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asian hotel& Catering times
Published since 1976 Vol 35 August 2010
hong Kong sAR hK$50 china RMb50singapore s$15 Malaysia RM30Thailand bt300Rest of Asia us$10
HERITAGE HOTELS
INTEGRATED DATA
RESORT EXPANSION
ADVENTURES IN ICE
Mischa Moselle
AsiAn Hotel & CAtering tiMes is publisHed MontHly by tHoMson press Hong Kong ltd (tpHK)
The opinions expressed in Asian Hotel & Catering Times do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher or the publication. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted by the publisher, editors and staff, agents and contributors for omissions, typographical or printers errors, inaccuracies or changes howsoever caused. The editors reserve the right to edit any material submitted at their discretion. All materials published remain the property of TPHK. Reproduction without permission by any means is strictly prohibited. Correspondence should be addressed to The Editor, Asian Hotel & Catering Times, Room 1205-6, 12/F, Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2815 9111 Fax: (852) 2851 1933. Fantasy Print, Unit B 8/F, Tin Fung Industial Mansion, 63 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong
All rights reserved (c) 2009Thomson Press Hong Kong Ltd
Welcome to the August edition of Asia’s favourite hospitality read, home not just to the news but the
background that explains it.“I stayed in a real old hotel last night.
They sent me a wake up letter,” quipped the American comedian Steve Wright. Trite sentiment alert – in the current competitive climate being behind the curve on technological advances is not an option. At the start of the financial crisis we encountered one very senior hotel executive who told us he
hong Kong hoTels AssociATion
hong Kong chefs AssociATion
fedeRATion of hong Kong ResTAuRAnT owneRs
The fedeRATion of hong Kong hoTel owneRs
AssociATionof ThAilAnd
bAKing indusTRy TRAining cenTRe
AssociATion of inTeRnATionAl
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singAPoRechefs AssociATion
hong Kong bAKeRy & confecTioneRy
AssociATion
singAPoRehoTel AssociATion
hong Kong bARTendeRs AssociATion
hong Kong MAiTRe d’hoTel AssociATion
shAnghAi chefs AssociATion
MyAnMAR chefsAssociATion
MAlAysiAn AssociATionof hoTels
MAcAu hoTel club MAnAgeRs AssociATion
HONG KONGThomson Press Hong Kong Limited/Media Transasia LimitedRoom 1205-6, 12/F, Hollywood Centre,233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong KongTel: +(852) 2851 7068, 2815 9111 Fax: +(852) 2851 1933, 2581 9531Email: [email protected]: Mr Mischa Moselle
AUSTRALIAMass Media PublicitasLevel 9, 215-217 Clarence Street Sydney NSW 2000 Australia Tel: + 61 2 9252 3476 Fax: +61 2 9251 3726 Email: [email protected]: Mr Charlton D’Silva
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UNITED KINGDOMThe Powers Turner GroupGordon House, Greencoat PlaceLondon SW1P 1PH, United KingdomTel: +44 (0) 20 7592 8300 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7592 8301Contact: Mr Chris Morgan
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was touring Asia to “hug his customers”. You may need to get that close to your clients to ensure they keep coming back for more and one way to do so is to harness technology to collate all the data you have on guests and their spending patterns.
However, as the industry recovers occupancy if not yet revenue, now is also a good time to be planning the next wave of expansion. Can Integrated Resorts weave their money-spinning magic in Cambodia or Vietnam? In a region obsessed by modernity
Managing EditorMischa Moselle
dEsign byKoon Ming Tang
ContributorsNadine BatemanAndrew Dembina
Mark Graham Elle Kwan
Robin LynamRuth Williams
assoCiatE PublishErSharon Knowler
advErtising salEs ManagErClaire Sancelot
CirCulation ExECutivEBecky Chau
ChairManJS Uberoi
dirECtorGaurav Kumar
and the contemporary, what niche is there for heritage hotels?
On a lighter note, explore chic ideas for ice cream and see why the Japanese are talking big balls when it comes to ice in their whisky.
