Tag: food

Food For Thought: World Street Food Congress 2015

The second World Street Food Congress (WSFC) rolls into town this week and it won’t be offering only food, but food for thought.

Following this year’s theme, Engage, Empower and Enterprise, one of the highlights will be the special two-day Dialogue-Hackathon on Wednesday and Thursday, which will feature panel discussions and presentations by renowned street-food advocates, media and street-food vendors.

“They will talk about stuff that will make people think, act and react,” said WSFC creator and Singapore food ambassador KF Seetoh. “For instance, Top Chef Season Nine winner Paul Qui will detail his journey from cooking fine food to becoming the owner of East Side King, a group of Asian-inspired street-food trailers and restaurants in Austin, Texas. I think his story will inspire young cooks to continue Singapore’s street-food culture.

“Then you have Thai (celebrity) chef Ian Kittichai, who is a fine example of how far you can go and what you can do with a bit of knowledge of street food,” he added. “We also have a City Food panel from New York University. Because they are academics, they think about food in a very different way. What they have to say on the subject will really open your mind.”

Other personalities include Claus Meyer, co-founder of top restaurant Noma and founder of an organisation that runs food schools in Danish prisons, and Sangeeta Singh, who works with an organisation that protects the livelihood of street vendors in India.

During the Dialogue-Hackathon, participants will also hear about plans for Anthony Bourdain’s much-anticipated Singapore-style hawker centre Bourdain Market in Manhattan.

For industry players and young individuals and companies looking to enter the street food business, this conference is an invaluable opportunity to network and engage with a truly global group of movers and shakers. Tickets for the two-day event cost S$450, though students and start-ups have a chance to secure a limited number of subsidised tickets at S$100 and S$150, respectively, by writing to the organisers.

The latter group would probably benefit most from the Street Food Pitch Box segment, in which participants are encouraged to write down and submit their business ideas. Those with the best ideas will then be given three minutes to present their concepts and pitches to the panel of industry professionals and influencers.

“The Hackathon will be a town hall-style dialogue, where we want people to say what they really feel,” said Seetoh. “The best ideas come from the ground. We really want to hear what the younger generation want in order for street-food culture to thrive.”

The World Street Food Congress runs from Wednesday to Sunday at the open field at the intersection of Rochor Road and North Bridge Road. For more information about the Dialogue-Hackathon, visithttp://wsfcongress.com/about-dialogue/

DIALOGUE-HACKATHON WHO’S WHO

1. ANTON DIAZA. Founder of OurAwesomePlanet.com, the top food and travel blog in The Philippines and co-founder of successful weekend markets such as Cucina Andare, which is touted as the first food truck market in The Philippines.

2. CLAUS MEYER. Co-founder of Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, and founder of the Melting Pot Foundation, an organisation that runs food schools in Danish prisons.

3. IAN KITTICHAI. Thai celebrity chef and the first Asian Geographical Indication Ambassador by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property, and the Agence Francaise de Developpement.

4. KF SEETOH. Singapore’s food ambassador and founder of Makansutra.

5. DANIEL BENDER. Professor of History, Director of the Culinaria Research Centre and Canada Research Chair in Global Culture at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

6. DONNA GABACCIA. Author of We Are What We Eat: Ethnic Food And The Making Of Americans.

7. KRISHNENDU RAY. Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University.

8. JEFFREY PILCHER. Leading figure in the scholarly field of food history, and author of Planet Taco: A Global History Of Mexican Food.

9. ODILIA WINEKE. Food editor of Detik.com and Femina Magazine in Indonesia.

10. PAUL QUI. Chef-owner of Qui restaurant and co-founder of East Side King, a group of Asian-inspired street food trailers and restaurants in Austin, Texas.

11. PETER LLOYD. Executive chef, Spice Market London.

12. SANGEETA SINGH. Street Food Programs Manager of the National Association of Street Vendors of India, an organisation that works to protect the livelihood rights of India’s street vendors.

13. SEAN BASINSKI. Founder and director of Street Vendor Project, a member-led worker centre for New York’s street food vendors.

14. STEPHEN WERTHER. Retail visionary who is working on the opening of the Bourdain Market with Anthony Bourdain.

15. WILLIAM WONGSO. Indonesia’s most prominent culinary expert, restaurateur, food consultant, critic, TV host and celebrity chef.

Source: www.todayonline.com

April 6, 2015
Construction Workers In Singapore Not Getting Proper Nutrition

Foul-smelling curry, rock-solid fish with scales still intact, and roti prata so hard that it feels like one is “chewing on plastic” — these are how some foreign workers describe the food catered for them at work sites.

