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Tag: F&B

  • ‘Mompreneur’ With 2 Sons, Running 3 F&B Businesses

    ‘Mompreneur’ With 2 Sons, Running 3 F&B Businesses

    Despite having her hands full with two young children and two food and beverage (F&B) businesses, Singaporean Tasneem Noor Smidhagen, 36, decided to have a new “baby”.

    In June, she opened Lickety Ice Cream & Waffles in Bussorah Street in Kampong Glam.

    Lickety, which has a Scandinavian decor of pastel pink and mint green, boasts an Instagram-worthy pairing of egglet waffles with ice cream.

    Ms Tasneem and her Swedish husband, Mr Joakim Smidhagen, 45, are also behind Fika Swedish Cafe and Bistro in Beach Road and European artisanal bakery Konditori, located next to Lickety.

    Aside from handling the operations of the businesses, the “mompreneur” has to fulfil her duties with her two sons, aged five and six.

    She told The New Paper: “I just learnt how to take care of my different priorities at different times.”

    Fika Swedish Cafe and Bistro, opened in 2009, was her first venture in the F&B industry.

    Prior to that, the visual communications graduate from Temasek Polytechnic spent eight years in publication design.

    The inspiration for Fika came about when the couple felt the need for such a Swedish restauranthere, while the idea for Konditori grew from wanting the desserts served at Fika to be made in their own bakery.

    The offerings at Konditori are done in small batches and handmade daily. The best-sellers include red velvet croissant, fresh cream semla buns and pain aux chocolat.

    The birth of Lickety, however, was spontaneous.

    Ms Tasneem said: “I thought Lickety should look more alive (than its sister stores) and embrace all things young and fun to attract the younger crowd.”

    Out of the 30 flavours available, the stand-outs are Lingonberry Swirl, Red Velvet and Dark Angel, which boasts chunks of chocolate bread from Konditori.

    Ms Tasneem, who in 2015 won the Spirit of Enterprise Award, which honours local entrepreneurs operating small and medium-size businesses, admitted that her F&B journey has not always been smooth-sailing. One of the main challenges she faced was staffing.

    Her advice for budding F&B entrepreneurs? Stick to your branding.

    Referring to Fika, she said: “Do not follow trends all the time. There are other ways to improve while staying true to your branding. For example, salted egg yolk is ‘in’ right now, but I cannot have that on my menu, because I cater specifically to people who want an authentic Swedish experience.”

     

    Source: http://www.tnp.sg

  • HalalHub Consultants: A Reminder For Halal F&B Establishments To Excuse Staff To Break Their Fast

    HalalHub Consultants: A Reminder For Halal F&B Establishments To Excuse Staff To Break Their Fast

    Dear Halal Certificate Holders

    Based on astronomical calculations, Muslims in Singapore will be celebrating the Holy month of Ramadan from Saturday, 27 May 2017 to Saturday, 24 June 2017.

    Muslims observe the obligatory fasting from dawn till dusk (abt 5.30am to 7.10pm) for the whole complete month of this Blessed month.

    During breaking of fast, apart from enjoying the Halal food which you serve, your Muslim customers also need to perform their Maghrib (evening) prayers.

    Some Halal Certificate Holders provide prayer areas for their Muslim customers to perform their evening prayers, so that they are able to dine-in during the breaking of fast, with comfort and transquility, together with the whole family.

    Even your Muslim staff, need to break his/her fast. If it is indeed very busy, do excuse your Muslim staff so that he/she is able to take a sip of drink or some dates as a form of “official breaking of fast”. Its ok for him/her to enjoy her dinner slightly later during busy situations.

    HalalHub Consultants Pte Ltd hope that this Ramadan is indeed a blessed month for all Halal Certificate Holders, it’s customers and the whole of Halal industry.

    We wish everyone.. Ramadhan Kareem..

    Message from
    HalalHub Consultants Pte Ltd
    A one-stop HALAL Consultancy firm in Singapore
    Tel: 63001400 / 67340300

     

    Source: HalalHub Consultants Pte Ltd

  • Ridjal Noor: 10 Mistakes Of Malay F&B Businesses

    Ridjal Noor: 10 Mistakes Of Malay F&B Businesses

    Orang kita yang berbisnes makanan sungguh untung. Makanannya lazat dan power, semua orang boleh makan. Orang Melayu, orang India, orang Cina, orang mat Salleh semua minat makanan Melayu. Sanggup queue untuk beli. Tapi kenapa business Makan orang kita kebanyakkan tidak maju dan boomz sebesar-besarnya, ya?

    Mari kita selidik some of the reasons:
    (jangan marah kalau sentap, gunakan untuk muhasabah diri sama-sama.)

    1. Suka buang muka kat customer. Tak faham langsung tentang mechanics of energy dan aura.

    2. Tak sabar dengan customer. Beri $50 pun salah, beri syiling pun salah. Tapi takde PayWave. Lebih suka PayHalau. Halau customer yang takde exact change.

    3. Suka duduk berhinggap di meja depan gerai dan bersembang dengan members. Customer datang survey, dia buat bodoh, buat dek aje.

    4. Suka marah-marah. Terpekik-pekau. Dia dengan dia. Customer pun buat u-turn dan cabut.

    5. Display makanan tanpa ada label. Ini lauk apa, itu lauk apa. Bukan kerja susah, cuma dia fikir semua orang sepatutnya tahu. Kalau customer tanya, dia marah.