HARMONY 40
HARMONY 35
HARMONY 53 HARMONY CARAFE
RASTAL design: over 160 awards since 1974.
GOODDESIGN
DESIGN MEETS WINE
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ph: +852 28071682 · fax: +852 28070288 · [email protected]
E d i t o r ’ s M E s s a g E
August 2010 AHCT 3
Food22 Hong Kong’s dining scene
evolves26 The world’s coolest frozen
desserts
drinK30 Coffee – staff training for a
better cup
EQuiPMEnt40 Chilled ice-making machines
EvEnts and Exhibitions44 Events calendar45 Hosfair reviewed46 Hotel World Asia reviewed47 IHIF 2010 reviewed
MarKEt rEPort14 Heritage hotels of Rajasthan
tEChnology18 The low-down on integrated hotel
systems and the importance of social media sites
nEWs Culinary34 Dry-aged beef; Mooncakes;
Energy drink
industry6 Travel forecasts; expansion
plans; Thailand
ProduCt36 Crème Brûlée syrup; ovens; wine
glasses; cookware
ManagEMEnt12 Asia’s casinos: who’s catching up
with Macau?
cover photography courtesy of Rest detail hotel, hua hin Thailand
Ice cream delight
14Fit for a Rajah
6
26
aPPointMEnts54 See who is moving where
Rapid expansion
4 AHCT August 2010 August 2010 AHCT 5
Up and Coming... September• Green issues• Market Report: Malaysia• Security• Public spaces• Olive oil• Cocktails• Laundry; Induction cookers
October• Spa• Market report: Macau • Revenue/Yield Management• Spa design• Caviar • Wine• Spa amenities/Tabletops
CONTENTSV o l u m e 3 5 A u g u s t 2 0 1 0
Alpha International 23Athena Tableware 25Boncafe 10 & 11Elle & Vire International OBCFood Hotel China 48Franke 31Global Chef 9Global Search International 15HICAP 52HK International Wine Fair 51Hyperlux IBCInternational Furniture Fair 49Manitowoc Foodservice 43Meiko 49Movenpick Nestle 29Nespresso 17Rastal IFCRestaurant & Bar 50Routin 19The Koffee Ko 33VIDACASA 39Wine & Gourmet Asia 53
Advert isers’ index
The region’s biggest travellers over the next two years will be the mainland Chinese, who intend to spend their money close to home, whatever the state of the economy.
That’s according to the findings of The Visa and Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Asia Pacific Travel Intentions Survey 2010, which found that the mainland Chinese plan to travel most out of all Greater China travellers*.
The survey revealed that, on average, they are planning for 7.4 business and leisure trips in the next two years, compared with the 5.6 and 4.5 trips anticipated by Hong Kong and Taiwanese travellers.
It also showed they are less affected by the economic climate than last year.
In the 2009 survey, 76 percent of Greater China respondents said economic uncertainties would affect their travel plans to the extent that they would either postpone their trips or choose less expensive destination options. However, this year, 50 percent of the respondents said they intend to travel, irrespective of economic uncertainties.
In line with the 2009 survey results, Asia Pacific continues to be the number one destination region for Greater China leisure travellers over the next two years, followed by Western Europe and North America.
Richard Chang, Group Country Manager, Greater China, Visa, which commissioned the survey, said: “This year the survey again highlights the strong intra-regional travel preferences that exist among consumers in Greater China. Hong Kong remains a top leisure travel destination for mainland Chinese and Taiwan while mainland China continues to rank as one of the most favourite holiday destinations for Hong Kongers and Taiwanese travellers.”
That’s good news for the region’s travel industry players, government tourism agencies and financial institutions.
John Koldowski, Deputy CEO & Head, Office of Strategy Management, PATA (the recognized authority on Asia Pacific travel and tourism, which co-commissioned the survey) said the insights provided are useful to the whole industry in formulating strategies for sustainable growth.
“(The results) coupled with the fact that the mainland Chinese became the world’s fourth biggest tourism spenders last year, indicates that the travel industry must adapt to the needs of the growing number of affluent mainland Chinese who have the discretionary spending power for leisure travel,” said Koldowski.
