Welcome

Welcome to the December issue of the USAPEEC ASEAN Regional Office’s newsletter.

This newsletter seeks to provide readers with useful product and major market information for institutional and consumer users of U.S. poultry. Readers will find in every issue a variety of general market information, program activities as well as useful product information.

This issue, we share several activities that took place in Southeast Asia.

Contents:

• USAPEEC Pavilion at the Yangon Show draws robust trade visitors’ interest
• Vietnamese buyers’ mission develops new trade contacts in the United States
• U.S. poultry promotions create shoppers’ interest at Philippines Membership Shopping stores
• News bites
• The growth of the F&B industry in Singapore
• Ramen dishes in Singapore
• Dim sum, little heavenly surprises in one bite

Additional Market Information Available

We have updated our website to include more information on market reports and export documentation guidelines.

You can visit our ASEAN website at: www.usapeecasean.com

USAPEEC Pavilion at the Yangon Show draws robust trade visitors’ interest

The USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) Pavilion at the MyanFood 2017 Show attracted large trade and consumer crowds daily from November 2 to 4, 2017. The USAPEEC Pavilion provided daily sampling of different poultry dishes prepared by a team of experienced chefs.

Two Myanmar-based companies, Premium Distribution Company and Grand Twin Brothers, co-located within the USAPEEC Pavilion received numerous enquiries from trade visitors who thronged the USAPEEC Pavilion.

The food show is Myanmar’s largest international hospitality and food service. It acts as the premier showcase for products from the Asia-Pacific region as well as from Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the United States. Local and foreign exhibitors participating in the expo displayed a wide range of poultry and meat products, frozen foods, juices, coffee, bakery ingredients, dairy products, pastries, vegetarian food, specialty foods, seafood, confectionery, tableware, kitchen equipment, linen, and beddings. Underlining the very keen interest in international products in Myanmar, the show attracted 9,600 trade visitors from a wide cross-section of the food industry in the country and from neighboring countries.

A section of the trade visitors sampling U.S. poultry products during the MyanFood 2017 Show

Front view of the USAPEEC Pavilion at MyanFood 2017 Show

Margaret Say provides details of poultry cuts to interested Myanmar traders

Sampling of poultry products at the USAPEEC Pavilion

Vietnamese buyers’ mission develops new trade contacts in the United States

USAPEEC organized a reverse buyers’ mission for ten leading Vietnamese importers to visit the United States during October 16 to 21, 2017. The Vietnamese trade mission, led by Margaret Say, USAPEEC ASEAN regional director, visited several poultry plants including the Simmons Foods establishment at Southwest City, Missouri, the Tyson Food Plant at Springdale, Arkansas and the Wayne Farms establishment in Pendergrass, Georgia. 

While in Arkansas, the Vietnamese trade mission had a one-to-one meeting with a number of leading U.S. exporters. On the last day of the trip, the team members visited a Walmart Supercenter at Dawsonville, Georgia, providing them a perspective of U.S. supermarket merchandizing and display. The buyers’ mission developed extensive trade contacts during their trip. Substantial sales orders arising from the visit are anticipated over the next six months.

Margaret Say, USAPEEC ASEAN Director (seated at the front) with several of the Vietnamese Trade Mission members and a staff member of U.S. exporter

Vietnamese Delegation members in a one-to-one meeting with U.S. exporters

Vietnamese Trade Mission being briefed by executives of U.S. poultry exporters

Vietnamese Trade Mission visiting Wayne Farms

U.S. poultry promotions create shoppers’ interest at Philippines Membership Shopping stores

The poultry cooking demonstrations attracted crowds of curious shoppers interested in finding out novel and quick methods in preparing turkey dishes. The USAPEEC Singapore office collaborated with S&R Membership Shopping to conduct poultry demonstrations and promotions at three S&R Membership Shopping retail outlets, namely the Mandaluyong, Taguig, and ASEANA/Baclaran Branches. 

