaller and rounder. The meat is orange in colour and tastes sweet.

D18: It has big, wide spikes. Its flesh is yellow and tastes sweet.

D24: Also known as 'sultan' durian, its meat is yellow and tastes a little bitter. Its supply used to be so rare that only sultans in Malaysia could eat it. Now, it usually comes in large quantities when in season, and can be sold very cheaply.

D101: The fruit has sharp, fine spikes. Its meat is yellow and tastes sweet.

D666: Also known as mau shan wang ('Cat mountain king' in Mandarin), its flesh is yellow and seeds are shrivelled and small. When eaten, it tastes sweet at first but bitter later.

XO: The shell is brown and thin. The meat is light yellow, soft in texture and tastes bitter. The seeds are small.

Durian nutrition:

According to www.nutritiondata.com , there are 147 calories in a 100g (about two seeds) serving of durian. A similar serving of papaya has 39 calories.

A 100g serving of durian has 4g of dietary fibre, compared to 2g for papaya.

Durian is also high in carbohydrates. There are 27g of carbohydrates in a 100g serving, compared to 10g for papaya.

Durian contains 4 per cent fat while most other fruits contain less than 1 per cent. An avocado has 35 per cent fat.

Durian myths:

Consuming alcohol and durians at the same time can be fatal.Fact: In an interview with The New Paper in 2000, Dr Zainal Abidin Mohamad, Malaysia's leading durian researcher, said: 'There is no medical evidence to back this up.'

Eating mangosteens can counter the 'heatiness' of durians.Fact: Once again, Dr Zainal said there is no scientific evidence to support this.

Drinking salted water from a durian shell can eliminate the durian's 'heatiness'.Fact: Nutritionists contacted by LifeStyle declined to comment, but according to Bao Sheng Durian Farm's website, the shell contains anti-heat properties.

Durians are aphrodisiacs.Fact: According to the Cebu Cardiovascular Center's website, there is no scientific evidence for this.

Wash your hands with water run over a durian husk and you will get rid of the smell on your fingers.Fact: Though LifeStyle was unable to confirm this with medical authorities, many websites, including www.virtualtourist.com , and durian lovers vouch for it.

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Durian in different guises


DURIAN RICE DUMPLINGS
Meritus Mandarin Hotel, 333 Orchard Road, tel: 6737-4411
Hours: 8.30am to 8.30pm (Mon to Sat); 8.30am to 6pm (Sun and public holidays)
This is the first time Meritus Mandarin is introducing this. It resembles an ordinary dumpling except that the glutinous rice is wrapped around fresh durian and lotus paste.

DURIAN GELATO
Gelateria Venezia, 1 Fifth Avenue, #01-01 Guthrie House,tel: 6468-3656
Hours: 10am to 10pm daily
Price: $2.80 for a single scoop

CHILLED DURIAN GLUTINOUS BALLS
Da Pai Dang, 301 Upper Thomson Road, #01-112, Thomson Plaza,tel: 6552-1723
Hours: Noon to 9.30pm (Mon to Fri); 10am to 10pm (Sat, Sun and public holidays)
Price: $1 per ball. $6 per box of 6 balls.

DURIAN PASTRIES
Goodwood Park Hotel
22 Scotts Road, tel: 6730-1786
Hours: 9am to 9pm daily
Price: A range of eight different pastries including durian cake ($6.20 per slice) and durian puff ($1.60 per piece), and its latest creation, durian eclair ($3.80 per piece).

Emicakes
23 Teck Chye Terrace, tel: 6281-7731
Hours: 9am to 10pm daily
Price: Fresh D24 durian cake ($63 for an approximately 1.2kg cake), D24 durian puffs ($10.80 for 10 pieces), and durian crepes ($2.70 per piece).

727 Cakerie
22 Yio Chu Kang Road, #01-01 Highland Centre, tel: 6487-2777
Hours: 9am to 9pm (Mon to Sat); 10am to 7pm (Sun and public holidays)
Price: Durian puffs ($3 for a box of six).

DURIANS ONLINE
717 Trading: Visit www.gs.com.sg
Its durian party service will deliver to your home or office. D24 durians cost $8 per kg, and D666 durians cost $10 per kg.

Delivery charge is $20 per order, which is waived if more than 50kg is ordered.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

June 24, 2004
Divine fare

By Zubaidah Nazeer

ONE banquet promises to relive the lavish dinners of old Singapore in the 40s and 50s, while another will serve food in the style of the rich and famous during China’s 18th-century Qing dynasty.

Offerings such as Singapore Heavenly Banquet and the Dream of the Red Chamber banquet in this year’s Singapore Food Festival (SFF) will enrich more than just your tastebuds.

Three master chefs – Sin Leong, Lau Yeok Pui and Hooi Kok Wai – known as the Heavenly Chefs of Singapore in the 70s, will supervise a team of up to 15 chefs to come up with those dishes.

Together with the late chef Tham Mui Kai, the three started out at Cathay Restaurant in the 50s and are proteges of master chef Lo Seng. They are the creators of yusheng (raw fish salad), now a regional Chinese New Year staple consumed for good luck.

Though busy with their own restaurants they have come together in this SFF to make history, again.

They will work with two chefs from China to re-create a course of four appetisers, eight main courses and four desserts as interpreted from the Chinese literary classic The Dream of the Red Chamber.

This is the first time such a banquet will be done here. A third of this novel, about the forbidden romances of 12 beauties, describes extravagant banquets of the rich and famous.

Explained chef Chris Hooi, son of master chef Hooi, who is in charge of overseeing the two banquets: “This will be a rare treat as the banquet has never been conceptualised in Singapore before and only one restaurant in China does it.”

Hooi Senior told Streats that the three veteran chefs went to Beijing and Yang Zhou, where the novel is set, to research the food.

So you can expect appetisers such as smoked carmine goose, main dishes such as Pearl in the Bosom of an Aged Clam (abalone) and desserts such as ru yi cake.

The main highlight of the evening will be the Symphony of Beauties dish – a presentation of diced chicken stuffing wrapped in egg white to resemble the character of one of the 12 beauties.

The event organiser, Conference & Exhibition Management Services (CEMS), said that the ambience of the period will be recreated in the Meritus Mandarin Ballroom.

The ballroom will be draped in red curtains and lanterns, the hotel’s director of special events, Ms Sally Lum, said.

Classical Chinese songs and a short filmlet will also be played to explain the chef’s interpretation of each dish and its significance.

Instead of the conventional 10 persons per table, there will be 12. Cutlery from China will be brought in.

While this banquet tests the chefs’ creativity, another one – Singapore Heavenly Banquet – showcases the master chefs’ wealth of experience in bringing back the forgotten dishes of the 40s and 50s, especially those served at banquets of the rich.

The master chefs will work with their sons, among others, to serve dishes such as the Cantonese speciality deep-fried king prawns stuffed with salted egg yolk and chicken liver and carrot, and wok-fried in classic Chinese sauce; steamed wild coral trout; stewed abalone with goose web in oyster sauce; steamed long cabbage with bamboo pith, and stewed pork belly with yam.

The Singapore Heavenly Banquet will be held on July 17 with part of the proceeds donated to Lions Befrienders Service Organisation.
The 10-course set menu is priced at $3,880 per table or $388 per person.

The Dream of the Red Chamber Banquet will be held on July 31, 7–11pm at the Meritus Mandarin Ballroom.
The 12-course dinner is priced at $3,996 per table of 12 or $333 per person.
UOB credit and debit cardmembers enjoy a 10 per cent discount per person, and 20 per cent discount per table.
Please call 6278-8666, Conference and Exhibition Management Services, for reservations.

Copyright © 2003 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

:( i want to try the 18th century banquet :( so exquisite

wow that banquet sounds really really royal!

JULY 2, 2004
Relive Gluttons Square at Food Fest
GLUTTONS Square, a bustling night-time hawker food destination that flourished from the 1960s to the late 1970s, is back.

Yesterday, 10 food stalls started up at the carpark opposite Centrepoint, selling food like satay, bak kut teh and hokkien mee from 6pm to 6am.

It is the same old site, though there used to be more stalls.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-07-02/h7.jpg
Memories flood back for many as Gluttons Square is revived at the carpark opposite Centrepoint. -- DESMOND FOO

And the atmosphere will last one month: Gluttons Square is part of the month-long Singapore Food Festival.

To mark the opening of the 11th food festival, launched yesterday by Environment Minister Lim Swee Say, there will be four days of festivities at Plaza Singapura.

These include a Great Singapore Durian Dessert Buffet today and teh tarik demonstrations tomorrow.

One highlight comes tomorrow evening, when 10,000 sticks of satay are to be lined up, lengthwise, to form a record-breaking 111m-long line. The Guinness World Record for the longest satay line stands at 83m.

Over 500 volunteers will grill the satay from 5pm onwards.

The satay will eventually be sold, at $10 per 10-stick pack, with half the proceeds going to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.

As for Gluttons Square, after the festival closes at the end of the month, the hawkers will pack up and return to their usual places of business, at such locations as Newton hawker centre.

Yesterday, retiree Sim See Sing, 55, turned up only to be disappointed. 'Everything is different. It's like heaven and hell,' he sighed.

'There were more food choices then. This is too clean and orderly.'

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

open to 6 am?! I must check it out should I be in the city @ night

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 03 July 2004 2211 hrs

Longest satay line of 10,000 sticks sets new record
By Ken Teh, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singaporeans barbecued 10,000 sticks of 'satay' on Saturday as part of the Singapore Food Festival, breaking a world record on the way.

Things were definitely sizzling at Plaza Singapura as over 500 chefs, students and volunteers barbecued 300 kilogrammes of satay meat.

While preparations took over a week, the massive barbecue lasted only five minutes.

The satay line measured a whopping 111 metres, breaking the former 1998 Guinness World Record of 83 metres set by members of Thomson Community Club.

The satay was sold for a dollar a stick to raise funds for charity. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Why is singapore constantly going after such mundane and utterly pointless records?

bo liao.. hhaha.. the record we really need is highest density subway and highest frequency as well..

The New Paper - 09 Jul 2004

'What's the worst that could happen to me?'

Film-maker Morgan Spurlock went on a 30-day all-McDonald's binge
-Weight ballooned from 83kg to 95kg
-Cholesterol level shot up from 165 to 225
-Sex life stalled
-Heart palpitations
-Developed toxic liver
...but lives to tell The New Paper

By Tan Dawn Wei

UNDER the gleaming golden arches, the one making the clown face isn't Ronald McDonald.

It's Morgan Spurlock, a film-maker who, in January, delivered a tight slap in the face of the fast-food industry with his funny yet sobering feature documentary, Super Size Me.

Obviously, McDonald's isn't laughing. Its chief executive officer of Australia has called Spurlock 'stupid' and 'irresponsible' for going on a 30-day all-Mac diet just to drive-thru his point about how bad a fast-food diet can be for you.

Admittedly, Spurlock himself didn't know the extent of the damage such a regime could have on his body.

'I thought, what's the worst that could happen? I might just gain a few kilos and my cholesterol might go up,' said the 33-year-old motor-mouth from London, where he's promoting the film.

But who, in their right minds, would eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at McDonald's every day?

Maybe not. But don't forget, Spurlock's trying to make a point here. In other words, it's the McNuggets, not the chicken that matters.

'No-one may eat Macs for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but I know people in New York who eat Macs for breakfast, Taco Bell for lunch and go home and order Domino's Pizza for dinner,' he asserted.

Judging by his film, which won Best Director at this year's Sundance Film Festival, that point he tries to make screams louder than even the biggest Mac billboards.

Spurlock, once a healthy 83kg at 1.88m, ballooned to 95kg by the end of his 'Macperiment'. His doctors, fearing he'd get liver failure, told him to get off the 5,000 calorie-a-day diet.

By Day Two, he had thrown up after eating his first super-sized meal. And it was all faithfully documented in the movie - some say, a little too well-documented.

'You saw everything in the film. I went to three doctors and only one of them gave me a rectal exam. That's going into the film because you need to know as a viewer.'

He added: 'A third of the way through the diet, my sex life completely fell apart. I couldn't get it up, I couldn't perform. My girlfriend talks about it in the movie. Every guy in the world needs to hear that.'

By Day 21, he was so fed-up (and overfed) he wanted to throw in the towel. 'I woke up in the middle of the night, I was having heart palpitations. It was scary.'

As for people scrunching up their faces in horror at the fast-food reality unfolding onscreen, Spurlock has three words for you: Get a life.

'People need to get out of their little puritanical mindsets and realise that life isn't filled with happy fields and flowers.

'That's why we live in this wonderful McDonald land. That's why our food is called a Happy Meal,' said the New York University alumnus who used to get a MacAttack craving once a month.

For the record, he hasn't stepped into a McDonald's for over a year. Not that he's banned.

The burger-loving director is back to his original weight, thanks to a two-month vegan diet structured by his vegan-chef girlfriend.

But the man is still as fired up about this 'epidemic', where in the US and other parts of the world, this kind of diet has become a 'regular occurence'.

'I picked Macs for a specific reason - because they're the biggest. They influence this industry like no-one else. The movie doesn't tell you not to go to McDonald's. If you like it there, go eat it. But be smart about it.'

For all his blazing chutzpah, Spurlock refuses to call himself an advocate against junk food, but a book that promises to dive deeper into the problem is on the way. And next year, he will turn his scrutiny on something else, although he is tight-lipped about it now.

But he quickly dispenses the suggestion that the nutritional sacrifice has paid off in more ways than one.

'Don't fool yourself. Just because the movie's made US$10 million ($17m) in the US doesn't mean I've made US$10 million.'

So how much has he made?

'Not even half a million.'

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Super Size Mee

YOU don't need to go on a 30-day Mac-out to commit nutritional suicide.

Eating at our hawker centres could just as well take you to the brink.

We give you the skinny on our own Singaporean Super Size Me:

Breakfast: Two pieces of egg prata (576kcal) and coffee with condensed milk (154kcal)

Lunch: 1 bowl of laksa (695kcal), 1 slice of watermelon (52kcal) and 1 can of cola (120kcal)

Dinner: 1 plate of chicken rice (690kcal), ice kachang (258kcal) and 1 can of cola (120kcal).

Total calorie intake for the day = 2,665kcal

According to the Health Promotion Board (HPB), if you're considered a light-activity person (indoor sales person, office worker, housewife), your daily energy need is between 2,100kcal and 2,550 for men and between 1,800kcal and 2,000 for women.