The survey also shows that Macau has dropped down the priority list for all Greater China travellers, particularly for travellers from mainland China.
AttractionsDifferent travel preferences among Greater China travellers were recorded, with natural scenery, sunshine and beaches and new places being the key attractions for mainland Chinese planning their holidays. Hong Kong has been the number one destination for leisure travel over the past two years, with repeat visits largely driven by great shopping, dining options and natural scenery.
For Hong Kongers, it was Japan, mainland China and Taiwan that were the most popular destinations over the past two years and remain the top choices for the next two years. For the Taiwanese, it’s mainland China, Japan and Hong Kong that hold the greatest appeal.
The survey was conducted in May and 1,571 people in the Greater China region were interviewed.
*Greater China region refers to mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Targets for growthThree major hotel groups are to significantly expand their Asia Pacific operations.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Accor and Pan Pacific are opening hotels in Greater China, India and Australia, respectively.
IHG is to double its presence in Greater China to over 250 hotels over the next five years.
It is currently the largest international hotel company in Greater China with 131 hotels open and a further 146 hotels in the development pipeline.
Group CEO, Andy Cosslett, said: “By establishing ourselves as the first international hotel company in China with the Holiday Inn Lido in Beijing in 1984, we now have an extensive infrastructure with over 40,000 people across the country and a presence in over 40 major, secondary and tertiary cities. We will create a further 87,000 jobs across China over the next five years as we open the hotels in our pipeline.”
French connectionThe world's leading hotel operator and market leader in Europe, Accor, has teamed up with Interglobe and Pacifica Partners to open seven new hotels at key locations in India.
These include a site at the recently opened Delhi International Airport, one of Asia’s newest and largest airports. All seven hotels will open between 2011 and 2013, when they will be valued at approximately US$325 million on completion.
A fund for the hotels has been established with Pacifica, which is the asset manager for the joint venture hotel arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.
Gilles Pelisson Chairman and CEO of Accor said: “The establishment of this fund demonstrates Accor’s ability to enter new markets through effective partnerships, creating a portfolio of high quality assets and then realizing the potential of these assets. The investment of Pacifica into this fund provides a platform for further growth in the strategic market of India where Accor and InterGlobe have already created an extensive development pipeline.”
In the five years since entering India with a joint venture arrangement with InterGlobe Enterprises, Accor has opened eight hotels. A further 43 hotels are committed in the country.
Pan Pacific Hotels Group will enter the Australian market with an initial three properties by 2011.
This marks the beginning of its presence in what will be a new growth market for the Singapore-based hotel management company, which owns and/or manages more than 30 hotels, resorts and serviced suites with over 10,000 rooms in Asia and North America.
The three new properties in Australia will be Parkroyal, Darling Harbour, Sydney, (rebranded from Crowne Plaza Darling Harbour), ParkRoyal Parramatta (rebranded from Crowne Plaza Parramatta) in Sydney and Pan Pacific Perth, in Perth, Western (rebranded from Sheraton Perth).
“We are entering Australia with three great hotels,” said A. Patrick Imbardelli, President and CEO of Pan Pacific Hotels Group.
“We are delighted to be able to introduce the Pan Pacific hallmark of personalised service even as we reconnect the ParkRoyal brand with consumers, guests, and all of our stakeholders in this market and create memorable hotel experiences for each one of them.”
Mainlanders plan most frequent travel
IHG to expand its China presence
Accor is bringing the IBIS brand to Bangalore
John Koldowski, Deputy CEO & Head, Office of Strategy Management, PATA
IN BRIEFSingapore’s first waterfront hotel has opened. The Fullerton Bay Hotel, Marina Bay, is joining the Preferred Hotels & Resorts stable.
Located in the heart of the Lion City’s central business district and the historic arts and cultural precinct, the hotel features an impressive glass façade and a 17-metre-wide lobby at the historic Clifford Pier.
The interior designs were inspired by Singapore's history, and feature vintage nautical maps and contemporary art.
The 100-room hotel includes six suites named after the ex-governors of the Straits Settlement and each has a magnificent view of Marina Bay.