The U.S. poultry demonstrations focused primarily on different meal preparation of U.S. turkey products. A chef was employed to present daily cooking demonstrations of turkey fillets for three days at each of the three outlets. A wide range of U.S. turkey products including jumbo turkey franks, pulled turkey sandwich, turkey ham, spam, turkey pastrami, and chunky turkey were made available at the outlets where the cooking demonstrations were conducted.

Feedback received from shoppers who participated in the taste testing at the supermarkets shared that the turkey meat was tasty, tender and easy to prepare.

Local chef provides a practical demonstration on quick preparation of a turkey meal

Manila shoppers at a S&R Membership retail store view and sample the various turkey products

Sampling of different turkey products at a S&R Membership outlet

News Bites

Cambodia

Little Sheep launch in Phnom Penh
Little Sheep, a well-known Mongolian restaurant specializing in traditional inner Mongolian hot pots, opened a branch in Phnom Penh to cater to local middle-class families and the growing influx of Chinese tourists. The restaurant group management felt that growing disposable incomes and increasing inflow of foreign tourists would lead to an increase in demand for globally recognized restaurant brands.

Siem Reap entertainment center to open in early 2018
Angkor Dynasty, a US$15 million entertainment center, is set for its official launch at the beginning of 2018, according to a press release. Angkor Dynasty is jointly developed by Ca Heng International Cultural Tourism Investment Co., and a subsidiary of Canadia Bank. The entertainment center covers 6,000 square meters that includes a theatre, commercial zone, restaurants, and water park.

Laos

Laos noodle franchise to expand to ASEAN countries
Sep Eeli noodle soup joints, a Laos noodle franchise, is looking forward to opening branches in Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Sep Eeli is well known in Vientiane for its fish-flavored noodle soup or rice noodle soup with fish-meat balls. Latsamy Vetsaphong, the franchise owner, said several potential business partners from ASEAN nations have expressed an interest in buying the franchise. Latsamy currently has eight noodle shops at various shopping malls in Vientiane and one Sep Eeli brand restaurant in Phuket, Thailand.

FamilyMart Philippines chain up for auction
FamilyMart Philippines, a Japanese convenience store chain, has been offered to several prospective investors in the last few months. FamilyMart has been closing unprofitable stores for the last few months, and currently has about 70 stores. FamilyMart Philippines is partly owned by the Ayala and Tantoco groups. Competition in the Philippines convenience store sector has been intensifying over the last half decades with the arrival of new brands and aggressive opening of new outlets.

Singapore

Banyan Tree plans first resort in Singapore at Mandai
Banyan Tree Holdings plans its first luxury resort in Singapore at the new eco-friendly development in Mandai. The company hopes to appoint a designer by next year, with construction to start in 2020. The planned resort will feature approximately 400 rooms where guests will be able to enjoy an "immersive stay close to nature", and have easy access to the area’s wildlife parks and nature-themed indoor attractions.

Japanese fashion mall Lumine debuts in Singapore on November 25
Japanese fashion mall Lumine will be launching its first mall outside of Japan in Singapore on November 25. The Singapore store will take up about 10,000 square feet on the second floor of Clarke Quay Central. The new store offers more than 20 Japanese brands and an in-house café. Mr Naokazu Kozakai, Managing Director of Lumine Singapore, said Singapore was picked as the mall’s first location outside of Japan for its strategic location.

The growth of the F&B industry in Singapore

The Food and Beverage (F&B) sector plays an important role in growing Singapore’s economy. The industry contributed as much as S$14.4 billion (US$10.6 billion) to the city’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016¹.

Based on the study by the Food Industry Asia Report, the food distribution sector plays an important role in the F&B industry¹. Activities governing Singapore’s 6,700 food service locations that include restaurants, hawker stalls and coffee shops, along with retail and wholesale of food, form a small but significant contribution to Singapore’s GDP¹. In 2011, there were a total of 6,464 establishments in the F&B industry. The figure grew to 7,679 in 2016³. This figure included coffee shops (52.6 per cent), restaurants (35.3 per cent), fast food outlets (6.2 per cent), and food caterers (5.9 per cent) ³. These establishments offer a variety of options in their menu to patrons using chicken, beef, duck and seafood.