HPB's nutritionist Sherlyn Quek recommends that you make use of the Ask For labels at all hawker centres and food courts, where you can opt for less oil, sauce, sugar, more vegetables and for the skin to be removed.

Eating a fast food meal however, can easily set you for 1,000kcal for just one meal. The mayonnaise and dressings can account for more than 50 per cent of the total calories in one burger alone.

'Consume fast food not more than two times a week,' advises Ms Quek.

Our National Nutrition Survey in 1998 showed that 72 per cent of people eat at fast food restaurants once a week or less and 10 per cent frequent two or more times a week.

So, if you have to satisfy that burger craving, Ms Quek suggests having smaller portions like junior burger or a small-size drink.

To find out the energy and nutrient composition of foods commonly eaten in Singapore, go to HPB's website (www.hpb.gov.sg), under the Food Info Search section.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

JULY 12, 2004
Satay, kaya toast the 'in' things in Japan
By Kwan Weng Kin

TOKYO - Chicken rice, satay and kaya toast are luring customers to a string of new Singapore-style restaurants in Japan.

They are not being run by Singaporeans, but Japanese whose taste buds have been tantalised by these Singapore signature dishes.

For the past 10 months, Mrs Miho Tanaka, who spent three years living in Singapore, has been satisfying cravings for kaya toast at a shop tucked away in a tree-lined avenue in Yokohama, just south of Tokyo.

'I am no professional cook, but I know I can do justice to kaya toast,' said Mrs Tanaka, 39, a pianist and housewife until her foray into the culinary trade.

She also offers satay, curry and other Singapore-style dishes but has had to vary some recipes.

'Most Japanese are not familiar with the taste of pandan leaf so I have had to adjust the recipe to make it more acceptable to local palates,' Mrs Tanaka said.

Although only one in 10 customers had heard of kaya - most were drawn to her shop by a flood of articles about her in the Japanese media - she appears to have a hit on her hands.

'Many of my customers are visitors to the many art galleries along this street. Now I am starting to get repeat customers,' she said.

While Mrs Tanaka is content with 'can't-go-wrong' kaya toast, two gung-ho Japanese men are showing they are anything but chicken.

Mr Shigeki Koshiba, 35, and Mr Shiro Nakanishi, 37, are the co-owners of Hainan Jeefan Shokudo in Roppongi, where the signature dish is - what else? - Hainanese chicken rice.

The venture had its roots at New York's Culinary Institute of America where both went to study French cuisine.

There, Mr Koshiba rustled up a plate of chicken rice - which he learnt to cook from Singaporean classmates at the London School of Economics - for room-mate Nakanishi.

'I smelt a strange aroma wafting up from the kitchen below my room. Koshiba called to me, 'Come, try this'. The chicken rice he cooked was so super, I never forgot the experience,' said Mr Nakanishi.

For a year, they have served the dish, laksa and other Singaporean delights to Japanese and foreigners.

'We make everything ourselves, the sauces for the chicken rice and even the rempah for the laksa using fresh laksa leaves,' said Mr Koshiba.

Their chic restaurant is also a hit with Singaporeans as it is only a few minutes' walk from the Singapore Embassy.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

that's nice to know... singapore culture's getting more recognised...

McNuggets of wisdom

Fast to eat, faster to put on. A satirical documentary sets out to show that eating fast food can make you grossly overweight

By Clarissa Oon

I WOKE up one morning and everyone around me had stopped eating their carbs.

A fellow-journalist quipped thus when I told him that the 1.56m-tall, 47kg old me was on a modified Atkins Diet and cutting down on carbohydrate-rich foods like rice and noodles.

I say 'modified' because I am not avoiding carbs completely. My main aim is to eat healthily rather than shed kilos, so I am also avoiding greasy and fatty food and upping my intake of fruit and veggies.

Really though, someone ought to do a sociological study of how Atkins has changed lifestyles as well as the global food business, with an estimated 30 million Americans, three million Britons and numerous Singaporeans restricting their carbohydrate consumption.

Developed by the late American nutritionist Dr Robert Atkins more than 20 years ago, the scientific basis of the diet is that certain kinds of carbohydrates trigger insulin production, which in turn, leads to the storage of fat in the body.

Among other things, the diet's popularity in the United States has led to falling doughnut sales - doughnut maker Krispy Kreme hit out at Atkins recently - as well as the mushrooming of low-carb drinks, cereals, ice-creams and even fast food, with McDonald's and Burger King putting out low-carb offerings on their menus.

The diet is not without controversy. As one can eat as much protein and even fat as one wants to, Atkins has been blamed for rising cholesterol levels and, most recently, lower female fertility, according to the European Society Of Human Reproduction And Embryology.

Still, the low-carb phenomenon, along with the growing interest in vegan and organic food diets, tells you that more people are getting finicky about what they eat.

And, I would argue, there is reason to be paranoid, given the stranglehold of fast food as well as processed foods on today's world.

Nutritionists can tell you that behind the ease and convenience of fast food is a liberal use of salt, corn syrup sweetener, emulsifiers and hydrogenated fats that improve food appearance and taste while cutting costs.

Providing more ammunition for the health-food lobby is the Sundance award-winning documentary film Super Size Me, which opens here this week.

In it, film-maker Morgan Spurlock undertakes a personal quest to prove that ballooning obesity trends are linked directly to America's obsession with fast food.

In a stunt worthy of the gross-out quotient of reality TV shows like Fear Factor, he decided to eat nothing but McDonald's fare for three meals a day, every day for 30 days straight.

He had to eat every item on its menu at least once.

And whenever the counter staff asked if he would like to 'super size' his meal, that is, go for an extra-large portion, he had to say yes.

Apart from putting on 8.1kg and having his doctor worry that he might suffer from liver failure before the month was up, he also did some investigative journalism.

He went from one US state to another, doing everything from exposing the lack of readily available nutritional information in McDonald's outlets, to watching Illinois teenagers consume fast food and other high-fat, highly processed foods in school cafeterias.

It is a funny, confrontational movie, one which takes a leaf out of Bowling For Columbine film-maker Michael Moore's agitprop book.

Moore basically hit the road addressing the lack of gun control in the US, although if the ample-sized film-maker were to appear in Spurlock's movie, it would be as one of the many overweight people that the camera zooms on, eyes blanked out for anonymity.

Super Size Me was inspired by the real-life lawsuit which two overweight American teenagers filed against McDonald's two years ago, which the company won.

New York Times' film criticA. O. Scott rightly points out that such suits - as with those filed by individuals against tobacco companies - turn on the question of responsibility.

Who bears the burden of accountability? 'Those of us who eat, drink and inhale the products that clog our arteries and corrode our livers and lungs', as he puts it, or the companies which sell and advertise them?

As some critics of Super Size Me have charged, nobody forced Spurlock to go on a 30-day McDonald's-only diet.

In response, its global chief Charlie Bell called the binge 'irresponsible' and claimed that the movie has had no effect on worldwide sales.

McDonald's in Australia even launched a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign when the film was released there last month.

The ads refuted Spurlock's charges point by point, saying that nutrition information is readily available in every restaurant and on the McDonald's website.

The ads also stated that its Chicken McNuggets are made from only breast and thigh meat, and not every part of the chicken.

However to me, the point which the film makes quite effectively is of the marketing power of such fast-food conglomerates.

From the clown mascot Ronald McDonald to the on-site children's playgrounds, birthday parties and the toys that come with Happy Meals, McDonald's has succeeded in embedding itself firmly in each child's imagination.

Spurlock's film also hints at what anti-corporate tracts like Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and Naomi Klein's No Logo have already argued: That such fast-food conglomerates have their profit margins 'protected' by politicos and education boards, given how many school cafeterias have become fast-food outposts.

So what is the individual to do?

Get the information, read the food labels and start counting the calories. With information comes choice, and empowerment.

That's what I will be doing. Now let's see how long I can hold out before hot fudge sundae temptation strikes.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-07-05/maccas.jpg
Big deal: Morgan Spurlock eats nothing but McDonald's for 30 days in Super Size Me to prove that fast food does lead to obesity.

Has anyone watched it? I heard it's quite good.

I think he's crazy to do this to his body.

yah..mad

in fact I dont eat fast food v often and less than when i was a teenager.

i don't think it's a very good example... i dont think that would happen to him if he ate 'normal' portions; like um just a burger with no fries and maybe no soft drinks. the staff may ask if you want to supersize but people dont always say yes. i think anyone eating such large amounts of food would suffer similar ummm similarly for any type of food. excuse my inarticulate-ness.

Besides, fast food sucks! These days, i take every opportunity to eat anything that isn't fast food, simply because i find fastfood blend, common and simply too expensive. I can by a 3-dish meal at the food court near my house that's twice as filling but half as expensive, and it tastes tons better than your average burger. I only like the chicken whopper at BK. It's the only one i actually find quite pleasant, because the chicken isn't processed.

i'd have to say macdonald's is getting very convenient especially now with ez-link as another way to pay... useful on days where you spend every single cent...

Yeah. But the ez-link reader ain't exactly fool-proof, if you know what i mean. It's so troublesome. Hafta wait for the counterperson to activate it. And sometimes it fails and you have to retry. SO irritating. I only buy mcflurries from macdonalds.

(just realised that macdonalds and macintoshes both share the same short form 'mac'. That's just so sick. macdonalds is uber unworthy of harbouring such a glorious title.)

It is spelt McDonald's.:)

oops.

OK, guys! I owe you one! :wave:

I'm back home now. :) Sorry I can't offer such a sterling illustrated account as heirloom did with his food journey a while back, but I can give you a quick overview.

The reason I chose to go to Germany in early June is because it's the white asparagus season. It starts in May and ends on June 24 (don't ask me why). I LOVE fresh white asparagus! :) My mother and I made it three times in her little foldaway kitchen. It's a very simple meal, you just peel the asparagus, boil it, boil some new potatoes on the side, have some nice slices of ham ready, a hit of melted butter (or sauce hollandaise), and there you are. YUM-yum! I also had it in restaurants repeatedly, and several times at my cousin's.

The white asparagus season then seamlessly flows into the chanterelle season, another treat! I had lots of those tasty mushrooms, and also fresh porcini. :cool: I also took shameless advantage of the many other meat offerings (remember, my husband is a vegetarian ;) ), steaks and chops & cutlets & filets mignons, and also duck and deer.

In ENJOYED the food I had during my trip! But the offerings on the home front aren't bad, either. :okay:

glad you enjoyed yourself :) food is always enjoyable unless you're bursting at the seams :p

pity i dont like mushrooms :(

Alright I just have to post this one...coz I was invovled in one of the incidents mentioned! :puke:

Food poisoning cases on the rise

1,048 cases reported this year, twice that of same period last year but Health Ministry said there's no threat to public health

By Radha Basu

THE death last week of a foreign worker, after a meal of rice, dhal, mutton and chicken curry, may have been the first food poisoning fatality here in three years.

While investigations are ongoing, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed that food poisoning cases are generally on the rise - with 1,048 cases recorded in the first six months of this year.

That is more than double the number logged during the same period last year, MOH revealed yesterday in response to a query from The Straits Times.

The number of food hygiene offences is also up, reversing a three-year trend: About 92 cases a month are being logged against food outlets and food handlers this year, according to figures from the National Environment Agency. The rate for all of last year was 61 a month.

The foreign worker, who died of cardio-respiratory failure, was one of 19 who landed in Changi General Hospital (CGH) with diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps after a meal at their Loyang Drive workplace.

Preliminary investigations revealed poor hygiene and food storage practices at the workers' kitchen. Test results on food and water samples are not yet in.

The ministry said there is no threat to public health, as the higher food poisoning figures could have been partly inflated by a 'few institutional outbreaks': 192 students were struck down at the Police Academy, for instance, and 104 others after a restaurant meal.

Last year's figure could also have been artificially low, as the Sars outbreak meant fewer people ate out.

However, doctors and patients also observed that many cases go unreported, so the official figures may understate the situation.

The accident and emergency department of CGH sees about five patients with food poisoning daily. Singapore General Hospital has one a day.

Several private clinics, saying they each saw three to five patients a day, told The Straits Times that many cases may not be reported.

Dr Sanjay Doshi, of MediLine Wei Min Clinic at Serangoon Gardens, noted that pinpointing the cause of a bout of illness was often a 'best guess' affair: 'If, for instance, you eat leftover food you brought home in a doggy bag, chances are that's what caused it.'

If there is underreporting, it is likely that patients simply find it 'too troublesome' to inform MOH, commented occasional victim Christine Ong, 29.

In 2002, after she and a friend shared a meal of char siew noodles and wanton soup, they came down with such severe diarrhoea and vomiting that her friend was warded with dehydration.

'Yet it never occurred to us to complain,' said the analyst, who was ill again recently after a meal with friends on Orchard Road.

Those who do make a report have found the ministry to be quite responsive.

Photographer Jonathan Drake, 38, spent an agonising week alternating between the bathroom and bed last September, after eating a chilled dish of pig's trotters in gelatin at a well-known Chinatown eatery.

His complaint brought MOH quickly to the restaurant, he said, where tests showed that its refrigerated trotters were contaminated with salmonella bacteria. The eatery 'was fined $150 and allotted demerit points'.

The maximum penalty such offenders face under the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations is a fine of $2,000; repeat offenders may face further fines. Under a separate demerit system, repeat offenders may also have their licences suspended or revoked.

GOOD COOKING HABITS

MOST food poisoning can be prevented with these simple steps.

• It's very important to wash your hands before, during and after preparing food.

• Use hot, soapy water to wash cutting boards and utensils used to prepare food.

• After handling raw meat, fish or poultry, do not reuse the same utensil or dish. Bacteria from the raw juices will contaminate other food.

• Wash vegetables and fruits well before eating them.

• Cook food thoroughly.

• Taste food only when it is thoroughly cooked. Use a clean spoon each time.

• Keep hot food hot and cold food cold. If food is allowed to remain at room temper- ature for two hours or longer, bacteria can multiply and cause food poisoning.

• Refrigerate leftovers soon after meals.

• Hot food does not have to be cooled before it is put in the refrigerator.

• After shopping, refrigerate frozen food as soon as possible. If thawed, use right away.

* Tips from Dr Goh Siang Hiong, chief of Changi General Hospital's accident and emergency department

OK, guys! I owe you one! :wave:

The white asparagus season then seamlessly flows into the chanterelle season, another treat! I had lots of those tasty mushrooms, and also fresh porcini. :cool: I also took shameless advantage of the many other meat offerings (remember, my husband is a vegetarian ;) ), steaks and chops & cutlets & filets mignons, and also duck and deer.