There are three dining rooms, an opulent 800-bottle fine wine library and a stylish rooftop bar and swimming pool with panoramic views of the waterfront, the Singapore skyline, and sunset.
The Mandarin Oriental has opened a new hotel on Macau’s waterfront. Featuring all the luxury elements the name is synonymous with, the
rooms at the Mandarin Oriental, Macau, offer panoramic views of the Taipa Island, west Nam Van Lake, Macau Tower and the hills of the South China coastline.
The hotel is located in the One Central complex, perfectly situated for high-end shopping and the requisite entertainment, but also just a few minutes walk from the historic town.
The group’s award-winning spa concept is there in all its glory and there’s also a 320 square-metre ballroom and a boardroom The bar of the newly-opened Mandarin Oriental, Macau
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6 AHCT August 2010
i n d u s t r y n E w s
August 2010 AHCT 7
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Mobile serviceInterContinental Hotels (IHG) has announced the second phase of its mobile app strategy with the global launch of its Priority Club Rewards app for the Android.
In this way customers can find and book hotel rooms, check rates and view or cancel reservations for all seven of IHG’s brands.
IHG is the first major hotel company to offer an app for the Android and the announcement follows the successful launch of the Priority Club Rewards iPhone app in late April, which has been downloaded over 70,000 times globally since.
Says Michael Menis, Vice President, Global Interactive Marketing, IHG: “Our mobile capabilities are an important part of our powerful system that brings guests into IHG hotels . . . The growth of our mobile capabilities and their success in the marketplace in just one year tells us that our customers want access to information wherever and whenever they want. Our mobile strategy allows us to create the optimized websites and applications that provide that access for our customers.”
Travellers on the move can now also book Worldhotels’ accommodation with a new website available exclusively through smartphones.
Users of Blackberries and iPhones accessing www.worldhotels.com are automatically linked to a splash page, enabling them to choose between making a booking or searching the group’s full directory of more than 450 properties worldwide.
Commenting on the new service, Worldhotels’ Asia Pacific Vice President, Roland Jegge says: ‘We have responded to the massive growth in the use of smartphones and the degree to which both business and leisure travellers have come to rely on them. Worldhotels always wants to make life as easy as possible for busy travellers.”
The negative impact on Thailand following the political demonstrations has been devastating and unnecessary, according to one long-term resident and leading businessman, opining before the late July blast in the capital’s business district.
In an open letter to the country’s prime minister last month, William E. Heinecke, blamed the global media, saying it “unfairly portrayed Thailand – the entire country – as being unsafe for tourists (when) in actual fact, outside of Bangkok, and specifically the Rajprasong area, life remained peaceful and unaffected by the events which took place.”
Heinecke, who is Chairman and CEO of the Minor group of companies - which includes Minor International Plc, one of the largest hospitality and leisure companies in the Asia Pacific region, and who moved to Thailand with his family in 1963, becoming a citizen in 1991 – writes that it is “heartbreaking to see a countrywide travel warning that causes unnecessary panic for international guests and hardship for the millions of people working in the travel sector and related industries.”
He goes on to say that he is confident that tourists will soon return to the country to experience its “natural beauty, unique culture, and warm welcome of its people”, adding that Thailand “will continue to be one of the world’s leading tourist destinations.”
His confidence is not misplaced. Thailand is still a top travel spot and visitor numbers are up, despite the sharp drop during the political crisis months of May and June.
International arrivals in the first half of the year increased by more than 13 percent on last year.
Figures compiled by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, showed total arrivals of 7,515,025 from January to June, while over the same period last year, the number was 6,609,313.
That’s due in part to the impact of the global financial and economic crisis prevailing at the time and also reflects the fact that while arrivals to
Bangkok were significantly affected, arrivals to Phuket remained relatively buoyant.
As the arrivals in June and July picked up significantly, thanks to recovery programmes and promotional packages, the Tourism Authority of Thailand officials remain optimistic that it will still be possible to meet the year’s total arrivals target of 14.5 million arrivals.