The Singapore government has invested S$12 million (US$8.85 million) under the Capabilities Development Program (CDP) since 2007⁴. The objective of this initiative is to enhance capabilities of local F&B entities. As there are high costs involved in running an F&B enterprise, the government aims to provide assistance through grants and financial aids to encourage local business to open and expand in Singapore. Through the CDP scheme, F&B businesses can save up to 70 per cent of costs with subsidies⁴.

The F&B industry accounts for an average of 14 per cent of tourists’ expenditures during their stay in Singapore⁴. The Singapore government has taken numerous efforts to boost the country’s reputation as the gastronomical capital in Asia by actively supporting various culinary events such as Singapore Food Festival, World Gourmet Summit and Epicurean Market⁴. Each of these events showcase foods from around the region, gourmet and local cuisines such as chicken rice, dumpling noodles, roasted duck rice and many more.

References:

1. Singapore Business Review. (2016). Here's why Singapore can depend on F&B industry for economic growth. [online] Available at: http://sbr.com.sg/food-beverage/news/heres-why-singapore-can-depend-fb-industry-economic-growth

2. SPRING Singapore. (2017). Statistics: Food and Beverage Services. [online] Available at: https://www.spring.gov.sg/Developing-Industries/FBS/Pages/statistics-food-beverage-services.aspx

3. SingStat. (2017). Food and Beverage Industry in Singapore in 2016. [online] Available at: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/visualising-data/infographics/food-and-beverage

4. Guide Me Singapore. (2017). Guide to Incentives for Food Industry in Singapore. [online] Available at: https://www.guidemesingapore.com/business-guides/industry-guides/restaurant-and-food-industry/guide-to-incentives-for-food-industry-in-singapore

A cross-section of an indoor food court in Singapore

Ramen dishes in Singapore

Ramen is a Japanese dish that consists of noodles served in a meat or fish-based broth. It is flavored with miso or soy sauce. Some regular toppings include sliced pork, sliced dried seaweed and green onions. In Singapore, ramen stalls have expanded over the years by offering different versions of ramen such as Hakata-style Tonkotsu ramen and Hokkaido-style miso ramen with butter and corn.

One of the most famous ramen restaurants that has a Michelin star in Singapore is known as Tsuta. It is the world’s only ramen eatery that serves purely ramen dishes to its diners¹. It opened its first outlet in Singapore last year. The restaurant seats only 18 diners. This figure is double the number from its Tokyo outlet. Its signature dish is the truffle oil blended Shoyu Soba which is a soy-based sauce flavored ramen. Its silky broth consists of a variety of ingredients, including whole steamed chicken, herbs and seafood. The chefs prepare the dish under strict temperature control without the use of monosodium glutamate (MSG)².

The Ramen Stall is a Halal-certified Japanese restaurant that serves authentic ramen dishes to its patrons in Singapore. Open until 5am, the outlet is packed with curious tourists and locals. The chefs use the freshest ingredients such as chicken and vegetables with nutritious values for their diners. The ramen’s broth is prepared by boiling the meat and bones for 30 hours³. Instead of pork, the chefs produce the soup using chicken. The chefs cook clean without any artificial flavoring, MSG, salt and sugar⁴. Its signature dish is its volcano ramen ⁴. There are three levels of spiciness to choose from. Each order comes with ramen noodles, egg, mushroom, seaweed and chicken. Besides ramen, the restaurant also serves sashimi and Teppanyaki dishes.

There are some tips to enjoy a good bowl of ramen ⁵. For example, ramen should be eaten while served piping hot. If consumed cold, the noodles will turn mushy from the hot broth. It is a tradition in Japan to slurp while eating ramen ⁵. A slurp is indicative that the broth contains enough fat and rich in flavor to hold the noodle as they clump together. Ramen is best enjoyed when paired with a drink. Choose from water, beer or tea. In Japan, the chefs prepare a special oolong tea to help diners digest the pork fat in certain ramen dishes⁵.