In ENJOYED the food I had during my trip! But the offerings on the home front aren't bad, either. :okay:

:rofl:

I can imagine you going into omnivorous or carnivorous mode! :D

But I'm glad you had a great trip in Europe! Which cities did you go to?

I like asparagus cos its crunchy too and the bud/head looks nicely weaved, not too common in Singapore though, more often seen in restaurants :)

Alright I just have to post this one...coz I was invovled in one of the incidents mentioned! :puke:



where did you eat that made you ill? :eek:

I'm glad you had a great trip in Europe! Which cities did you go to?
Thanks for asking, Raffi! :) I actually confined myself to two countries: Germany and Lithuania. My headquarters were in Goettingen, a university town south of Hannover, where I returned time and again between trips. The "big" cities I visited in Germany were Berlin and Hamburg, both extremely rewarding. I also took a number of trips to smaller, sometimes quite rural places: another university town further south beautifully situated on a river with hills around it and a castle on the highest peak, a village in the Bavarian Alps, and to the lovely flat, green countryside north of Hamburg.

Then for the "exotic" part of this year's trip (I've been to Italy, France, the Netherlands & the UK in the past) I chose Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. I found reasonably priced flights from Hamburg on short notice and a hotel on the main street, quite close to the large and infinitely fascinating Old Town.

And was it ever worth it! :banana::banana::banana:

I had read so much about Vilnius and seen so many pictures of it in the Scandinavian and Baltic forum ever since I joined SCity almost 2 years ago that it was absolutely dear and familiar to me when I arrived, almost like coming home. I met six Lithuanian forumers for varying lengths of time, and all six of them were just super nice and sweet and hospitable and happy to have me visit. One of them (John :hug: ) babysat me practically throughout my entire stay.

Vilnius is a very green town, lots of large and small parks throughout the city, and it has two fast flowing rivers, the Vilna and the Neris, which makes for a great number of bridges. :) It is surrounded by hills dotted with commieblocks in the periphery, and its medieval Gediminas Castle is on a hill in the center of town. Vilnius also has an incredible number of churches that dominate the skyline. In the past few years Vilnius has also developed an estimable cluster of new highrise buildings (GREAT views from the skytop bar of the Lietuva Hotel :cheers1: ) and a modern commercial center on the far bank of the Neris. :okay:

One evening the forumer Jeffas :love: drove three of us out into the country to watch the sunset over Trakai Castle (http://img44.photobucket.com/albums/v136/johngang/trakai1.jpg). It was magic! :eek2:


I'm sorry this post has little to do with food; I was very pleased with the offerings, though, and Lithuanian beer is GREAT! :cheers1:


P.S. Since you've already clicked the link & seen Trakai Castle, feel free to go ahead and vote for John's photo of it in this week's Urban Photo Contest (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=118869). :okay:

Wow! That seems like an interesting Europe trip. If I win the lottery or something. I'll definitely would like to visit Europe for a long tour. And the Trakai photo is amazing!!

Wow...its great to meet up with forumers from abroad and when they take u to see the sights of their city. I'm glad you had a great time and its fun travelling alone sometimes too! :yes:

hope if you do ever drop by in this part of the world I'm sure we'd love to bring you to explore the sights of this town :cool:

Thanks, Raffi! Btw I'm still hoping that one of these days during your SG - LDN - SG trips you'll do the SG - SF - LDN route! :)

:D

where did you eat that made you ill? :eek:
Well if you noticed in the article:

"192 students were struck down at the Police Academy"

:puke: :D

OMG! Police Academy some more!

OMG! Police Academy some more!
Yeah lah...but the food was catered from outside mah....

Another scary article:

Should you stick with non-stick Teflon pans?

By Andy Ho

FROM frying pans to muffin trays, the cookware and bakeware in many a home today are likely to be non-stick. None of these utensils carries warning labels.

But perhaps they should. We are now being told that the non-stick Teflon coat may be a sticky problem, that non-stick can make you sick. Once overheated, it can actually kill birds - or give you the flu.

Teflon, the most slippery substance on earth, keeps eggs from sticking to pans or bacon from burning, and makes pots easier to wash. If the coating gets hot enough, the fumes it gives off have been known to kill birds. In these cases of Teflon-toxicosis, as they are called, the bird's lungs bleed and fill up with fluid, so the animal drowns in its own secretions.

If birds keel over and die from Teflon fumes, what about the cook?

First, the fumes can give humans a flu-like illness. Teflon manufacturer DuPont, the second biggest chemical-maker in the United States, acknowledges that the fumes - you won't smell or see any smoke - can cause a condition in humans called 'polymer fume fever'. This is a short, flu-like illness lasting up to two days, with headaches, backaches, chills, and a temperature between 37.7 and 40 deg C.

DuPont admits it is unsafe to use Teflon-coated cookware at temperatures above 260 deg C - although significant breakdown does not occur until 340 deg C, which it claims is well above normal cooking temperatures.

Thus, the company argues, in day-to-day kitchen use, Teflon- coated pots and pans don't get hot enough to release those fumes.

Yet, tests have shown that after only two minutes on the stove, a Teflon-coated pan hits 260 deg C - at which point bacon only begins to get crispy, so it isn't quite done yet. At 290 deg C, ultra-fine particles start coming off the Teflon coating. The hotter it gets, the more these are released, increasing the risk of them being inhaled deep into the lungs.

Teflon-coated cookware can even reach 370 deg C in three to five minutes, when the coatings release 15 harmful gases and chemicals, including two carcinogens and a chemical warfare agent used in the two world wars.

In fact, toxic particles that can kill birds are produced at even lower temperatures. For example, in a peer-reviewed experiment conducted in 1998 by University of Missouri scientists, 2,400 chicks were placed in pens warmed by heat lamp bulbs coated with Teflon that were operating at only 202 deg C. Within three days, with all other causes of death excluded, 52 per cent of the birds were dead.

By now, you should be wondering if that's all. Could other hazards lurk in Teflon? Possibly.

After decades of denial, DuPont was charged last week by the US government with illegally withholding evidence between 1981 and 2001 that a chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid, or C8 - a waxy, soap-like compound used to make Teflon - poses 'substantial risk of injury to human health'.

If proven, this could cost DuPont big bucks. The company denies the charges, but C8 has been shown to cause liver damage and reproductive problems in rats. Higher risks of birth defects and developmental problems in pregnancies of exposed women have also been observed.

C8 can be absorbed by people working in Teflon plants or simply from the environment. Entirely man-made, it is semi-volatile and can be spread by the wind: It has turned up in the blood of people and animals in areas far removed from where Teflon is made or used, including remote areas of China. In one large US sample of thousands, 90 per cent tested positive for C8 in their blood, especially children.

DuPont Singapore does not make Teflon at its Changi, Tuas or Jurong Island plants. However, local consumers should still care because we don't yet know how C8 actually finds its way into our blood. Scientists are now scrambling to establish this, because the answer will tell us if we can absorb the substance from everyday items with Teflon coatings.

The possibility that Teflon used to protect carpets and upholstery may give off the chemical cannot be ruled out. It could also be absorbed directly through the skin from stainproof apparel coated with Teflon. Or some nail polish.

Then, there is grease-resistant food packaging used by fast-food restaurants, like French fries cartons and pizza boxes, as well as paper plates and microwave popcorn bags. Often, a very small Teflon-like polymer is used to keep grease from seeping through paper or cardboard.

When ingested, the compound can break down into C8 within our bodies. So people could be ingesting C8 transferred from packaging to food. Although this has not been ascertained, studies show that at least one similar compound used in paper-protection applications is readily found in the blood of those exposed to it.

More generally, the greatest worry is possible long-term effects in a generation that has grown up using Teflon products, including fast-food packaging. Tracking C8 has not been done heretofore because it is an unregulated chemical, so users don't have to report it to the authorities. The US government began its own inquiries in April last year and, pending its results, says consumers need not stop using Teflon products.

So what to do until the verdict is in? You could limit the use of Teflon-coated things, especially cookware. If you keep using such cookware, put food into your non-stick pan quickly so it doesn't get too hot too soon. Also, cook at lower rather than higher temperatures.

Or, you could just switch to stainless steel cookware and aluminium bakeware. Yes, food might stick but there won't be any toxic fumes - and perhaps your kitchen canary will get to live a little longer.

Scary indeed :eek: . Thanks for the article Huaiwei.

oh gross..I've been cooking with a Teflon frying pan! Its really convenient..next time I'll try to fry stuff using a steel saucepan

Glad to see that a small article here can be of some positive influence! ;)

Maybe we should all just go back to the times of that metal wok! :D

Grape expectations

NTUC FairPrice is going deeper into the lifestyle market with its Just Wine Club, which will offer wine-related activities and discounts on wine

By Sandra Leong

IN 1970, Mr Chandra Das was introduced to the art of wine appreciation by a French connoisseur who had been a wine consultant to the Shah of Iran.

Based in Moscow at the time as Singapore's trade representative in the then USSR, he was served two glasses of white wine: a cheap Spanish wine and a standard French Chardonnay.

When asked to choose one, he instinctively opted for the latter. To his surprise, the Frenchman then declared the lesson over.

'He said that was all I needed to know about drinking wine,' recalled Mr Das, the chairman of the NTUC FairPrice supermarket chain.

'You may not be able to say why you like drinking a particular wine, but as long as you like it, that's good enough for any wine drinker.'

His long-held philosophy is perhaps ample justification for FairPrice's latest move to cultivate wine-drinking among the masses.

Yesterday, the supermarket with a largely heartland customer base launched its membership-only Just Wine Club, dispelling notions that sipping wine is reserved only for the affluent and well-educated.

'I don't see why taxi drivers cannot buy wine,' said Mr Das, 64, when asked if a typical HDB-dwelling FairPrice customer would take to wine-drinking.

'Just look at any Chinese wedding dinner now. I guarantee you that 10 out of 10 serve wine.'

He added: 'Singaporeans are more well-travelled and have tasted wine in foreign countries. Wine-drinking has become more common.'

For a $20 one-year membership fee, club members enjoy invitations to wine tours at home and overseas, seminars and tasting sessions. Already on the cards are a wine-tasting event next month and a wine dinner in September (see story above).

In addition, they get an 8 per cent discount on wines at FairPrice, Liberty Market and Cheers outlets. The latter two are sister brands of the FairPrice chain of retail outlets.

The club, launched in partnership with the 12,000 member-strong National University of Singapore Society (NUSS), is also part of the supermarket's efforts to expand its in-store wine selection, which includes a range of Australian, New Zealand and French bottles.

FairPrice carries a total of 1,500 wine lines in most of its 72 supermarkets in HDB or residential estates.

Five years ago, it stocked 1,000 lines, says Mr Gerry Lee, its general manager for purchasing and trading, and the newly appointed president of the club.

All new large FairPrice supermarkets or newly-renovated ones feature dedicated wine corners. The largest wine corner at the Bukit Timah Plaza outlet is 1,000 sq ft.

Before the end of this year, FairPrice will open three new stores in Tiong Bahru Plaza, Punggol and Depot Road.

Figures provided by International Enterprise Singapore indicate a booming wine business. Last year, at least $251 million worth of wines were imported into the country.

PRICES WILL BE AFFORDABLE

FOR a supermarket that has long prided itself on offering value-for-money groceries, FairPrice's active foray into the wine business may seem incongruous to some.

Wines started appearing on its shelves in the 1970s, but it was only in 1995 that a dedicated wine corner was set up at the Tampines Mall outlet.

Mr Das, who was once quoted as saying he would lose sleep if FairPrice was overcharging for rice, said his social mission of charging 'affordable prices' has not changed.

Far from gunning for snob appeal, the chain sells mainly low- to mid-range wines at $13 to $40. Still, these prices are purportedly lower than those of other supermarkets, even if only marginally so.

A Life! check revealed, for instance, an Australian Wolf Blass Classic Red Label Cabernet Sauvignon being sold at $21.41 at FairPrice, compared to $21.70 at Cold Storage.

'We are selling affordable table wines. If you want a really good wine, you won't go to a supermarket,' said Mr Das.

'But the difference between us and other wine merchants is that we can bulk-sell. We work with a lower margin and so the price difference is fairly substantial.'

Though he declined to reveal figures, he said that sales of wine at FairPrice had increased by up to 35 per cent per year from 2000 to 2003. It is forecasting growth of 25 per cent per year for the coming two years.

Mr Lee added that customers typically prefer 'new world wines' like Lindemans or FairPrice's private label Paringa from Australia, and Coopers Creek and Montana from New Zealand.

'Prices of these wines are are relatively lower and their labels are easier to read,' Mr Lee said.

Ms Anjali Grover, a senior consultant at international branding consultancy FutureBrand, thinks the new wine-club concept makes good business sense.

'People who are not used to drinking wine aspire to do so but are probably intimidated by the experience of having to buy it,' she says.

'If FairPrice can take the product to heartlanders and educate them with what wines are all about, they have the potential to open up a new market and enlarge the pie.'

Administrative assistant and 'casual wine drinker' Molly Goh, 28, says she will consider joining the wine club.

'I've always thought that wine clubs were for atas (high-class) people, but this is worth a shot.'

COLD STORAGE IS NOT WORRIED

FOR now, it would appear that FairPrice is muscling its way into the territory of Cold Storage, a rival supermarket chain with a comparable selection of wines.

While Cold Storage did not want to comment on its competitor, its spokesman said that it is the 'biggest supplier of wines in Singapore among the supermarket retailers' with more than 1,600 lines carried at most of its 32 Cold Storage and Market Place stores.

FairPrice's wine club is also not new to the supermarket scene.

Cold Storage's own Vineyard Club was set up in November 2002. Membership is free and members are invited to wine-tasting sessions, dinners and shows, and kept in the loop through a monthly newsletter The Wine Press.

They also get to preview new or limited edition wines and befriend other wine aficionados.

The company did not want to reveal exact figures, but said about 'a few thousand' members have been recruited.

Mr Das conceded that Cold Storage has been 'dominating the wine market for a long time'. But he added that FairPrice's 'wider reach' enabled the supermarket to 'benchmark' prices.

'If FairPrice sells something at a particular price, others would be hard put to place it higher.'

Other chains like Shop 'N' Save, Carrefour and Giant carry wines too, but are generally less aggressive in the wine business.

Ms Grover does not think FairPrice and Cold Storage will go head-on to lure wine buyers.