The situation is made worse by the fact that the meals are often delivered several hours before meal times. Construction supervisor Zakir Hossain Khokan told TODAY: “If you come by construction sites or shipyards early in the morning, you will see how packs of food are left along the roadside. By the time workers have their meals, often the plastic bags would have been broken (by cockroaches or rats). The food is so smelly it has obviously gone bad.”

The poor nutrition of meals catered for foreign workers, which can cost as much as a quarter of a worker’s monthly salary, is the subject of an ongoing study by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and HealthServe, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Based on interviews and focus groups with some 60 Bangladeshi workers living in the Tai Seng area, the researchers found that the meals – usually a pile of rice and some tinned meat or curry – are often delivered hours in advance. “Breakfasts and lunches are delivered to workers’ dormitories as early as 6am. By lunch time, the food smells rancid,” said Mr Manishankar Prasad, a researcher from NUS’s Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation. The meals are also sorely lacking in nutrition value, and some workers often complain of stomach problems, he added.

According to some foreign workers interviewed by TODAY, their packed meals do not come with time stamps. The National Environment Agency (NEA) requires caterers to provide time stamps with their packed food, indicating when the food was cooked and when to consume it by. The NEA recommends that cooked food kept under temperatures of between 5 and 60 degrees Celsius be consumed within four hours of preparation.

Caterers said that breakfasts and lunches are delivered to construction work sites as early as 5am, and dinner at 5pm.

A spokesman for Aysha Catering said the caterer provides time stamps but he noted that once the food is delivered, it is up to the employers when they want their workers to consume it. He added that the meals are cooked by 3am. While it provides employers the option of separate deliveries for breakfast, lunch and dinner, they usually do not take up the option as it would cost S$50 more per person, the spokesman said.

NGOs working with foreign workers said catered food is a perennial complaint. Ms Debbie Fordyce, an executive member at Transient Workers Count Too, said: “The men complain about lack of protein, expired ingredients, and spoiled food. Men arrive in fairly good health, lose weight when they start working — a result of the hard work and long days as much as the food.”

Mr AKM Moshin, editor-in-chief of local Bengali newspaper Banglar Kantha which champions the rights of Bangladeshi workers here, said that there are no cooking facilities in many dormitories. “Employers and dormitory management urge the workers to eat the catered food,” he said.

Mr Akhlas Sakar said that it would be too expensive for him and his fellow construction workers to buy their own meals. “Eating outside costs S$5 to S$6 a meal. Where I can get so much money? If I spend all my wages to eat good food then my family back at home will go without food,” he said.

Nevertheless, a foreign construction worker who declined to be named said he would buy food on his own on most of the days as he ends up throwing away the catered meals. Foreign construction workers whom TODAY spoke to said they pay more than S$100 a month to have catered meals three times a day.

Construction worker Mohd Zahirul Islam said his weight dropped from 70kg to 55kg after living on catered food for three years. In 2011, he switched employers so that he could stay at a dormitory where he could cook his own meals. He has since put on about 10 kg, he said.

Nevertheless, some workers noted that the cooking facilities at the dormitories are insufficient. Mr Sromik Monir said he has to wait in line for as long as 1.5 hours to use the cooking equipment. “Sometimes we finish work at 9pm. We won’t sleep enough if we cook,” he said.

Employers TODAY spoke to said meal arrangements vary according to the location of work sites and the size of the company.

Sharing his company’s good practices, Mr Desmond Hill, deputy general manager of Penta Ocean construction, said his firm usually delivers food to work sites an hour before meal times. Where possible, it also sets up quarters on site where workers can cook, he added.

An industry insider who wanted to be known only as Mr Lim said some caterers are offering cheaper packages and cut back on the quality and quantity of the food.

Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Member of Parliament Christopher de Souza, who has spoken up for foreign workers’ welfare in Parliament, hopes the situation can be addressed. He said: “I hope the workers who give up much to support their families in their hometowns will be provided healthy meals to sustain them through a hard day’s work.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 20, 2015
5 Food Apps That Singapore Foodies Should Have

As Singaporeans, we’re constantly surrounded by, besides Singlish.. food. Be it a new cafe or a delicious bowl of Bak Kut Teh, we’re almost always on the prowl for good and affordable food. But how does one keep up with the ever-changing food trends? Also, with the relatively steep prices at cafes, how’re you supposed to embark on a cafe-hopping journey without burning a hole in your wallet? With the rise of technology that resulted in the creation of awesome food applications that are offering fancier features by the day, satisfy the foodie in you with the latest food trends and discounts at your fingertips. So let’s get chomping.

