Welcome

Welcome to the November 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:

• MyanFood 2018 Show Report
• Culinary students in Yangon outskirts provided opportunity to upgrade skills
• Singaporean families embrace vacations at home away from home
• Hawkers embrace healthier options
• New Recipe Ideas for Thanksgiving leftovers, Nanyang style
• News Bites

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

Daily crowds thronged the USAPEEC Pavilion in the MyanFood 2018 Show

The USAPEEC Pavilion, with its eye catching display of poultry products and variety of cooked poultry dishes for taste testing, attracted large numbers of visitors daily during the MyanFood 2018 Show.

Margaret Say, the USAPEEC ASEAN Director attended to numerous inquiries from trade visitors interested in sourcing products from the United States.

The MyanFood Show is the largest F&B industry Show in Myanmar. Over 200 exhibiting companies and brands from over 20 countries took part in the exhibition. More than 10,000 trade visitors attended the MyanFood Show which took place during November 1-3.

Front View of the USAPEEC Pavilion at MyanFood 2018 Show

Daily crowd of visitors at USAPEEC Pavilion, MyanFood Show

Margaret Say with regular trade contacts at the MyanFood Show

Culinary students in Yangon outskirts provided opportunity to upgrade skills

Well-known celebrity chef cum lecturer Eric Low flew in from Singapore to present two single day workshops on U.S. poultry nutrition and handling to a total of 60 students from the Hospitality & Training Academy located on the outskirts of Yangon.

The Training Academy was established by the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation to provide training in culinary skills to rural students. The workshops covered a range of poultry nutrition subjects, use of poultry ingredients in a variety of meals as well as tips on food safety and handling.

The workshop event which took place on November 6 & 7 was a first time collaborative effort between USAPEEC Singapore and Daw Khin Kyi Foundation.

Chef Eric Low demonstrates the correct way to cut a turkey

Margaret Say (2nd from left) provides brief on U.S. poultry before the start of the workshop

Margaret Say presents certificate of attendance to participant at workshop

Singaporean families embrace vacations at home away from home

That Singaporeans are known for their love of travelling is not surprising, given that their homeland is an island spanning a mere 275 square miles.

However, it seems that Singaporeans are now increasingly willing to spend time and cash on staycations in their own backyard.

According to the latest staycation study conducted by Expedia Group, a travel booking website, 6 in 10 Singaporeans have booked a staycation in the last 12 months, and 7 in 10 intend to book a staycation within the next 12 months. Historical data culled from the Expedia website also show that local hotel bookings by Singaporeans grew 25% year on year in 2016, and 40% in 2017.

Staycations are considered quick and hassle-free short break alternatives without the need for time consuming planning or travelling – a big plus for the modern high stress working environment.

Families with children are the top staycationers in Singapore, according to Singapore Staycation Study 2018. They average S$238 a night in discretionary spending. Thirty-nine percent of families with kids booked a five-star hotel while another 55% booked a four-star hotel. Families with children who booked a hotel also indicated that their top two considerations for picking a hotel is the availability of a free breakfast and convenient location.

Local hotels react to the increased interest in their offerings differently. Some like the Shangri-La started offering Themed Family Suites promising to make the family staycation an experience to remember. Others such as Orchard Rendezvous Hotel worked to cater to the growing mid-tier markets with one-bedroom suites that comes with a kitchenette. 

One can only expect the range of offerings by local hotels to grow over time. Afterall, staycation experience need not be wholly local.

Iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel framed against view of setting sun

Lobby lounge of Shangri-la Hotel

Poolside view of Shangri-la Hotel

When hawkers embrace “healthier” options

Asians love their food. From the streets of Bangkok to the hawker centers of Singapore, tourists gawk and nibble at the multitude of different aromas, colors, and flavors.

Hawker food, cheap and plentiful, is also the main staple of the working class within the region. However, hawker food, like convenience and instant food, are usually high in carbs, fats, salts, and sugar.

Long work hours, long transport times, busy lifestyles, cheap hawker food, have all contributed in some way to rising obesity in the Asia Pacific region. A recent study by the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) reported that the cost of health issues related to obesity and being overweight in the Asia Pacific region amount to US$166 billion a year (1).  Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand ranked among the most overweight countries in Southeast Asia.

Singapore’s health authorities have realized that any successful solution to encourage healthy eating must include the main suppliers of ready cooked meals – the ubiquitous hawkers. In its goal to have Singaporeans consume healthier food when they eat out, the Singapore Health Promotion Board (HPB) has started to work with various food suppliers and manufacturers to create and promote healthier versions of popular local dishes. If the initiative is successful, perhaps we can look forward to healthier versions of popular street food dishes across Southeast Asia.

It is interesting to note that hawker stalls from the Tekka Market food center, a popular food center located within touristy Little India in Singapore, has started to offer “healthier” options for many popular local dishes including using whole meal flour to prepare prata (Indian flatbread) and noodles instead of the traditional plain flour. Some of the stalls replace white rice with brown rice (Chicken brown rice), and substitute fattier cuts of meat with leaner cuts of meat (breast meat satays). Other stalls offer healthier low-calorie options (under 500 calorie meals).