Because Cold Storage's typically expatriate or yuppie clientele are less 'price sensitive' when it comes to buying wine, she does not see 'a drastic change where people who go to Cold Storage will start going to FairPrice'.

More likely, supermarkets will begin to differentiate themselves with their selection of wines, predicts Dr Lynda Wee, consultant at the Centre for Innovation and Enterprise at Republic Polytechnic.

'So people need to know how to read wine labels to understand the differences.'

But for wine-lovers, any move to promote wine culture in Singapore is embraced.

Mr Kelvin Tan, vice-chairman of the Singapore-Australian Wine Importers Group, says: 'If more education and focus is put into wine-drinking, this will raise the profile of the entire industry as a whole.'

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-07-22/wine1.jpg
IN HIGH SPIRITS: Mr Chandra Das, chairman of the NTUC FairPrice supermarket chain, wants to bring wine appreciation to the masses. PHOTO: JOYCE FANG

Tasty facts about MSG

WHAT is in MSG and how does it enhance the taste of food? Does it harm the body?


The humble MSG, flavour enhancer, and a substance that is Generally Recognised as Safe. MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is a well-known flavour enhancer.

MSG is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. Sold as a fine white crystalline substance, it is made up of 78.1 per cent glutamate, 12.3 per cent sodium and 9.6 per cent water. Glutamate is one of the most abundant amino acids found naturally in the body (0.6 per cent in free form, 99.4 per cent bound to proteins).

In 1908, Professor Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University first identified its unique taste through his experiments with broth prepared using kombu seaweed. The taste of glutamate was referred to as umami, an independent basic taste alongside the quartet of sweet, sour, salty and bitter that are widely accepted.

MSG was ideal as a food seasoning as it did not have a smell or specific texture of its own. Thereafter, it was used in many dishes to enhance the original flavour of food, making good food taste better.

Today, MSG is produced through fermentation from molasses, sugar cane or sugar beets and food starch from tapioca or cereals, and used in great quantities in the food-processing industry.

As amino acids are building blocks of proteins, glutamate occurs naturally in many living things and protein-rich foods such as meat, milk, cheese, poultry and vegetables. There is 'bound' glutamate, linked to proteins, and 'free' glutamate, which is not linked to proteins.

Only the 'free' glutamate improves the flavour of food. When added to food, it provides the same flavour as the glutamate that occurs naturally in food.

'Free' glutamate is most commonly found in vegetables. So, an intensified savoury umami flavour is obtained when cooked meat and vegetables are consumed together.

It is amazing how Mother Nature has designed our taste buds to make a balanced diet more palatable. This also explains the simple gastronomic delight of sprinkling Parmesan cheese on pizza and pasta, and drizzling tomato ketchup on french fries and hamburgers.

One can also understand now why fermented fish sauces and extracts of meat and vegetables have been so valued for many years - shottsuru of Japan, ngan-pya-ye of Myanmar, patis of the Philippines, garum of ancient Rome, nam pla of Thailand, nuoc mam tom chat of Vietnam, Bovril, Vegemite, Marmite and Worcestershire sauce.

These, together with soya sauce, young peas, ripe tomatoes, oysters, mushrooms and human milk, contain huge amounts of free glutamate.

Glutamate is the major source of energy for the intestinal mucosa, with 95 per cent of it completely metabolised in the intestinal wall during absorption.

The amount of glutamate taken in food is about 17g a day. It has been estimated that daily glutamate intake from added MSG is 0.35g to 3g a day. About 14g is excreted via faeces, urine and skin in a day.

Health experts recommend consuming no more than 2,000mg a day of sodium in the diet, equivalent to one teaspoon of salt (5g).

A teaspoon of MSG (3.8g) contains 467mg of sodium, about a quarter the amount in a teaspoon of salt.

Some reports suggest that when MSG is used instead of salt, the amount of sodium in the recipe can be reduced by 30 to 40 per cent.

Adding excessive amounts of MSG does not improve the taste of a dish.

For better management of sodium intake, do cut back on using salt and salty seasonings when preparing food. Use natural seasonings such as lemon juice, herbs and spices instead. When eating out, ask for less sauce and gravy, and always taste the food first.

The United States Food and Drug Administration considers MSG a Gras, or Generally Recognised As Safe, substance. A 1995 report by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology concluded that there was no difference between naturally-occurring free glutamate in foods and the manufactured type found in MSG.

The American Dietetic Association says that people who need to control their sodium intake, and those with decreased taste sensation, such as the elderly, could use MSG.

Scientific evidence has shown no association of MSG with the concerns of hair loss, headache and allergic reactions. MSG is a permitted flavour enhancer under Singapore's Sale of Food Act.

Ms Janice Tan
Lecturer
Natural Sciences and Science Education
National Institute of Education

Flour power

Yeast is yeast and West is West but with bread, the twain meet as shops fight for a share of buyers' dough

By Tan Shzr Ee

YOU'VE known this all along - bread isn't just bread. It's a restaurant business. It's money. It's someone's livelihood. And, more recently, it's become a lifestyle.

BreadTalk, that cool-as-can-be chain with its open-kitchen boutique bakeries, catalysed the buzz in 2000.

Last month, it opened its 24th store, in Bishan, a full sit-down cafe themed on bread and serving a range of frappes and speciality coffees. Last year, the company most famous for its soft and sweet breads posted a turnover of $40.2 million.

Clones of the chain have sprouted in neighbourhood shops, from Cake History and Fresh in Toa Payoh to outfits in Pasir Ris. They mimic BreadTalk's minimalist decor and offer $1 deals in a bid to lure customers.

In 2000, dim sum chain Crystal Jade also started a cakery arm, focusing on Hong Kong-styled buns. Business has been brisk: There are now seven outlets here, with two more coming up.

Meanwhile, bakeries that entered the scene earlier, such as Four Leaves, Delifrance, Prima Deli, Simply Bread and Bakery Depot, are rolling in the dough as they refine their recipes or look for new organic niches in European and Japanese-styled breadmaking trends.

Newer chains like Cedele and Secret Recipe are also creeping into or enlarging the market by way of the cake industry.

Even the drinks industry is cashing in: Cafe chain Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf recently started a home-delivery cake service.

Everyone is waiting for the yeast to fall 'but there's still room to grow', maintains BreadTalk's head of brand development, Ms Joyce Koh.

She is the person who comes up with the chain's zany bun names, from Miss Corngeniality to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Bacon.

'There's a lot more to explore - we only have to be aware of what our consumers want, adapt quickly enough and market them.'

Earlier this year, BreadTalk launched its new range of buns with a fashion show of models clad in pork floss-inspired gear.

It also marked its fourth anniversary in July with three days of storewide $1 offers - 'not a price war', she adds quickly. 'We're just doing this to thank our customers.'

Yet for all the celebration, is there really enough yeast to sustain the super-quick rise in the industry? Are there one too many copycats in the industry, or crossovers to the restaurant business?

FOR all of BreadTalk's big campaigns, the company actually posted smaller profits last year, falling from $3.4 million to $976,000. Its stock also fell from its 42-cent high of 2003 to 28 cents, when it closed last Friday.

However, the fall in profits was largely due to costs accruing from the expansion of its many branches.

Indeed, Ms Koh thinks there is still a way to go before saturation point is hit, simply because 'we don't see ourselves competing in only the bread business, but something larger'.

No surprise, then, that it is trying for a corner of the restaurant market by starting a cafe in addition to its takeaway business.

This is not just a matter of hungering for a bigger slice of the scene than a survival tactic.

As bakeries strain the upper limit of the domestic market here, many are venturing abroad. Both Baker's Inn and BreadTalk are in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The battle for customers, BreadTalk's Ms Koh reveals, is not just one held against other bakeries, but for movie-goers, book-lovers and fashion fans too - 'basically anybody who would change his mind on spending his money on something else and switch to bread'.

'We cater to the Singaporean who is in a hurry, who wants to pick up something convenient and move on with his schedule. Our products are not staples, like rice, in the Asian diet. They are snacks. Which is why our breads are not too big and are easy to carry,' she adds.

'We are like a fashion store, except that we sell bread. The items change. The shelving is hip and different. It's a lifestyle thing.'

OTHER bakeries couldn't agree more, even as they speak from slightly different standpoints.

Malaysian-owned Secret Recipe's Lee Han Fong equates his 10-outlet cake chain with a higher lifestyle premium. 'To be seen in such a cafe or bakery is itself a lifestyle statement comparable to wearing Gucci or driving a BMW,' he maintains.

Yet others have jumped onto the 'health-conscious' bandwagon.

Bakery Depot's founder Yap Cheng Guat, as well as Simply Bread's Christine Fam, specialise in European-styled grainy loaves that are not sweetened like the offerings from BreadTalk and Four Leaves.

Ms Yap maintains that 'each loaf has its own recipe and undergoes a long, hand-baked process. We don't just make two types of dough and put in different fillings'.

A practising 'semi-vegetarian', she recently experimented with a new line of gluten-free and dairy-free breads, and is making some headway with new organic grains like quinoa, spelt, millet and kamut.

'Ten years ago, nobody would have bought organic bread. In fact, when we started, our clientele was mainly expat,' she says.

'But now I count many locals among my regulars, and one day, I hope we can go fully organic. It's just that the astronomical costs of the ingredients are holding me back.'

At the same time that she is going the organic route, Ms Yap has also put her eggs into the restaurant basket, by opening her Cedele diner chain.

Since the first Cedele store opened in 1999, it has expanded to six outlets around Singapore.

'While bread is our focus, it would be nice to have something to go with the bread itself - a soup, or a sandwich,' she explains.

AS MORE bakeries move into the restaurant-cakery business, traditional F&B players with a bread bent, like Baker's Inn, are watching.

Its owner, Mr Daniel Tay, warns: 'It's a trendy thing, going into the F&B trade - but it's also very difficult.

'You have to hire chefs, waiters, drivers, coordinate with factories, manage logistics - a lot of people don't know how many losses we've had to incur before reaching our successful stage.'

The eat-in chain, which began in 1998, has five outlets here. It maintains that it is unfazed by competition from Secret Recipe, which has 10 bread-and-cake outlets in Singapore, simply because 'we do what we do best and stick to it'.

'Otherwise,' he says, 'you could be the next Apple Strudel fad.'

He adds: 'Our niche is in desserts, and the way our menu is uniquely designed. We don't rush quickly into the latest trends every time they come.'

There are some bakeries that stick by this traditional modus operandi - one being the Robertson Quay-based Simply Bread.

Owner Christine Fam asserts: 'We sell bread because it's simply a loaf of well-baked bread, not because it's part of some lifestyle'.

She prides her bread on being made the old-fashioned way, with a long fermentation process of several hours and, hence, better flavoured. 'If we're going to innovate, we'll do it some fun way. But we're not going to do a spicy version of something some day,' she says.

'Competition keeps people alert but we believe in what we have now.'

Indeed. One company that says the retail bread boom has not affected its sales either way is Gardenia, which bakes 200,000 loaves a day that are distributed around 3,000 outlets here.

It sees itself as providing a staple product in a mature market, as opposed to snack buns or gourmet loaves of retail outlets.

Gardenia's public relations manager Vivian Tung affirms: 'We remain affordably priced. That explains why we've been able to stay the preferred choice for loaf breads.'

While the retail outlets charge anything from $1.40 for a floss bun to $5 for a loaf of sourdough, each pack of Gardenia White costs only about $1.60.

But all that might change soon.

BreadTalk is making sure that it is covering all ground on all arenas, and looking into economy-size white and grainy loaves as well.

Mindful of shifts in tastes, it has begun an unsweetened line. 'But they still come in smaller loaves because our customers may not be ready yet,' says Ms Koh.

As for names to go with new offerings, their creative team is still brainstorming.

Will there be a bread to commemorate the coming political handover here?

'We'll see,' says Ms Koh with a smile. 'We'll see.'

Which is your favourite bakery? Send an e-mail to stlife@sph.com.sg and tell us.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SLICE OF ACTION

BAKER'S INN: Five outlets in Millenia Walk, United Square, The Artrium @ Orchard, Paragon and One Fullerton
Speciality: Breads, cakes, a wide variety of desserts and savoury snacks

BAKERY DEPOT/CEDELE (pronounced ser-deli): One main store in Frankel Avenue, with six Cedele outlets around Singapore
Speciality: Organic breads made with rare grains

BREADTALK: 24 outlets across Singapore, the latest being a bread cafein Bishan Junction 8
Speciality: Sweet buns in wacky shapes with weird names

CHOUPINETTE (pronounced shoo-pah-net): One outlet in 607 Bukit Timah Road
Speciality: French breads, pastries, soups and light french meals

CRYSTAL JADE CAKERY: Seven stores in Ngee Ann City, Scotts Shopping Centre, Toa Payoh, Bishan, Bugis, two at Changi Airport, with two new ones opening soon
Speciality: Hong Kong-styled cakes

DELIFRANCE: Almost 100 outlets in Singapore
Speciality: Sandwiches made from French bread and recipes; French pastries


FOUR LEAVES: More than 20 outlets across Singapore
Speciality: Japanese-style creations

PRIMA DELI: 40 outlets
Speciality: Bread, savoury and sweet pastries, cakes and snacks

SECRET RECIPE: 10 shops with a new one opening in Bishan Junction 8
Speciality: Breads, cakes and desserts

SIMPLY BREAD: Four bakeries in Robertson Quay, Millenia Walk, Commerce Point and Guthrie House
Speciality: European-styled breads

OA BAKERY: Three shops in Killiney Road, People's Park and Holland Village
Speciality: Yam breads, raisin rolls and red bean buns

Fu court

Millionaire Andrew Fu came out of retirement to lead Food Junction, now into its 10th year, reports TEO PAU LIN

HE COULD have retired happily but came to a Junction which made him change course. Ten years ago, Taiwan-born Andrew Fu was basking in retirement in Melbourne when he invested a bit of money in Singapore.

A Singaporean friend was setting up a small suburban food joint - 'something about eating hawker food in air-con', he recalls. That foray in Bishan Junction 8 would grow into Food Junction, one of the largest foodcourt chains here which revolutionised how Singaporeans ate hawker food.

For three years, he was content to be a sleeping partner while his pal, Mr George Quek, ran the business. They had two other Taiwanese partners.

Then, in 1996, Mr Fu came to Singapore to check on his investment and was amazed at what he saw.

Within three years, the business had ballooned into six outlets. They offered Japanese, Korean and Italian cuisine in cool, neon-lit settings. And they were packed. 'I was very excited about the potential,' says Mr Fu, 57, a former property businessman in Taiwan.