East Asians are the country’s most loyal visitors, with Malaysians topping the list, followed by the Japanese, Chinese and Koreans.
In Europe, the UK and German tourists are still holidaying in Thailand, while visitor numbers from Russia continue to grow steadily.
Island of the statisticsThailand’s troubles may have had a postive effect on Bali.
May foreign arrival figures have placed the island back into positive growth, increasing 8.10 percent as compared to May 2009.
On a cumulative basis January-May 2010 produced 926,453 foreign visitors for Bali, up 12.02 percent from the same five months in 2009.
If the current 12.02 percent growth rate can be sustained until the end of the year, visitor numbers should reach around 2.497 million
Australia remains the largest source of visitors, with arrivals increasing 56.62 percent in the first five months of the year.
As Japan's economic downturn continues to worsen, their visitor numbers declined to 23.25 percent of the total in the same period.
Although mainland China is third place in the race for Bali foreign tourist arrivals, May 2010 figures plummeted by 19.16 per cent, but the overall decline for January-May was 2.32 percent.
Malaysia and South Korea visitor numbers also declined by 5.36 percent and 6.11 percent, respectively.
However, U.K. arrivals to Bali are up a whopping 27.09 percent and, Netherlands visitors, buoyed by a resumption of service to Amsterdam
Arrivals growth for Thailand and Bali
Reservations on the move
Bali visitor numbers have not suffered any knock on effect from Thailand
Photography courtesy of the st Regis, bali
Thailand still attracts visitors
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8 AHCT August 2010 August 2010 AHCT 9
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Japanese gaming lobbyists have yet to win over successive premiers
M a n a g E M E n t
12 AHCT August 2010
M a n a g E M E n t
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would buy the UK casino businesses of Genting Singapore Plc to expand overseas UK gaming. But will Malaysia step up domestic gaming to keep up with neighbour Singapore?
The Philippines, Cambodia, South Korea and Taiwan have reportedly all been developing existing or mulling over new casinos as tourist attractions.
There are different issues in each country before they might challenge Macau and Singapore as gaming destinations.
Raking in the RMBForever tight-lipped about its operations, and forecasts it seems, gaming industry senior executives and lawyers approached for this article declined to comment.
One exception, however, was gaming consultant Ben Lee, based in Macau. The Managing Partner at IGamiX Management & Consulting Ltd has an ideal overview of the topic: he has been helping and advising on new gaming projects in Asia over the past five years, the last two as freelance consultant, frequently travelling for industry public speaking appointments.
To place all in context, AHCT asked Lee to explain Macau’s runaway success in overtaking Las Vegas revenues so quickly. “Simple, Macau is right next door to 80 million people in Guangdong [Province],” he said. “It was a matter of an opportunity they never had, which started when the PRC permitted their citizens to travel to Macau
and Hong Kong after the SARS [health] crisis hit the two Special Administrative Regions quite severely. That are a lot of Chinese with a cultural penchant and affinity for gambling.”
But can the current levels of gaming spending there be sustained, and is there room for Macau to go on growing this industry further? “Absolutely,” ensures Lee, referring to population statistics. “China has 1.5 billion people. Macau has so far tapped into only 80 million. However the demand for gambling is restricted by the Central government, both directly – restricting individual visas – and by indirect means – like having the Macau government also limit the number of days a PRC citizen can spend in Macau. What the PRC will do next is one question no-one in Macau can answer.”
Lee, like many in the region, was quite surprised when Singapore, after much talk, finally opened up to gaming earlier this year. “The Singapore courts, prior to the IR [integrated resort] tender, rejected an application by an Australian casino to enforce a debt on the grounds that as gambling was not legal at that time, any debts resulting from it would not have stood legally,” he clearly remembers.”
Unexpected perhaps, but most welcome, Lee reflects: “The Singapore situation has added to the regional impetus already imparted by Macau. The two IRs in Singapore will continue ramping up their facilities and marketing, and we should see annual combined revenue reaching somewhere between US$3.5-4 billion.