    6. Display menu dan signboard dari 10 tahun lalu. Sini pangkah sana pangkah, macam Ali Baba dan gengnya tengah planning nak serbu gerai dia malam nanti.

    7. Tak tahu apa tu marketing. Cuma tahu marketing tu pergi pasar beli sayur.

    8. Takde banner untuk nak tolong advertise gerai nya. Banyak kali, gerai nya terperuk kat satu corner. Tempat jin buat scissors kick.

    9. Terlalu mengharapkan word of mouth marketing. Kalau business teruk, salahkan “mesti ada orang buat kita”.

    10. Tak buat flyer marketing with call to action. Campak flyer di seluruh estate, letak di post box, di carpark kereta dan di pintu pangsapuri.

    Rezeki itu beraliran. Ada Flow. Tersekat most of the time because we lack understanding of the minor minor things we do yang menghalau rezeki dan menghalau customer.

    Kalau setuju, sila share.

     

    Source: Ridjal Noor

  • Best Chicken Rice In Singapore Not Worth The Poor Service

    Best Chicken Rice In Singapore Not Worth The Poor Service

    Was recommended to come to As-Shifaa Cafe by a friend, Ahmad Hidayah who told me that it is one of the best Malay chicken rice in Singapore.

    Arrived there at 11.45am, as was told that it is better to arrive there before noon due to the lunch hour crowd. When my friend and I arrived, there was already a queue and it took about 15 mins in waiting before we finally got our food.

    The guy serving the food had the most unpleasant scowl and was shouting to customers. An older Indonesian lady who was ahead of me ordered 8 packs of food, and she asked very nicely if one of the chicken could be changed as it was slightly burnt. The guy shouted at her ,” Ok, Orang tau la!” -“Yes, I know”, in English and rolling his eyes, annoyed at this lady’s request. His attitude was constant throughout the whole time. Shouting at customers, and was extremely grouchy.

    At around 12.20pm, while still in the midst of eating, the makcik and owner of the shop, came to us, and asked us if we were done. We said no, and 10 mins later, she came around to our table again, and told us, “Sekarang dah peak hour, kalau boleh cepat2 makan, jangan bbual banyak2 sangat. Banyak orang tengah tunggu.” She said that since it is peak hour, hurry up with the eating, lessen the talking as there are people waiting to sit. Mind you, this was only half an hour after we got our food and my friend was on a wheelchair, so she wasn’t taking a seat and was sitting on the corner of the table and there were 3 free seats next to us.

    We left without finishing our food as we didn’t feel at ease knowing that our presence there was no longer wanted with makcik and her workers watching us every minute.

    The fried chicken is indeed tasty but I don’t know if it is worth the disrespect, rudeness and hostility that a paying customer has to deal with.

     

    Source: Alishia Cleopatra Saraswati

  • Japan’s Restaurant Look To Cater To The Halal Food Industry

    Japan’s Restaurant Look To Cater To The Halal Food Industry

    TAITO WARD — In a sushi restaurant in Tokyo, a group of customers is shuffling in. They first take a quick glance at the menu to check if there’s anything that might go against halal rules.

    The restaurant is only one of many in Japan that are looking to the halal food market to expand their business, as visitors from predominantly Muslim countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia are increasingly visiting Japan.

    However, there are also difficulties they face in catering to these customers.

    “In Japan, places where they handle halal seasoning are very limited,” said manager of Sushi Ken Masao Ito. “I have had difficulty getting my hands on them. The fish itself is not a problem. (But) another problem is processed food.”

    However, they have managed to find alternatives. At Sushi Ken, the seasoning is made in-house. The radish roll tastes a little different, but is still delicious. At another Yakiniku, or grilled meat restaurant, its owners are doing even more to obtain halal certification.

    “They have to change all their ingredients, items,” said chairman of the Japan Halal Foundation, Mohamed Nazer.

    The restaurant has even prepared a whole new kitchen to be able to serve halal meat. According to its manager, the cost of doing so has been high, though he stopped short of unveiling the exact amount.

    “If things work out, we would like to be a halal meat wholesaler to expand business,” said manager of Pangu, Hiroaki Sato.

    The restaurant eventually earned a stamp of approval, a boon for Muslims diners as a mosque is located nearby.

    ‘MUSLIMS CAN ENJOY WITHOUT ANY WORRIES’ 

    Taito ward now has 17 restaurants with halal certification, a huge step up from when there were only Indian restaurants serving halal food in the past. This change is in part due to subsidies of up to US$820 offered by the local city government, part of a scheme that started in October.

    They used to have only Indian restaurants serving halal menus. This change is partly due to subsidies of up to 820 US dollars offered by the local city government, thanks to a system launched in October.

    “When you travel, you want to enjoy the food of that country, the regions, and if that cannot be done here in Taito ward, it’s sad,” said director of tourism at Taito City office, Takuji Kwai. “We offer lots of delicious food. So we decided to create an environment where Muslims can enjoy without any worries.”

    A growing number of local governments are also trying to encourage more of their businesses to cater to Muslim visitors. The halal exhibition in Japan is one that has seen success, with an increase of 80 exhibitors last year to 120 this year.

    “Japan is not a Muslim country so the market is very small,” said chairman of the Japan halal Expo Executive Committee, Yoshichika Terasawa, Chairman. “It’s gradually expanding. But it depends on Muslim visitors to Japan. I hope more food suppliers (and) exporters go to the cities to find their new market, the Muslim market.”

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com