He said goodbye to retirement, relocated here and became executive director. His wife stayed in Melbourne to take care of their only child. She and their daughter, a 28-year-old lawyer, now live in Taipei.

In 2000, Mr Quek stepped down as managing director to focus on his bakery chain, BreadTalk, which itself became a success. Mr Fu found himself managing director to 100 staff members and 250 hawker tenants.

'The other two partners were sleeping partners and didn't want to run it. If I don't do it, no one will.'

The listed company now has 17 outlets in Singapore and Malaysia. It rung up a $47 million turnover last year and turned in a $6.6 million profit.

IT WAS one part business interest and many parts responsibility that spurred him to helm the company.

'You've brought this big group of people along on this journey, so you have to be responsible and take care of them,' he says in Mandarin.

'And it's not just the 100 staff members and 250 tenants. You have to think about the three or four workers at every stall and all the families attached to them.'

He did not need the money either. He had already made millions from property development in Taiwan and retired at an unheard-of 38.

'I can survive without this job. But once I start something, I must see it through to the end,' he says.

In person, Mr Fu is gracious and down-to-earth. The first thing he asks you is if the room temperature in his Great World City office is too cold. He offers you a jacket, then a drink.

You understand why he is popular with his workers. 'He never pulls rank,' says Food Junction's financial controller Ariana Lim.

He splits all his meals among the 15 outlets across the island, where he eats with the tenants, talks to the cleaners, lines up and pays for his food like everybody else. He believes it is the warming of human ties that keeps his operations humming.

When the Sengkang outlet opened in 2002, he left his apartment in Bukit Panjang at 7.45 every morning to check on its operations, before heading to headquarters in Great World City by 9am.

He maintained the daily inspection for a full 1 1/2 years, eating so much breakfast with his tenants 'until I grew so fat', he says. 'But it makes the workers happy when you pay them this much attention.'

HIS guiding principles of hard work and honesty are the stuff of rags-to-riches Taiwanese drama serials.

The eldest of six children, Mr Fu was born to schoolteachers who were so impoverished they grew up sharing a tiny room in the school compound.

He studied civil engineering in Taipei and started work as a construction site supervisor at age 24. 'I was taught by my parents to be humble and honest. And whatever I do, I must be committed; the heavens will reward those who work hard,' he says.

Over the next few years, he established an extensive network of contractors and suppliers. In 1974, he persuaded a motley crew to invest in a small residential project in Taoyuan, and hit his first jackpot.

He quit his job and set up his own property development firm at 32. It was a meteoric rise from then on. The hard work turned his hair snow-white by his mid-30s but enabled him to retire at 38.

Today, he is Food Junction's fifth largest shareholder with an 8-per-cent stake. The company went public in 2001.

Deftly, he sidesteps the question of competition, posed mainly by the Kopitiam group which owns 35 air-conditioned outlets and 33 open-air ones.

'I don't see anyone as my competitor. I never wanted to steal anything from anyone. I'm just a displaced Taiwanese old man trying to do my own thing,' he says with a smile.

He is looking to stretch his chain further to Malaysia and China. And as long as the location is right, there is still room for more foodcourts here 'because Singaporeans eat out so much'.

And he is looking forward to retirement again. 'But first I must groom the senior management so I can leave the company in good hands,' he says. 'After that, I'll play golf. The sooner the better.'

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-07-26/food.jpg
Courting people: Foodcourt food is 'good enough' for Mr Fu (seated, middle), who splits all his meals among the 15 outlets across the island, where he queues up and pays for his food like everyone else. -- ALAN LIM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOOD JUNCTION changed the way Singaporeans ate hawker food. Before, the options were hot, grimy hawker centres. But with foodcourts, you carry food to your table American fast-food style and chow down in cool comfort.

Singapore's very first foodcourt was The Picnic in Scotts Shopping Centre which opened in 1985. When Food Junction opened its first outlet in Bishan Junction 8 in 1994, it was the first to bring the concept to the heartland.

Some argue that foodcourts have tarnished the true hawker food experience with their bright signages and, sometimes, lousy food.

But Food Junction managing director Andrew Fu insists that foodcourt food is 'good enough', and that he has tried roping in famous hawkers.

'But they have weird tempers,' he says with a laugh. 'If they work in a foodcourt, they can't just take off whenever they want and go on holiday every three months. They'd rather work on their own.'

Food Junction has scored a few firsts which he is proud of. It does not charge rentals. Instead, depending on location, it takes between 22 and 27 per cent of sales drawn by each tenant. It is also the first chain to install a high-tech security system which has a camera peer down at every stall's cashier.

He is thrilled that the chain has set a precedent in interior design. 'When we gave the Novena outlet a Zen look, there were so many copycats,' he says.

Sip wine by the piano at this foodcourt

Tanglin Mall outlet, opening on Sunday, will sell wine and spirits from 10am to 10pm; also, most of its dishes will be prepared only when ordered

By Serene Goh

WITH wine by the glass and a self-playing piano at the entrance, the new foodcourt at Tanglin Mall aims for a touch of class.

Typically, foodcourts prefer customers not to dally. But when Tasty Food Court opens on Sunday, its patrons can buy Australian vino at $5.50 per long-stemmed glass, then linger and sip at a designated area by the piano.

Also, though such local dishes as laksa or carrot cake have always been prepared upon order, even food normally whipped up in the wok in advance - fried noodles from an economical rice stall, say - is cooked on the spot at Tasty.

Two mini-restaurants take up space on the 10,000 sq ft premises too: Fish-and-chip outlet Paddy's, and Koo Kee Ramen, which offers northern Chinese cuisine. p> Food-Link Services paid $500,000 to renovate the basement premises at the Tanglin Road complex, at the end of the Orchard Road shopping belt. After nine years, former operator Food Junction had not renewed its lease.

Tanglin Mall's marketing director for retail, Mrs Irene Yeo-Tan, said she chose Food-Link over two competitors as its concept was 'something interesting'.

Explained Food-Link managing director Patrick Tan, 60: 'Air-conditioning and better hygiene are not enough any more since even neighbourhood shops have them. Coffee shops and food centres have upgraded, so foodcourts must move up the range.'

Mr Tan said the nine stallholders - and the food offered - were selected to allow 'a la minute' preparation. This means that, even during off-peak hours, diners can be assured their food is fresh, 'rather than having everything pre-cooked and sitting out'.

The stalls include Korean hot plate, Western grill and chicken rice - the only one that does not cook on the spot.

Katrina's, sole survivor of the 13 previous stall operators, will no longer offer nasi padang dishes but Thai-Chinese cuisine and yong towfoo.

Food-Link runs foodcourts at Northpoint, Yishun and Singapore Power Building in Somerset Road, as well as two Teochew Garden restaurants.

While most foodcourts offer beer, Tasty's second-class public house liquor licence - usually taken out by restaurants and nightspots - also lets it sell wine and spirits from 10am to 10pm.

The decision to sell wine at a foodcourt also reflects changing wine consumption patterns: Statistics show that Singaporeans drank 6.9 million litres last year, from three million litres in 1999.

Mr Malcolm Tham, project director for the annual Wine for Asia exhibition, cites two trends: Women now drink as much wine as men, while heartlanders are learning to appreciate it.

Going beyond traditional channels like retail or at watering holes to 'new marketing channels' like a local eatery chain, will broaden the base of wine drinkers, he added.

Cheesed off by encounter at Italian restaurant

THERE is an old saying that the customer is always right. But it seems this rule is not for Pasta Fresca, an Italian restaurant along Bukit Timah Road.

My wife and I were there on July 17 and, among other things, we ordered mozzarella cheese and a $59 bottle of Chianti. The cheese was tasteless, hard and rubbery. When I pointed this out to the waitress, she responded: 'Would you like some salt and pepper on it?'

When the manageress came to our table, she asked: 'Is this the first time you have had mozzarella cheese?... It comes from Italy. The owner is Italian. You have offended the chef.'

When the wine arrived it was freezing cold. When I questioned this, saying red wine should be served at room temperature, the manageress said: 'We keep the wine in the wine cooler because wine does not keep well in Singapore's climate.'

She walked away when I said: 'You mean to say that every restaurant and wine store in Singapore has to keep red wine refrigerated?'

I put the mozzarella aside. When it came time to settle up, I told the manageress that I would not pay for it as a matter of principle.

That drew another barrage of insults: 'If you do not have the money I will pay it out of my own pocket. You have obviously never had 'original' mozzarella cheese before. You must normally eat in hawker centres so you can't know what original mozzarella cheese tastes like. You should keep to hawker centres... Can I have a photo so that I will recognise you if you ever come back?'

When she returned with the bill the charge for the mozzarella cheese was deducted, but as a parting gesture she threw it on the table.

As a world traveller, I do know something about international cuisine. There is no such thing as 'original' mozzarella. There may be an original recipe somewhere in Italy where it might have been invented but each preparation is original in itself.

The correct way to make mozzarella is with water-buffalo milk but other milk will do, especially goat's milk. The essential thing is to take great care in the making and storing of this delicacy. Otherwise, it can end up hard and rubbery and completely tasteless.

My wife and I regularly go to some of the best restaurants in Singapore. Rarely have we had cause to complain but when we had a minor problem, it was always politely and quietly dealt with, as one would expect in this highly sophisticated country.

Our evening at Pasta Fresca was certainly an original experience! What a disservice to Singapore.

ALAN SHADRAKE

the MUST eat in singapore: pepper crab.... yummyy . stayed a week in Singapore and had 4 dinners of it!

:eek:


how about chillicrab, buttercrab, and all the other ways of making crab?

Never heard of buttercrab.

But then again, why do we have this preoccupation with spicy crabs? There isnt much meat to eat! :D

buttercrab... its just butter and some maybe bread coating and crab.. lemoncrab too perhaps? soft shell crab... flowercrab... bigblackcrab

those big black crabs do have quite alot of meat dont they?

buttercrab... its just butter and some maybe bread coating and crab.. lemoncrab too perhaps? soft shell crab... flowercrab... bigblackcrab

those big black crabs do have quite alot of meat dont they?
Do they? Maybe I dont know hoe to remove the shell or something, but its alot of work for a disproportionately low amount of meat!

Never heard of buttercrab.

But then again, why do we have this preoccupation with spicy crabs? There isnt much meat to eat! :D

well well well.... Don't know. Just love it.
Tip: DO NOT eat chilli/pepper crab while wearing white shirt (like I did last time) :bash:

Buttercrab? never tried.

well well well.... Don't know. Just love it.
Tip: DO NOT eat chilli/pepper crab while wearing white shirt (like I did last time) :bash:

Buttercrab? never tried.
Muahaha.....nvm lah. So long that you had a great time feasting on them! ;)

Crab? YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!! Actually here it's more lobster that's eaten with hot melted butter. A crab is more likely eaten dipped into a red Louisiana hot sauce mellowed with mayonnaise. :) True, there's not a whole lot to a crab, but what there is is SOOOO good! Takes a lot of work though, even if you buy it cleaned & pre-cracked. ;)

I had a small dinner party tonight. We ate in the small yellow garden dining room (as opposed to the larger & more formal red dining room). I'm hoping Mortar & Pestle will show some pictures later ... he said he would. :)

First we had crackers with camenbert in the garden. *** The first course was my famous spinach & pine nuts stir-fry, generously garnished with hard boiled eggs. Because I felt it was a bit bland I added some seaweed at the end. Lesson learned: add more seaweed, and add it earlier. :okay: *** The main course was one of my famous pastas (I'm known as the Pasta Queen :cool: ). This time I mixed linguine and capellini pastas, to which I added a chopped bunch of watercress at the very end. The sauce consisted of garlic, onions, shitake mushrooms (sorry, heirloom ;) ), rock shrimp and small pieces of salmon filet, bound together by liquid cream. *** For dessert I cut up a variety of blue, red & yellow plums, added vanilla ice cream, and topped it off with grapes.

The wines were Italian and Portuguese. :)

wow :eek: that's sumptious! it's nice to know we have a pasta queen in our midst - i love pasta! do you have a favourite recipe or something? do share - i might learn to cook the next time i'm in singapore.. and i'm pleasantly surprised you know i can't eat mushrooms :lol:

I had a small dinner party tonight. We ate in the small yellow garden dining room (as opposed to the larger & more formal red dining room). I'm hoping Mortar & Pestle will show some pictures later ... he said he would. :)

First we had crackers with camenbert in the garden. *** The first course was my famous spinach & pine nuts stir-fry, generously garnished with hard boiled eggs. Because I felt it was a bit bland I added some seaweed at the end. Lesson learned: add more seaweed, and add it earlier. :okay: *** The main course was one of my famous pastas (I'm known as the Pasta Queen :cool: ). This time I mixed linguine and capellini pastas, to which I added a chopped bunch of watercress at the very end. The sauce consisted of garlic, onions, shitake mushrooms (sorry, heirloom ;) ), rock shrimp and small pieces of salmon filet, bound together by liquid cream. *** For dessert I cut up a variety of blue, red & yellow plums, added vanilla ice cream, and topped it off with grapes.

The wines were Italian and Portuguese. :)

I'm drooling PASTA QUEEN!!!

Sounds like a real clever feast! :eat:

I like pasta as its ez to prepare but I'm no expert at it but it is filling.

I also love crabs, lobsters and crayfish, but I dont know how to handle them in the kitchen. Hate the idea of killing them but they taste great! :D

Madame Pasta Queen...

You have provided such a moving description of your three-course meal last night that my job now is quite simple.

So here come the pictures (of the appetizer only, this time!):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/cashburton/Food/DSC_0058.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/cashburton/Food/DSC_0062.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/cashburton/Food/DSC_0064.jpg

What a perfectly delicious and palatable meal this was, might I add :)

I tasted one of Black Paper Crab in restaurant aside to the east coast many year ago

Seem more thin and not much of meat to be taken that hot & spicy in covering to the palatable what I recalled

But many friends of Singapore to telling me this is kind of famous delicancies in local but I perfer to take chicken 海南雞 or any other, eg. Pork tea indeed :) 肉骨茶

The giant hairy crabs found in Hokkaido, Japan are humongous! One leg can be as long as a grown man's upper arm, and it's stuffed with thick, juicy meat. Really good and best eaten raw or partially steamed....

wow... doesnt it take very very long to cook then? or partially cook.. is it terribly expensive?

It is 'terribly expensive', but i can't remember the exact price....

aw pity

i've been giving rather boneheaded comments lately haha

bone headed better than no headed.....