Eatigo

Enjoy higher discount rates by making reservations for off-peak hours

I’m sure many fellow Singaporeans are familiar with Chope, the application that allows you to make a reservation at various eateries across the island. But with Eatigo, not only do you get to make a reservation at your fingertips; you would, through making a reservation, get to enjoy differing discount rates that are pegged to different reservation timings. For instance, you would get to enjoy a 50% discount off certain items off the menu of Cali Cafe if you were to make a reservation, through Eatigo, at 2p.m. But if you were to make a reservation at say 7.pm, you’d only get to enjoy a 20% discount. But despite the differing discount rates, I must say that this beats having no discounts at all. Am I right, my fellow bargain warriors?

PickatSG

Feed the foodie in you with food news and trends that are updated regularly

There are food coupons carrying a mind boggling range of promotions on PickatSG. All you have to do is to sign up and be prepared to scroll through a list of downloadable food coupons. Simply tap on the coupon of your fancy (in my case, it was the $9.80 ice cream buffet for two at Maple Loft Cafe) to download it to save them in your coupon box. Simply flash the coupon at the eatery to redeem it. Yes, it is that simple and you get to save a bundle!

Besides offering a variety of discounts, PickatSG also feeds you with additional knowledge in the food scene. The featured lists includes “5 Brunch Gems in the East”, “5 Economical Buffet Places under $20” and “5 Cafes to Visit in Tiong Bahru”. So the next time your friend says “I don’t know what to eat leh”, you know which app to tap on for the place and the discounts.

Sugar

With Sugar, you can enjoy now enjoy the pricy Eggs Ben at almost half its price

What’s in it for you for this seemingly sweet sounding application, you ask? There’re never enough discounts and this relatively new food based application will have you hooked. The list of promotions/discounts shown on your feed are based on the present location but the sweet application also allows you to alter your location in order to see what promotions the cafes in a particular area are offering.

So how does Sugar work? The original price and the current discounted price of a certain food item will first be shown to all users. Tap on the “skim” button in order to reduce the price of any desired item by $0.20 (but bear in mind that you can only “skim” any item once). Whenever you find the price desirable, tap on the item in order to purchase it. For more details such as the validity of the coupon, you can also tap the item. The best part? You can sort the promotions in accordance to food, drinks and even desserts!

But since any item can only be purchased once per day, it is fastest fingers first for this application.

Open Rice

Discover eateries that are situated near you with Open Rice

If you’re constantly having trouble with making food decisions, Open Rice may be a good application to have in your smart phone. Besides providing you with eateries that are situated nearest to you, you can also choose to view these eateries in accordance of their ratings. Handy details of the restaurant or cafe that includes short descriptions, contact numbers, reviews and photos are also included to aid your decision-making.

But what’s a food application without discounts or promotions, right? Open Rice also offers a variety of discount coupons but due to the limited variety of coupons, I’d say to revert to Sugar or PickatSG instead.

Halal Trip

The app even includes an in-flight prayer time calculator to make travelling more convenient for our Muslim friends …

Our Muslim friends will definitely find this food app launched in early January useful to own. Besides discovering nearby halal eateries, users can also read reviews and view photos of the dishes that are being offered. Details such as the location of particular restaurants are also available upon tapping the photo.

Enabled on both Apple and Android interfaces, users can now widen their dining options and share their experiences with fellow Muslims. This app is also available in both Arabic and English, encouraging Muslims across the globe to share their to-go Halal eateries.

So get your hands on these free phone applications now and start planning your get-togethers. It may seemkiasu at first, but after scoring a plate of Eggs Ben at $8.80 instead of the usual $14.90, you may come to realize that being a smart discount-auntie isn’t that bad after all.

Makansutra, since 1997 celebrates Asian food culture through food guides, online content, food courts, events and consultancy services. articles and reviews provided by Makansutra are fully independent and are never solicited. We review independently, arrive unannounced and pay for all our reviewed meals. We share it with you as it is, warts, glory and all. For more details on Makansutra’s operations and review policies,click here.

Source: https://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com

February 6, 2015
Bengawan Solo is NOT HALAL

My dear brothers and sisters. Please take note that Bengawan Solo is NEVER halal certified because of the usage of RUM in their food.

Please spread this around.

When choosing an eatery, ensure it’s Halal certified and don’t just assume, especially if only verbally mentioned by the staffs. When in doubt, avoid.

Jazakallah Khair,

Authored & contributed by Shred Novice

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EDITOR’S NOTE

FYI, if you want to search for local HALAL food, you can click on the links below:

MUIS HALAL-CERTIFIED EATING ESTABLISHMENTS (UPDATED AS OF 25 APR 2014)

So, next time if you see a particular restaurant or food brand names that is almost malay-like or indonesian-like, please look for HALAL certificate displayed or HALAL logo to be sure or you can call this number to confirm its authenticity – 6359 1167

May 6, 2014