(1) Childhood obesity is rising rapidly in Asia-Pacific and it costs the region US$166 billion a year (2018), https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2140906/obesity-rising-rapidly-among-children-asia-pacific-experts

(2) Chicken brown rice, anyone? Hawkers at Tekka Market join initiative to get Singaporeans to eat healthy (2018), https://www.straitstimes.com

(3) National Nutrition Survey 2010, https://www.hpb.gov.sg/docs/default-source/pdf/nns-2010-report.pdf?sfvrsn=18e3f172_2

A Noodle stall displaying healthier choice dishes in their signboard

Hawker Stall with signs offering Healthier Choice Options

New Recipe Ideas for Thanksgiving leftovers, Nanyang style

There will always be turkey leftovers after Thanksgivings dinner. For this year, why not ditch the usual turkey sandwiches and salads and go for Nanyang style dishes with the turkey leftovers?

The Nanyang (or Southeast Asian) region has always been known as melting pot of flavors when it comes to food and cuisines. Nanyang cuisines are usually a mix of quick and lightly prepared dish with an aromatic component usually made from citrus and herbs such as limes and basil. Cooking methods normally associated with Nanyang cuisines include stir-frying, boiling, and steaming.

As a rule of thumb, the leftover turkey meat can be used to substitute for chicken in almost any recipes. So here are some dishes to consider for the day after: Turkey congee with salted egg for breakfast, easy Turkey Pho for lunch, and spicy garlic turkey stir-fry with poached vegetables for dinner.

Breakfast: Turkey congee with salted duck egg
Congee is a popular breakfast dish or midnight snack for many Singaporeans and Malaysians. It’s a little time consuming but very easy to prepare. Simply bring to boil a cup of rice with 5 to 6 cups of stock (or plain water) and let it simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a little more liquid when needed. The result is a thick and creamy rice porridge. Chopped up some turkey meat and hard-boiled salted duck egg and mixed them into the pot. Ladle the finished products into bowls. Garnished with chopped coriander, parsley, or spring onions. Seasoned with some soy sauce and a dash of sesame oil or white pepper.

Lunch: Quick and easy sliced turkey pho
Pho is a light and soupy rice noodle dish, and a popular street food in Vietnam. First, soak the dried rice noodles (pho) in a basin of water for up to an hour. Then cook the softened pho by dunking it in boiling water for about two minutes. Strain the pho and put them into serving bowls. Place the sliced turkey on the noodles and garnish it with fresh vegetables such as shredded cabbage, shredded carrot, beansprouts, and basil leaves. Pour boiling hot savory chicken stock prepared from stock cubes over the noodles and serve hot with chopped fresh chili, a dash of lime juice, and soy sauce on the side.

Turkey Congee

Turkey Pho

News Bites

Brunei
Secret Recipe opens first outlet in Brunei
Secret Recipe, a Malaysian halal certified café chain, opens its first outlet in Brunei late October 2018, according to The Borneo Bulletin. The kiosk outlet is located on the first floor of Aman Hills Shopping Center and caters to busy customers looking for quick takeaways. 

McDonalds Brunei opens flagship outlet
McDonalds Brunei opens its flagship outlet, also Brunei’s largest branch, mid-October 2018. The flagship shop, a 298-seat dine-in and drive-thru outlet, is located next to a petrol station and in one of the most densely populated areas of the city.

Malaysia
KFC Malaysia to open 24 new outlets in 2019
QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd, operator of KFC Malaysia, plans to open 24 new outlets in Malaysia in 2019. The company will focus on opening more drive-through restaurants citing consumer preference. The company added 23 new outlets in 2018.

Malaysia presents roadmap to fully eliminate single-use plastics by 2030
Malaysia recently launched the Roadmap Towards Zero Single-use Plastics 2018-2030 that should see the country free of plastic straws and plastic carrier bags by 2030. The first phase of the project commencing next year till 2021, will see local councils carry out a “no-straw by default” policy via licensing for local eateries and imposing a “pollution charge” on plastic carrier bags.


Philippines
Department of Agriculture to set SRP for chicken and pork in Philippines
The Philippine Department of Agriculture and domestic poultry and hog farmers have reached an agreement for setting Suggested Retail Price (SRP) for chicken and pork meat in the country’s wet markets, according to Asian Agribiz. The SRP for chicken is the live price plus a fixed marked up of PHP50 (US$0.93). The SRP for pork is set at live price plus PHP 70 (US$1.30).


Singapore
DFSG to accept WeChat Pay using NETS terminals in Singapore
Dairy Farm Singapore Group (DFSG), one of Singapore’s largest multi-format retailing group, has accepted WeChat Pay using NETS point of sale terminals in its retail shops nationwide. From 1 November 2018, WeChat Pay users including tourists, will be able to pay for their purchases using WeChat Pay at 7-eleven, Guardian, Cold Storage, and Giant outlets across Singapore.


Thailand
Central Holdings plans B1 billion outdoor lifestyle mall in Phuket
Central Holdings, Thailand’s largest family-owned retail conglomerate, announced plans to splurge B1 billion (US$30.37 million) on an outdoor lifestyle mall in Porto de Phuket to be built in the resort island of Phuket. Central expects Porto de Phuket to see 6000 visitors on a weekday, 12,000 visitors on a weekend, and 3 million tourists annually.

TAT kick start campaign to boost tourism in second-tier provinces
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), in collaboration with the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), kickstarted a campaign to encourage conventions and exhibitions (Mice) by companies and tourists to visit second-tier provinces in Thailand. TAT aims to improve the ratio of local and foreign visitors at first-tier cities to second-tier cities to 55:35, from the current 70:30, to help drive business to local communities.

Vietnam
Aeon sold its 30% stake in Hanoi-based Fivimart
Aeon, a Japanese retail giant, sold its 30% stake in Fivimart citing poor performance and deeply different management strategies. The divestment incurred a US$8 million loss. Fivimart is a Hanoi-based grocery chain with 23 outlets in the city.