It is 'terribly expensive', but i can't remember the exact price....

One portion for set meal [ leg ]sales starting from 3,500 yen up to Y8,000 based on the quality and the set content :) in Shinjuku area

Yummy and :drool:

I miss it... it's been such a long time....I still remember all the fresh sashimi i ate there... can't help but drool........

Can't to wait for greedy to Sashimi 刺身even Sushi 寿司

ＯＵＳＨＩ

Another kind to my delicancy

Bento (http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=118503)

How come you have 653 posts in only a month?! :eek:

How come you have 653 posts in only a month?!

Mostly posting News in relations to Thailand :weirdo:

holy shit, hey guys, stop making me hungry :D :nuts:

How come you have 653 posts in only a month?! :eek:

Erm. Did you notice Babystan's post count during his first month? :lol:

Can't to wait for greedy to Sashimi 刺身even Sushi 寿司

ＯＵＳＨＩ

Another kind to my delicancy

Bento (http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=118503)

Fugu fish!!!!!!!!!!

Fugu fish!!!!!!!!!!

It is kind of another famous dish in 関西 ｋａｎｓａｉ
But need to paid more attention before eat
Those sort of fish 河豚 is fully of venomous indeed

I tasted one of raw 刺身 before and fresh and tender
Wow~~~~~~~~~~~~

i've always wanted to try that :(

It has that slightly numbing effect on the tongue and lips that is sublimely beautiful... indescribable....

can you get it in singapore?

It has that slightly numbing effect on the tongue and lips that is sublimely beautiful... indescribable....

I think you might be over took of wasami la~~~~~ :lol:


@heirloom

You can try at most premium outlet of Japan restaurant around the corner all over main capital around the world

But bear in mind this feast on mostly expensive even in Japan because it is a culinary art to that Chef are needed of licence prior be cook

Look ~~~~~~

This is my top #1 delicany, is the first meal to arrival persistency while in S'pore :)



http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid122/pbf30a8b9443d6cd570a419c0c4c3116b/f8349cd5.jpg

unfortunately i'm too poor to frequent premium japanese restaurants :(((

me too, Heirloom! :(

Well, I wanted to announce that our very own WHOSE HOMEPAGE (of Asian Forum & Scandinavian & Baltic fame, though known in every nook and cranny of Skyscrapercity) has produced yet another award-winning pasta dish this evening, blending several unique ingredients with linguine, cooked al dente...as fine Italian restaurants do. Whose Homepage, her husband and I delighted in a wonderful sauce/stew consisting of finely diced garlic (which, with onions, are the foundation of a good sauce, in my opinion!), spinach, standard-variety mushrooms, freshly cut tomatoes and smoked salmon, all topped with delicious cubes of mozzarella cheese.

While Whose Homepage never follows recipes, she produces knock-out meals on each occasion...meals which send her husband and me into ecstasy, fervent and ebullient socialization and a general sense of joy and contentment.

Have the Singaporeans invented a fax machine that can deal with noodles yet??? I would be happy to send what remains for a taste test!!! :laugh: ;) :cheers1:

not yet, but the next best thing would be to post picture! :D

Yes. Please do.... that would satisfy all our souls' earthly desires.......

Look ~~~~~~

This is my top #1 delicany, is the first meal to arrival persistency while in S'pore :)



http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid122/pbf30a8b9443d6cd570a419c0c4c3116b/f8349cd5.jpg

That kind of breakfast especially the tea and coffee and I can last all morning without falling asleep! :okay:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/daydreamer89sg/PC130305.jpg

Sashimi!!!!!!!!!! Ooishi des!!!!!!

LOL looks more like water-colours!

huuh the basket (?) so nice... where was that?

I've actually posted these before but i just can't help it...... :lol: I just want to relive the pleasure, so there!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/daydreamer89sg/PC130314.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/daydreamer89sg/PC130313.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/daydreamer89sg/PC130304.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/daydreamer89sg/PC170717.jpg

huuh the basket (?) so nice... where was that?

Sea bream, salmon, octopus, squid, mackeral and fugu, which is not shown because i already ate all of it... :p

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/daydreamer89sg/PC130320.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/daydreamer89sg/PC130317.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/daydreamer89sg/PC130316.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/daydreamer89sg/PC140340.jpg

actulaly i was asking where... but uh.. since got fugu means not in sg..

Yeah. It was at a Ryokan in Kyusyu island, South Japan. A small town called Tanama, i think. If i remember correctly, it was in the prefecture of Aso, about 2 hours express train ride to Aso Town itself.

huh... that's a long way to travel for good food.. what else did you see there?

Lot's of stuff, of course. Too many to mention, and just collecting them all into one passage in the form of words would take ages. Perhaps i should have an online pohot album somewhere. Anyway, all my photos are in my dear iPod right now. :lol: Those that are already uploaded have been posted here at least once before, so you've probably seen them all already at one point or other. I won't waste everyone's bandwidth unnecessarily with my humble images. :lol: :baaa:

That kind of breakfast especially the tea and coffee and I can last all morning without falling asleep! :okay:

U Know RaffleCity

" KA YANG " Toast is a good compansion with Kopi
Really unbeatable and yummy :drool:

not yet, but the next best thing would be to post picture! :D

You wanted it, now you've GOT it!


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/cashburton/Food/DSC_0070.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/cashburton/Food/DSC_0069.jpg

Seems to demonstrate quite a bit of chinese influence.....

No la

More likely to Italian setting
Pasta let me :drool: :drool: :drool:
Is the time for dinner :runaway:

i could actually imagine the smell from the picture...

No la

More likely to Italian setting
Pasta let me :drool: :drool: :drool:
Is the time for dinner :runaway:

Explain the tofu/toufu/doufu/beancurd then! :lol: :tongue: :tongue2:

Explain the tofu/toufu/doufu/beancurd then! :lol: :tongue: :tongue2:

Oh~~~~~~NO

Is not a scallop HEHEEEEeeeeeeee :lol:



SO, it is the Japenese style served with Italian setting :D

日式豆腐意式麵條 :runaway:

:lol:

Hmmm? :lol: :D

Anyone still eating KFC? :D

Foreign duo questioned over KFC protest

By Radha Basu

POLICE questioned and released two Hong Kong-based animal rights activists yesterday afternoon after they held a protest at Far East Plaza, outside the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet.

American Jason Baker, 32, and Hong Konger Rochelle Regodo, 27, distributed leaflets and held up a placard to protest what they called KFC's rampant abuse of chickens in slaughterhouses.

The pair, who represent People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (Peta), urged passers-by to boycott KFC and Ms Regodo wore a Santa Claus suit to attract attention. The police let them go after 1 1/2 hours and said they had committed no offence.

Mr Baker said their protest was part of Peta's global drive to push KFC to stop its suppliers from ill-treating chickens. Some 750 million chickens a year are raised for KFC. He said the abuse has been secretly caught on video in slaughterhouses in several countries.

KFC's parent company, Yum Restaurants International, later issued a statement 'to set the record straight' on Peta's claims.

It said: 'KFC is committed to the well-being and humane treatment of chickens and we require all our suppliers to follow welfare guidelines developed by us with leading experts on our Animal Welfare Advisory Council.

'Our suppliers are receiving unannounced audits at their poultry facilities throughout the year. Failure to comply with our strict guidelines would result in termination of our supplier agreement if remedial action is not taken.'

I ate often both KFC and McDonald too HAaaaaaaa :eek2:



Chicken Rice in Asia (http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=2038908#post2038908)

Anyone still eating KFC? :D

[B]Foreign duo questioned over KFC protest



Emmm......I think I eat burger king more often......:lol:

KFC is nice.

kfc can just selll the flour they use to cook their chicken...

KFC is awfull and MCdonalds is nothing special either

BurgerKing is nice though but getting bored a bit now ....I ate too much out of it :D

I love all kinds of fast food....they are yummy yummy yum

I dont find alot of folks actually going yummy when it comes to fast food....ok the closest it comes to that are usually the Asian-themed fast food joints like Mos Burger, Yoshinoya, and the like! :D

Hmm, what about school food?

You guys like schools' food?

I dont find alot of folks actually going yummy when it comes to fast food....ok the closest it comes to that are usually the Asian-themed fast food joints like Mos Burger, Yoshinoya, and the like! :D

Yoshinoya 吉野屋 Pretty good and Oushi
:drool: :drool: :drool:

In Taiwan more than variety to chosen than Japan
Not only selling Beef bowl, Chicken & Shrimp, Tofu, Pork Eel ........


Another great buger coming from Japan is Mos Burger
Really lovely as resemble as Wendy :eat:

BUT Wendy all closed the business in Far East Region that poor


I AM A JUNK FOOD LOVER :D :D :D

How come no one posted about this year?! :rant: :D

Durians can now be tailored to your taste

By Arlina Arshad

WHETHER durian lovers like it creamy and sweet or firm and bitter, the King of Fruits may soon be savoured just the way they want it.

Durians can now be customised to individual preferences, says the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi), which will release hybrid durians over the next decade.

The first batch will be released within the next two years, said Mardi's plant breeder Siti Zainab Ramawas.

This includes a Thai-Malaysian crossbreed which retains the sweetness and creaminess of Thai durians and the slightly more bitter taste of Malaysian ones.

'Some people prefer creamy, others prefer bitter. Some prefer the flesh to be yellow, others prefer red. So we will be releasing the new varieties phase by phase,' said Madam Zainab.

Mardi is a semi-government body that develops and promotes leading-edge technologies for food and agriculture industries based in Selangor.

The durian hybrids are the fruit of 20 years' research.

They have taken so long mostly because durian trees take five to seven years to mature, said Madam Zainab.

Hybrids are not new, but many of the existing durian varieties - D24, Sultan and XO, for example - are clones, not hybrids.

The downside is that the fruits may vary in quality, she added.

Clones have the characteristics of the parent tree.

Hybrid durians are crossbreeds of two selected trees grown in the field, in a controlled environment, she said. As such, their crossbred traits can be customised and standardised.

Mardi hopes durian growers will take up its technology once it releases the hybrids.

Madam Zainab said: 'We'll try to pick those which are disease-tolerant, able to fruit twice a year, more fleshy, and which have smaller seeds.'

Durian lover James Koh, 32, an IT assistant, is elated by the news.

'After all the trouble lugging the heavy and thorny fruit home, it's disappointing to open it and see wet, pale flesh.

'I don't care about how they grow it. As long as I get good durians to eat, I'm happy,' he said.

Good news for durian growers, too, since the quality of the fruit can be controlled.

Mr Ng Chin Kiat, 37, a Malaysian with a 40ha plantation in Yong Peng, Johor, said he's growing D24, 100 and XO clones of durians.

These trees can fruit as often as three times a year in hot weather, but not all the fruits taste good.

'Hybrid durians are of better quality. The flesh is more meaty and smooth,' said Mr Ng, who ships 150 to 250 baskets a day to Singapore. Each basket can hold 60 fruits.

Singapore imported 446,000 baskets (28,991 tonnes) from such countries as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia last year, said the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.

Sellers and suppliers say that oversupply and year-round availability are pushing prices and profits down.

D24 durians, widely available here, cost $6 to $8 a kilo. The premium 'butter' durians cost $12 to $15 a kilo, though run-of-the-mill durian can cost as little as $1 a fruit.

Mr Patrick Teh, co-owner of Shanghai Fresh Fruits Dealer in Sims Avenue, said he once made $30,000 to $50,000 a season, which usually lasted three months.

But now, profits have dwindled to $10,000 a month and, sometimes, he can make a loss.

'People used to be more excited when durian season came. But you can eat it any time now, so it's not a big deal,' he said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After 20 years' research

HYBRID durians are crossbreeds of two selected trees grown in the field, in a controlled environment. As such, their crossbred traits can be customised and standardised. The hybrids are the fruit of 20 years' research. They have taken so long mostly because durian trees take five to seven years to mature.

uh... 30,000 a season = 10.000 a month? haha

i've never actually seen red flesh durians...

Customer is durian king

They squat, spit and shout their wares, right? No, say three real durian kings who point out that times have changed

By Teo Pau Lin

IF CHANNEL i's current sitcom Durian King is to be believed, a durian seller will exhibit the three pillars of Ah Beng behaviour.

He squats everywhere. He spits with pointed precision. And he doesn't talk, he shouts.

In a recent hilarious episode, an English-educated yuppie played by Adrian Pang was given a crash course on these Ah Beng pointers. But how accurate is the show's depiction?

Singapore's real-life durian kings say the 13-episode sitcom's portrayals are 20 years behind time.

'Durians sellers were only like gangsters in the 1980s when durians were in season only twice a year,' says Mr Ken Lim, co-owner of Chin Yong Fruits Trading in Sims Avenue.

Now, durians from Malaysia and Thailand are available all year round. When supply is plentiful, prices dip to as low as 30 cents per fruit. He adds: 'The customer is king. Durian sellers can't be fierce any more.'

Mr Lim, along with Mr Chia You Chee of Metro Trading and Mr Tan See Cheng of Wonderful Fruit Enterprises, are the three biggest durian importers here.

Each brings in about 10 tonnes of the fruit - enough to fill up a bus - a day from Malaysia.

All three are Malaysians from Johor Baru who work here on work permits. And they believe that service - not spitting and squatting - is the way to Rolek and Mercedes glory.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-08-07/durian3.jpg

If I spit, it'll scare you

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-08-07/durian2.jpg
ALAN LIM

WITH his slicked back hair, carefully pressed shirt and pointy leather shoes, Mr Tan See Cheng looks more like a suave insurance agent than a durian king.

But make no mistake. He can still open a durian as effortlessly as his 30 workers who run his 10 stalls islandwide.

He can also spew the crudest Hokkien expletives and spit like a champion. 'I can spit far. But it'll scare you,' he says in Mandarin with a knowing grin.

Only 33, the managing director of Wonderful Fruit Enterprise founded the company with a partner eight years ago from humble beginnings.

He stopped school at 16 to help his father sell pork at their family-run mini-mart in Johor Baru.

At 18, he worked in a timber factory before stumbling on to a job in Singapore selling durians.

The most important skill a durian king must have is to analyse market changes. 'You must keep track of the changes in supply, when your durians are ripening, and when to sell them at what price,' says the father of three children, aged eight, four and one. His family lives in Johor Baru.

He refuses to say how much money he makes or what car he drives. But from the Montblanc pen he carries and diamond-studded watch he wears, you get the impression he is doing well indeed.