References

1. The Straits Times. (2016). 7 best ramen places in Singapore, picked by ST's food critics. [online] Available at: http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/sts-food-critics-share-their-picks-of-the-7-best-places-to-slurp-up-ramen?login=true

2. Tsuta. (2017). Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta. [online] Available at: http://www.tsuta.com/

3. The Ramen Stall. (2017). About Us. [online] Available at: http://www.theramenstall.com.sg/

4. Daniel Food Diary. (2016). The Ramen Stall – Japanese Restaurant Goes Halal, Opens Till 6AM. [online] Available at: http://danielfooddiary.com/2016/03/16/theramenstall/

5. The Straits Times. (2017). What you're doing wrong when you eat a bowl of ramen. [online] Available at: http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/what-youre-doing-wrong-when-you-eat-a-bowl-of-ramen?login=true

A ramen dish served in a Japanese restaurant in Singapore

Dim sum, little heavenly surprises in one bite

A popular Cantonese cuisine that comes in bite-sized portions is known as dim sum¹. The food is usually served in steamer baskets or on small plates. As dim sum is served in small quantities, customers can order a wide variety of items to try different options. A typical dim sum menu includes a myriad of buns with different flavors, rice noodle rolls with shrimp and pork, and dumplings with chicken and pork filling².

In Singapore, Din Tai Fung is a highly regarded Taiwanese restaurant that serves one of the best dim sum in town². Awarded as one of the World’s Top Ten Best Restaurants by The New York Times, the restaurant has history dating back to Taiwan nearly 40 years ago². The restaurant offers diners a holistic experience. In its exquisite setting, customers can observe the world-class workmanship of the Din Tai Fung’s chefs through an open kitchen concept. Its signature dish is the xiao long bao which are basically steamed pork dumplings that can be prepared in many different ways. The chefs roll out the dough, place the dumpling mixture, pleats the dumpling with a knot at the top, and steam to perfection. This dish has a minimum of 18 intricate folds per dumpling². The restaurant serves other popular dishes such as chicken herbal soup and sliced duck in crispy onion pastry. The restaurant has expanded around the world with outlets in Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan and many more.

Tim Ho Wan is a two Michelin-starred restaurant known for its scrumptious dim sum³. It started out as a humble eatery in Hong Kong. Today, it has expanded to 39 restaurants across nine countries. Tim Ho Wan is most famous for its baked buns with pork³. Soft interior with a crispy exterior, each savory bite is packed with bold flavors. This Hong Kong brand opened its first international restaurant in Singapore in 2013. It serves its popular dim sum options to patrons in Singapore, including steamed chicken feet with black bean sauce and glutinous rice with chicken, sausage and mushroom.  

Swee Choon Tim-Sum Restaurant is one of Singapore’s oldest dim sum restaurants that has over 40 years of heritage⁴. Located in a shop house in Singapore, this restaurant is famous for its mee suah kueh that is a fried carrot cake with noodles. Priced at just S$2 (US$1.40), diners flock to this restaurant for quality dim dum. The restaurant also serves other popular dishes such as egg tarts, steamed chicken claw and fried prawn dumplings⁵.

References

1. The Spruce. (2017). Chinese Dim Sum Menu Translator. [online] Available at: https://www.thespruce.com/dim-sum-menu-translator-694589

2. Din Tai Fung. (2017). The Cuisine. [online] Available at: https://www.dintaifung.com.sg/about.php#thecuisine

3. Tim Ho Wan. (2017). Our Brand Story. [online] Available at: http://www.timhowan.com/our-brand-story/

4. Seth Lui. (2017). Swee Choon Dim Sum: Singapore Food Review. [online] Available at: http://sethlui.com/swee-choon-tim-sum-singapore-food-review/

5. Swee Choon Tim-Sum Restaurant. (2017). Our Signature Dishes. [online] Available at: http://www.sweechoon.com/en/signature.htm

Typical dim sum dishes