Where next?So what of the other Asian gaming contenders? Perhaps Malaysia’s quietish small-scale gaming could be expanded. Lee thinks not. “The gaming scene will remain as it is in Malaysia for the foreseeable future,” he surmises. “Caught between [being] an increasingly Islamist state and a monopolistic situation, it already has lost significant revenue to Singapore and will continue to do so. In fact, I won’t be surprised if Genting shifts some of its business down to Singapore, due to the lower taxes there, as well as increasing uncertainty brought about by the religion factor.”
There are murmurs of interest from other Asian nations to join their high-rolling gaming neighbours. No concrete plans have been publicly announced yet, though.
Cambodia, which has an established gaming industry that attracts Thais across its border (there is no legal gaming in Thailand), looks the likeliest to continue expanding. “It’s vibrant there, said Lee, “around 30 casinos at last count, with another five or six on the drawing board. With its stated objectives of attracting investment, creating local jobs
Andrew Dembina asks if other Asian countries can cash in on the success of casino-resort complexes in Macau and Singapore
“The Singapore situation has added to the regional impetus already imparted by Macau” and inviting tourism dollars, Cambodia is the only country in the region that does not levy a gaming revenue tax. This has driven up real estate value where none was to be had, particularly in the border areas, with new border points now coming up.”
On other Asian nations’ plans, Lee is less hopeful. “The Philippines has been attempting to grow its gaming industry,” he said. “But the effort has been mired in local politics. Institutionalised corruption, a government regulator who is also a competitor – Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), opaque tax and incomprehensible labour laws, have all combined to render the Philippines a veritable revolving door as far as foreign investors are concerned. It’s a challenge to get overseas gamblers in any large numbers to visit the Philippines now that Macau and Singapore are both large draw cards.
Unappealing odds“South Korea has 17 casinos, with locals permitted to enter only one, which is a few hours drive away from Seoul. The other foreigners-only casinos’ combined revenue does not add up to that enjoyed by the local one. There’s a huge pent up demand in Korea and foreign operators are keen to invest; however, the government’s steadfast refusal to permit free local access has meant
that the industry there will remain as it is for the near future.
“There has been recent hullabaloo about two islands in Taiwan, first Penghu, now Kinmen. As locals will tell you, though, it’s easier to fly to Macau than it would be to get to those islands. Given that it’s unlikely for overseas visitors to visit Taiwan for gaming, and that there is doubt as to whether the PRC would allow citizens to gamble there, the whole question is moot.
“There has been internal movement within Japan over the last five years to bring in casinos, however these efforts parallel the discontinuity in government. Every time it or the prime minister changes, the casino lobby groups’ efforts get reset to zero.
“I would think that Indonesia may even start debating the issue, to retain tourism funds that they now see flowing out to Singapore.”
Hong Kong has gambling officially controlled through the Hong Kong Jockey Club, through sports betting and a lottery, but no gaming. Lee foresees no change there. And as for mainland China, it “already has enough problems with corruption internally, without bringing in a highly volatile complicator like casinos,” he said. “Right now, it is probably happy to keep it ‘quarantined’ in Macau, where it has control, anyhow.”
In 2005, when American casinos came to town in the ex-Portuguese colony, everyone forecast a surge in profits in gaming and related industries.
One year later, Macau’s gambling revenues famously overtook those of Las Vegas. Naturally, Asian neighbours have been encouraged by this and some have turned their attention to developing their own gaming industries. In January, Macau casino revenue rose 63 percent from a year earlier, to 14 billion patacas (US$1.80 billion), according to Portuguese news agency Lusa.
Singapore’s much-anticipated casinos started changing up chips from February this year. Though there have been some teething problems, with one launch stalling and attracting criticism from its staff, innovations, such as female-only tables, and Singapore’s clean-cut reputation gives a flutter in Lion City some fresh appeal. The two casinos are expected to contribute a combined additional S$5.4 billion (US$3.84 billion), some 0.5 to 1 percent, to Singapore’s gross domestic product by 2015, estimates Singapore’s Tourism Board.