He concedes that the money is good, but it is harder to make each year as durians are selling so cheaply nowadays.

The enterprising businessman hopes to sell his durians at petrol kiosks one day. He believes their convenient locations and heavy traffic of cars will lead his company to a new wave of business.

Too old to squat

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-08-07/durian1.jpg
'Customers were so scared of them. But they love durians, so no choice, have to buy from them' - Mr Chia (above) on loud-mouthed ruffians of yore, like the Durain King played by Adrian Pang, who sold durians.

TALK to Mr Chia You Chee and you will realise that he has the gift of the gab. 'We are professional salesmen. Whether or not we can bring in business depends on these lips,' he says in Mandarin.

A surefire way to lure a customer is to greet him warmly with 'Long time no see', even though 'I've never seen him before in my life', he says with a laugh.

Then, find out what the customer likes and ply him with guarantees of quality and price discounts. 'Having a sweet mouth is very important,' he adds.

Mr Chia, 33, should know. He has been selling durians for more than 10 years at Metro Trading, a company he started with his cousin.

They own about 4ha of durian plantations in Malaysia, and supply the fruit to their 10 outlets here. Half of their business is wholesale.

He remembers the time in the 1980s when durian sellers were loud-mouthed ruffians with long hair and the odd scar across the face. 'Customers were so scared of them. But they love durians, so no choice, have to buy from them,' he says.

Back then, durians were available only twice a year when sellers could make a killing with huge profits.

In between the seasons, they would kill time by gambling. 'Now, it's completely different. We work so hard all year round, the only vice we have is holding cigarettes,' he says with another laugh.

Asked if he can squat like an Ah Beng, he replies: 'So old and tired already, how to squat? It's hard enough to find time to sit.'

Married with a four-month-old baby, he works at the company's headquarters in Sims Avenue.

He can tell durians apart by smelling and looking at them, and divides the different species into batches. He also helps serve customers. The hours are long as the shop opens for business between 11am and 3am.

His fingers are so calloused that they look permanently swollen. And the skin is tough.

He returns home to Johor Baru to visit his wife and child once every few days. How does he spend his free time here? 'Drink beer lor,' he says.

Of course, I can cuss

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-08-07/durian4.jpg
'But this is the 21st Century, business is all about service and attitude' - Mr Ken Lim (above)

MR KEN LIM is a certified durian king. In 1998, he emerged champion in the MediaCorp Channel 8 variety show Battle Of The Best where he beat other contenders by opening more than 10 durians in a minute and identifying different breeds through smell only.

He whips out the award certificate to remind himself that his life-long dedication to durians has been worth it.

As Mr Lim, 38, puts it wistfully in Mandarin: 'I've given my youth to durians.'

He has been selling the fruit for nearly 20 years. He finished school at age 18 in Johor Baru and started running his brother's company, Chin Yong Fruits Trading.

It owns about 40ha of durian plantations in Malaysia and has more than 10 retail outlets in Singapore. Mr Lim runs the headquarters in Sims Avenue.

When asked why the major durian players in Singapore are Malaysians, he says assuredly: 'Because Malaysians can take hardship better.'

He and his workers put in more than 12 hours every day. They have never enjoyed a break on weekends or public holidays. He gets by some nights with only four hours' sleep.

Married with three children aged 14, 12 and six, he admits that he hasn't had time to watch his kids grow up. 'Even my wife keeps complaining, asking me how long I'm going to carry on doing this,' he says.

But the man who wears a stylish pair of jeans and a Tissot watch admits that he makes a decent living for his family in Johor Baru.

As for how extensive his Hokkien cussing prowess is, he replies with a laugh: 'Of course, I can cuss. But this is the 21st century, business is all about service and attitude.'

AUG 16, 2004
Yeo's puts taste of S'pore on Europe's food map
With new, flavour-savvy customers demanding the real thing, what started as a taste of home takes off

By Ne0 Hui Min

LONDON - Singaporeans travelling to Slovenia who suddenly feel the urge for a taste of home may be relieved to find familiar-looking soya bean can drinks at local ethnic stores.

For home-grown company Yeo Hiap Seng's beverages have crept on to supermarket shelves in many countries across Europe - from France to Norway and Slovakia.

And the company is now looking at selling its wares in the more affluent of the Eastern European countries.

Yeo Hiap Seng's regional manager for Europe, Mr Tee Peow Keong, told The Straits Times that Hungary, for example, had become an important emerging market for the brand.

'The trend started during the mid-90s with the influx of more Chinese migrants from mainland China,' he said.

Now the company's popular products included culinary sauces such as Sweet & Sour and Hoi Sin Sauces, as well as Yeo's soya bean drink.

'These Eastern European countries have just opened up in the last few years and following their development, we entered the market,' said Mr Tee.

But it has been a long journey for the company, which made its initial foray into the European market via London some 40 years ago.

For a sales force in those days, it relied on its middlemen in Europe and an in-house staff member who would shuttle to and fro between Singapore and customers on the Continent.

But now business is shaping up. Last April, Yeo's management decided to set up an office in Britain.

From here, it wants to expand to another office in France to deal with an increase in orders from the Continent.

'We have always been very low-key but we decided that it was time to build up the brand name in Europe,' said Mr Tee.

'Otherwise Yeo's will always be confined to being known only in South-east Asia, even though it is being sold in much further places than just the region.'

The company does not have specific sales figures for the European market as yet - because all sales have traditionally been entered as part of Singapore sales.

The company started out by marketing its products mainly to Singaporeans and other Asians living in Europe.

Hence, some of its branded products - such as vermicelli and instant noodles - cannot be found in Singapore, since they were developed especially for those who craved a taste of home.

As the popularity of Chinese restaurants grew among the British locals, Yeo's also seized on the chance to sell Singapore's name with its products.

'Yeo's developed the Singapore Fried Noodles found on most of the Chinese restaurant menus here. The restaurants use Yeo's fried noodles for this special dish,' said Mr Tee.

Today, most Chinese restaurants would include this dish in the menu.

But with ethnic, particularly Asian, food gaining popularity in Europe over the past five to 10 years, Yeo's wanted to go beyond its traditional market of ethnic Chinese and other Asians.

Mr Tee noted that in Britain 'more and more British locals are aware about the authenticity of Oriental food'.

'They actually go to Oriental supermarkets to buy authentic products,' he said.

Mr Eddie Honeywell, consultant at Tees Valley area's Food Technology Centre, told The Straits Times there had been tremendous growth in ethnic food sales in Britain in recent years.

'Five years ago, ethnic bread was a novelty. It is now practically a staple,' he said.

And chicken tikka masala is now Britain's favourite takeaway.

Set against this trend, Yeo's may well have set its expansion timetable right on schedule.

It is now Britain's top-selling chilli sauce, hot bean sauce and satay sauce brand. It is also looking at the possibilities for major supermarket distribution.

Modifying the Singaporean taste to suit European tastebuds might be an easy way to slide into mass-distribution chains, but Mr Tee stresses that the brand's main focus is to stay faithful to the authentic Asian taste.

Maintaining authenticity would lead the firm to achieving another, greater ambition.

'If we're successful here, hopefully that would encourage other Singapore food companies to come here to build up the Singaporean food culture in the region,' said Mr Tee.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

That's nice. But just how authentic is it? Perhaps someone could go test it? *nudge nudge hint hint*

Chilli crab, New York?

New Yorkers lap up sights, sounds and tastes of Singapore at street festival

By Roger Mitton

NEW YORK - One of New York's newly funky neighbourhoods rocked to the sights, sounds and tastes of Singapore during an inaugural street festival.

The Tiger Beer Singapore Chili Crab Fest was held on Sunday beside Manhattan's East River in the district of New York known as Dumbo, which stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.

During the six-hour-long extravaganza, a crowd estimated at well over a thousand people sampled Singapore delights such as chilli crab, satay and beef rendang, all washed down with copious amounts of Tiger Beer. Coming on the eve of Singapore's National Day, the timing of the joyful bash was perfect.

It all began soon after midday with Mr Marty Markowitz, the colourful Brooklyn Borough president, reading a proclamation declaring the festival open.

In a booming Brooklyn accent, he said: 'There is a record turnout. 'Noo Yawkhahs' have come for the great beer and excellent food.'

They certainly did, bringing their families and friends with them.

'It goes to show what a fantastic relationship there is between Singapore and New York,' said Mr Markowitz.

He revealed that his district had the fastest-growing Chinese community in the area. 'Brooklyn will soon be the Chinese capital of New York,' he said.

The festival-goers, who included many expatriate Singaporeans, were also treated to a mix of traditional Asian entertainment and local rock bands.

Additional treats for New Yorkers included Chinese dragon dance performances, kickboxing demonstrations, Chinese character artists, children's face painters, East-West horoscope readings and masseuses offering relaxing massages.

The whole event was sponsored by Tiger Beer, Singapore Food Industries, International Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board.

Said Mr Gabriel Tseng, the Tourism Board's vice-president for the eastern United States and South America: 'This is a great area of Brooklyn, down by the river, with the bridge and the Manhattan skyline. In the summer, there are always street festivals.'

Said Mr Larry Jacks, the director of Colonial Travel, an agency which specialises in arranging business travel to Asian destinations: 'The festival is a great selling point for Singapore. Most Americans know it is a place that's very modern and has great facilities but this gives them a chance to actually taste and smell Singapore right here in New York.'

Mr Jacks certainly relished the opportunity, with his favourite food - satay - on the menu.

It appeared that many of his fellow New Yorkers felt the same way. By early afternoon, all the satay had disappeared.

There was also a long queue for the chilli crab, whose spicy aroma drifted over the lively street scene.

With the gaudy Singapore banners and the Tiger Beer stands, it was almost as if a part of the East Coast Parkway had been transported to New York.

Mr Jeff Rodman, co-owner of the Water Street Restaurant which was a focal point of the festival, said: 'After this amazing success, we plan on carrying chilli crab as one of the main dishes on our menu.' Already Tiger Beer is a favourite in the bar attached to his restaurant.

Aside from allowing hundreds of New Yorkers and expatriate Singaporeans to have a good time, the event also served to showcase Singapore products.

Mr Wee Liang Pin, general manager of Singapore Food Industries, extolled the festival as a way for his company to introduce Americans to authentic Asian food tastes.

Gesturing at the long lines for the chilli crab and beef rendang, Mr Wee said: 'You can see that Americans have a growing taste for Asian flavours.'

Tiger Beer is also making a big push to establish a greater presence in the US market. The brand has only been marketed in America for 16 months but it has already won many fans.

Earlier this year, it was the gold medal winner for European-style Pilsner at the US Brewers' Association Awards.

Said Mr Sean Davis, market development manager for Tiger Beer USA: 'We are trying to highlight our profile in the US and we hope people will have such a great experience at this festival they will continue to order Tiger Beer.'

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-08-10/10world.jpg
Helping himself to a serving of chilli crab, which is a hot favourite with New Yorkers, is Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz (right).

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-08-10/p6.jpg
The street extravaganza geld beside Manhattan's East River attracts more than 1,000 people.

Worried about cholesterol? Eat more fish, including white pomfret

WE ARE pleased that the report, 'Fishing for the facts about cholesterol' (ST, July 10), provided useful information on the nutritional benefits of fishes commonly available in Singapore, including the cholesterol content of white pomfret.

We would like to share that the consumption of any type of fish is encouraged as part of a cholesterol-lowering diet.

The Recommended Daily Allowance for cholesterol for the general Singapore population is 300mg per day, while individuals with high blood-cholesterol levels should limit their intake to not more than 200mg.

We believe that most Singaporeans would not have a whole pomfret for a meal. A 100g serving of pomfret - 1/6 of a steamed pomfret - has five times less cholesterol than an egg. The latter contains 236mg of cholesterol.

We also wish to highlight that laboratory analysis of cholesterol in foods does not distinguish between the types of cholesterol. However, laboratory analysis does differentiate types of fat, ie, saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

It was once thought that eating too many cholesterol-containing foods was the major dietary cause of high blood-cholesterol levels. However, we now know that saturated fat in the diet has a much greater influence.

Fishes, including pomfret, are not only low in cholesterol but also low in saturated fat. Oily fish varieties such as salmon and mackerel are rich in a type of fat, Omega 3 (under the family of polyunsaturated fat), which has been reported to have cardio-protective benefits.

In view of the benefits of fish consumption, the American Heart Association and Australian National Heart Foundation have recommended at least two fish meals a week, preferably from oily varieties.


LIM SU LIN (MS)
LIONG SUET MEI (MS)
Dietitians Dietetics Department
National University Hospital

WHITE-MEAT is really for good to health not only be less of cholesterol also for the sense of sight too :)

http://tw.visitsingapore.com/Nas/images/Pic/satay.jpg

沙爹、肉骨茶、辣椒/胡椒蟹網友最愛

新加坡旅遊局舉辦的十大美食網路票選活動圓滿落幕，新旅局與贊助此次活動的業者，已於日前自所有參與網路票選的網友中，抽出七位幸運兒，及一百名獲得新加坡美食跳跳筆以回饋網友。您知道最受台灣網友喜愛的新加坡美食是什麼嗎?答案是沙爹、肉骨茶與辣椒/胡椒蟹! 新加坡旅遊局為了讓台灣民眾進一步了解新加坡的非常美食，特別在今年推出選擇我的新加坡全家餐，贏取我的非常新加坡之旅十大美食網路票選活動；短短的三個月內，不但吸引了一萬五千人上網投票，瀏覽相關訊息的總人數更高達八十萬人。而其中有七位網友因參與投票而幸運獲獎，將可以獲得免費四天三夜的新加坡之旅，直奔新加坡大啖十大美食。

新加坡旅遊局此次特別挑選當地代表性的十大美食，這些擁有華人、馬來人、印度人等不同民族特色的佳餚，在新加坡被加以融合與改良之後，形成新加坡特有的在地美食。像是肉骨茶，不但是一道享譽南洋的排骨藥材湯，就連來自新加坡的歌手阿杜也表示，最喜歡吃新加坡的肉骨茶! 而當選第一名的美食-沙爹，更是來到新加坡不可錯過的美食之一。

說到沙爹，其實沙爹是東南亞地區的傳統食物，但是在新加坡人的手裡發揚光大。更有一說來到新加坡沒吃過沙爹等於白來了! 可見沙爹的魅力有多大。其實， 沙爹的由來非常有趣，當時由遠方來的早期福建移民，見到馬來人在燒烤肉串，由於語言不通，後來看到肉串上有三塊肉，就以台語“三塊” (福建話“ Sar Tae”)命名，久而久之就被人們稱為沙爹了。因此到了新加坡可以看看沙爹是否為三塊肉串。而沙爹的製作都是精選上等羊肉、牛肉、或豬肉，經過適當的爐火炭烤，再配上一層厚厚的沙爹醬一起入口，入口時濃濃的南洋風，更是令人眷戀無比。若是再配上椰葉、小黃瓜或洋蔥等，沙爹的風味更是鮮明。

至於，新加坡肉骨茶則是早在中國移民南洋時流傳下來的，而發展至今也成為著名的新加坡美食，更是當地華人最具特色的早餐。肉骨茶經過長時間的燉煮，肉質細膩，咬起來帶有濃濃中藥香，可為男女皆宜的補品，若是能配上一碗白米飯或一壺好茶，吃起來更是別具風味了

除了“沙爹”跟”肉骨茶”之外，其他票選出的十大美食依序分別是：辛辣鮮美的“辣椒/胡椒蟹”，香噴噴的 “海南雞飯”，新鮮有趣的”拉餅拉茶”，椰漿混合咖哩湯汁而成的“叻沙”，集印華料理之精華的“咖哩魚頭”，搭配魚餅、香腸、蛋、鮮蛤，並以黑甜油快炒而成的“炒粿條”，以蘿蔔、鳳梨、豆芽、蝦片及黃瓜等配料，搭配以蝦醬及醋製成的獨特醬料，並灑上花生粉的“口羅口惹 ”，以及與港式蘿蔔糕大不同的“菜頭粿”。

想到新加坡品嚐非常美食的您，可以參考下十大美食：

Let us to have brain storming to which how GREAT 10 were :cheers:

Posting to U opinion on what U think :) :)

Wah, makes me think of eating satay now...

Used to go to the old satay club with my family really often when i was a little kid, but since it closed it's been less often that i eat satay, so.......

haha.

I'm thinking of heading to KFC for dinner later. Do you think the quality/price/quantity of food they serve will be affected by the chicken import thingy?

I'm thinking of heading to KFC for dinner later. Do you think the quality/price/quantity of food they serve will be affected by the chicken import thingy?

Emm....dun think so.....the chicken still quite juicy judging from what i ate just now.......:yes: :cheers:

Where was satay club?

At where Esplanade now is?
What does it look like?

Emm....dun think so.....the chicken still quite juicy judging from what i ate just now.......:yes: :cheers:

Haha. Okay thanks.... now i can practise active consumerism in peace....

Where was satay club?

At where Esplanade now is?
What does it look like?

That is correct. It used to be a huge place with lots of chairs and tables made out of some sort of white stone/ceramic. Very nice, but that's about all i remember. You have to realise it was a long time ago, you know... :lol:

SO the building looks like what?

I know it's been there for only a short time.I think I remember seeing it.Looks something like a wooden structure, right? :?

I don't remember it being a building, just an open space.

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980006124-8151-3231-4226/img0113.jpg
:D

Muahaha..... Google?

A2O! :D

http://www.a2o.com.sg
Very, very useful website!

Wow! Thanks for the intro!

I'm thinking of heading to KFC for dinner later. Do you think the quality/price/quantity of food they serve will be affected by the chicken import thingy?

hmm I'm not sure but I know the price of eggs went up at some hawker stalls. My friend couldnt get his egg breakfast there but he could get scrambled eggs at McDonalds however.

Ah, the power of big business.........

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 07 September 2004 2119 hrs

Mooncake business rings in delicious profits for hotels, restaurants
By Jennifer Alejandro, Channel NewsAsia

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phppSloXl.jpg

SINGAPORE : The Mid-autumn Festival is upon us, and hotels and restaurants say mooncake sales are picking up, especially after the SARS outbreak last year dampened buyers' appetites.

The mooncake is a centuries old Chinese tradition given a new twist every year.

Simple ingredients, like white lotus paste, yam and egg yolks are rolled, stuffed and molded to produce delectable and different styles of mooncakes.

The business alone can bring in a profit of S$1.5 million for a hotel or group of restaurants.

As much as a quarter of a million mooncakes are made a year, with more than 60,000 boxes sold in a season that spans only a month.

It used to be just given as gifts to elders and family members but today, more than 40 percent of the business comes from businesses themselves.

"Over the years the trend has changed -- it became a gift from corporate partners to their partners as well as to their customers. So I think there is an increasing trend," said Cheong Hai Poh, director of F&B at Conrad Hotel.

And since there is a demand out there, there must be someone to supply it.

The delicious business of mooncakes in a small market like Singapore is a highly competitive one.

That is why every year, hotels and restaurants come up with innovative ways to outdo each other in selling the same old product.

Hotels like Conrad will usually offer the traditional mooncake with a new variant each year, like a pastry mooncake with sweet potato.

They will even emboss your company's name on the box label.

For restaurants like Tung Lok, the ball game is shifted from the taste alone to include packaging.

"You'll find we came up with very interesting and pretty boxes that can be used for keepsakes. Ladies use them for vanity boxes and so on," said William Tan, chief operating officer of Tung Lok Restaurants.

Tung Lok's bite-sized strategy to increase its share of the pie is to do corporate tie-ups to give discounts.

The Mid-Autumn Festival business is expected to peak on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Lunar calendar, which falls on September 28.

So much so that hotels and restaurants are preparing for a lot of incoming business.

"A lot of events will come in during this period. All our private rooms will always be booked for this period," said Carol Loy, manager at Golden Peony Chinese Cuisine.

At the end of the day, to succeed in this business that banks on tradition, one has to dish out something old and something new every year. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Hey! I tried some ice-cream mooncakes from Haagen Daz.... REALLY GOOD!!!!!!!! The eggs were mango-flavoured balls of ice-cream and the rest of thes stuff was chocolate and vanilla. Had a time of my life eating them! And they cost $40 a box. We had two. LOL.

weii... take pictures or not? i read thte description then was wondering if its worth buying because it seems like you could just buy a pint of mango sorbet and a pint of whatever flavour and mix together and get the mooncake? is it owrth buying in mooncake form (seems more expensive than normal pints)? btw $40 for 4? wow i think it was $60 for 4 last year...

Well, whether or not its worth it is another. It tastes really good, and that's all i care. Besides, it wasn't i who bought it but my aunt. Hehe.....

Sorry. No photos. Was too busy experiencing gastronomical euphoria....

very very nice arh...? haiz why they dont have samples :(

Because they're so darn expensive? Besides, how in the world does one put up samples for ice-cream since they all melt within minutes in Singapores oh so tropical weather?

can mar.. most ice cream stores are willing to give samples... some snow skin mooncakes are put in mini fridges to taken out for sample.. haagen dazs giam siap.

Haha. Okay.....

OCT 2, 2004
Beyond Dimsum
Crystal Jade will be unveiling two new restaurant lines here, strengthening its regional presence and opening a six-star mega-restaurant in Beijing
By Teo Pau Lin

MR IP YIU TUNG is possibly the most famous restaurateur in Singapore you have never heard of.

His money-spinning Crystal Jade group is one of the most visible and popular restaurant brands here.

But it has taken 12 years for the 55-year-old Hong Konger, who became group chairman in 1992, to speak to the Singapore press for the first time.

Over the past decade, Crystal Jade's 32 outlets have triumphed in a testy F&B market with their diverse cuisines, from affordable Cantonese dimsum and handy takeaway buns to top-dollar Shanghainese and Teochew dishes.

And it has done so without a dash of publicity - a strategy that has both awed and bewildered the industry.

The owners have never held media lunches to launch a new eatery. The chain hardly ever advertises. Journalists knew they could forget about ever getting a quote from the elusive bosses.

But not any more.

In a move that heralds a new age of openness, Mr Ip contacted Life! recently to offer an exclusive interview.

The meeting in a busy Crystal Jade Kitchen in Bugis Junction, which was also attended by his marketing manager, was remarkably unfussy.

'It was never my idea to be media-shy,' Mr Ip says in Mandarin over Chinese tea and strawberry cake from its cakery.

Dressed simply in a plain shirt and dark trousers, and speaking in soft, careful tones, he is more schoolteacher than millionaire businessman.

'Engaging the media is good exposure for the brand. It's something we should do to raise the profile of the business,' he says.

The fact that it hadn't been done, he says, was a decision taken by its former managing director, Mr Alfred Leung, 52.

Having founded the group's first outlet, Crystal Jade in Cairnhill Hotel, in 1991, Mr Leung - who came from a restaurant management background - had called the shots and was a firm believer in letting only the food do the talking.

Mr Leung, who is Mr Ip's wife's brother-in-law, left the group a few months ago although he remains a shareholder.

He will start his own Chinese restaurant, which will open in Ngee Ann City in December.

Mr Ip will only say that Mr Leung's departure involved some 'issues'.

Mr Leung's two brothers, former executive managers Jimmy and Vincent, also left the group last year. They opened My Choice Chinese Cuisine in River Valley Road this January.

Mr Ip, who owns a piano manufacturing business in Shanghai, used to make only the macro, high-level decisions as chairman.

Now, with the added post of managing director, he spends up to 75 per cent of his time on the group, flying to Singapore every fortnight from Hong Kong or Shanghai to give the go-ahead on menus, pricing and expansion strategies.

The other nine shareholders - all Singaporeans, including Mr Leung - are silent partners. They have unequal stakes in the group, with Mr Ip holding the majority share.

Unruffled, he insists that the Leung brothers' departures have not set off any alarms internally.

'If a company is healthy, one or two people leaving will not affect anything. Business is still as good,' he says.


COMMITMENT PAVES THE WAY

IN FACT, business is great.

The group's turnover hit a record $100 million last year, a 20 per cent jump from the year before. It capped an impressive streak of year-on-year increases for a decade.

In comparison, the public-listed Tung Lok group's 25 Chinese restaurants generated a turnover of $61 million last year.

The secret to Crystal Jade's success, Mr Ip says, is simple: consistent good food and service.

'Our customers can always expect very good food. So we focus a lot on maintaining the quality of each outlet,' he adds.

'I always tell my staff to work hard and be committed. From my experience, being committed can get you anywhere,' he says of his 1,300-strong workforce in Singapore.

He has just set up a training division that will teach his service staff how to greet you better, serve you better and even speak better English.

He is also spearheading a move towards community work. Most recently, he donated $28,000 from the sale of mooncakes from Crystal Jade Cakery in Bugis Junction to the Ren Ci Hospital And Medical Centre.

While he admits that the 12-outlet Crystal Jade Kitchen line - which offers affordable Hong Kong-style food - is close to reaching market saturation, he is inventing new concepts to tap unreached palates.

In six months, two new restaurant lines aimed at the younger crowd will be unveiled.

He is also expanding the group's regional presence. Already in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta, it targets Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Seoul next.

In December, Mr Ip will trumpet the arrival in Beijing of his biggest star. At 25,000sq ft, the $7 million mega-restaurant serving Cantonese and Teochew cuisine will be more than twice the size of Singapore's flagship Crystal Jade Palace in Ngee Ann City.

'It will be six-star, one of the best in the world,' he gushes in a rare moment of uncontained emotion.

He has no plans to sell a franchise but 'won't rule out' a public listing, he muses.

Is it fun to wield such power?

'Fun?' he says, bemused. 'This is work.'

He might have inherited his business acumen from his parents whom he would only say owned a 'small business' in Hong Kong.

Quiet and analytical, he had studied electrical engineering in college there but dropped out after two years.

'I wanted to work. I wanted job satisfaction,' recalls Mr Ip.

He put in more than 10 years in a computer hardware company, rising up the ranks from engineer to supervisor to manager.

In 1984, he ventured out to open his own clock and watch manufacturing company, before branching into pianos in 1993.

In 1992, he pumped in some money to revive Mr Leung's 'near bankrupt' Crystal Jade restaurant in Singapore, Mr Ip says, not expecting it to blossom into the empire it is today.

Home in Hong Kong is a countryside house in the New Territories.

While flitting between Shanghai and Singapore for work, the doting father makes sure he flies home on weekends to go cycling with his 12-year-old daughter, his only child.

He describes himself as ai ban (boring in Mandarin), the kind of boss who never scolds, and the kind of diner who lets his friends do the ordering.

But beneath his tame niceties is a palpable drive.

By the end of next year, more than 55 outlets will stamp the Crystal Jade name across the region. And there will be more to come.

'It's about achievement, doing your best, being committed, and beating the competition,' he says.

And being open to the press may just give him another leg up.

As the interview ends, he says with a slight bow: 'Please, call us anytime.'

Welcome to the new Crystal Jade.

DIFFERENT CUTS OF CRYSTAL JADE

CANTONESE
The flagship Crystal Jade Palace in Ngee Ann City offers high-end Cantonese cuisine like dimsum, shark's fin and lobster dishes.

SHANGHAINESE
The gorgeously decked-out Hu Cui in Ngee Ann City offers Shanghainese food like dimsum and handmade noodles.

KOREAN
Crystal Jade Ginseng Chicken and BBQ in Ngee Ann City offers Korean barbecue and ginseng soups.

TEOCHEW AND CANTONESE
Boasting stunning interiors, Crystal Jade Golden Palace in the Paragon offers high-end Teochew and Cantonese dishes.

HONG KONG-STYLE
Twelve Crystal Jade Kitchen outlets offer a wide range of affordable Hong Kong-style barbecue, dimsum, noodles and congee. Branches in Isetan Scotts, Suntec City and Causeway Point, among others.

HANDMADE NOODLES AND DIMSUM
Seven Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao outlets dish out Lanzhou-style handmade noodles and Shanghainese dimsum. Branches in Great World City, Scotts Shopping Centre and Toa Payoh Lorong 6, among others.

BAKERY
Seven Crystal Jade Cakery outlets offer a selection of buns and pastries. Branches in Junction 8, Bugis Junction and Changi Airport terminals 1 and 2, among others.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

'They've got their concept right. They have a few grand Chinese restaurants and pitch the rest to younger people who want something convenient, fast and not too expensive.'
- Mr Lee Tong Soon, president of the Restaurant Association of Singapore

'From the start, they've focused a lot on consistent food and service, almost to an obsessive level.'
- Mr Don Tay, owner of Bacchus wine shop in Paragon

'I've never had a bad meal there. If I'm not happy about a dish, they'll apologise profusely, take it back and replace with another dish, on the house. They've also got the best wine collection among Chinese restaurants in Singapore.'
- Dr Leslie Lam, cardiologist and 13-year regular at Crystal Jade

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.