Malaysia has operated relatively low-key gaming in the Genting Highlands for decades. The sole player in the country’s casino business announced in July that it Foreign investors have found the Philippines a challenging environment
Inspiring imitators: entry to the casino at Macau’s City of Dreams
Times became tough for the Indian maharajahs when independence arrived sixty years ago, bringing with it a diminution of their power and privileges. The tiger-shooting parties became less frequent, the lavish palace
balls a little more irregular and the fleets of Rolls-Royce limousines had to be trimmed back drastically.
Then one of the brighter sparks among the Indian aristocracy hit on the idea of renting out castle rooms to the paying public, allowing tourists a glimpse of the gilded life that had once gone before. It was a spectacular success, particularly in Rajasthan, the desert state which has the greatest concentration of grand family palaces, originally built with funds raised from feudalistic taxes on the peasantry.
Modern day visitors get to stay in these blue-blood creations at blue collar prices: rooms with cavernous bedrooms and four-poster beds go for as little as US$100 a night. Places such as Samode Palace, Umaid Bhawan and the Lake Palace at Udaipur are fabulously ornate creations, castles and palaces where the architects had a money-no-object brief.
They also have a roll-call of interesting guests past and present. Among the Samode stayers was former American First Lady Jackie
Onassis, film crews making a mini-series adaptation of the book The Far Pavilions and endless fashion photographers and models capitalising on the extraordinary setting.
The castle reeks of history. It was constructed three centuries ago in a valley carefully chosen for its obscurity and natural defensive capabilities. Lookout forts were built on surrounding peaks, so guards could spot opportunistic invaders from far away; a favourite pastime of Rajasthani nobles was to pick a fight with a neighbour and pitch their armies into bloody battles.
Even at street level, away from the grandeur of the castles, the state of Rajasthan is alluringly beautiful. The women, who wear saris of vivid pink, yellow and turquoise, adorn themselves with chunky silver jewellery even when performing menial tasks in the field; the men, who generally sport grand moustaches and earrings, opt for turbans of green, red and gold; the camels, Rajasthan’s favorite beast of burden, are given elaborate saddles and reins.
Have you come far?Another iconic structure, the pure-white Lake Palace in Udaipur, is but one of a series of splendid residences located in and around the
The castles and palaces of the Indian desert state of Rajasthan, which once housed the ruling royal families, their
courts and concubines, are now popular heritage hotels reports Mark Graham
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Right royal places to stay
Moghul-style gardens at the Lake Palace
“Most of the time people don’t want to leave,” says a Lake Palace spokesman
The venerable Ambassador takes guests to the Umaid Bhawan
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Nostalgic rideVisitors often build an itinerary around heritage hotels of Rajasthan, cruising around the desert state by Ambassador, the unfashionable, yet dependable, automobile of choice for the often-rough roads of the desert. A popular circuit is to hire a car and driver in New Delhi for a two-week tour around Rajasthan after first visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra.
Major Rajasthan settlements are located around 200 kilometres from each other – just the right distance for a day’s sedate motoring, stopping at attention-grabbing sites along the roadside.
The antique Ambassador vehicle, designed in the 1950s, fits into the nostalgic mood evoked by the Rajasthan castles, helping to recreate an era when tiffin was taken in the afternoon, bagged tigers were displayed on the lawn and the maharajahs’ wealth was measured in many, many millions of dollars.
The more entrepreneurially minded maharajas have moved with the times, realising that tourism can be a nice little earner. His Excellency the Maharajah Gaj Singh, whose family ruled the fort city of Jodhpur for centuries, is an example of the new, commercially-minded royals.
Not that he had much choice. Earlier this century, his grandfather built Umaid Bhawan castle, a building of stupendous proportions and extravagant design, where the architect appears to have had influences ranging from Walt Disney of America, through to Louis XIV of France and, closer to home, an ancestral committee of maharajas from Jodhpur. Its preposterous size – there are more than 300 rooms in all – meant it soon began to make a serious dent in the family fortune.
Enter tourism. Visitors, who pay from US$200 a night, check into a building equipped with all the royal trappings a huge banqueting hall, an extensive collection of stuffed tigers, bears and leopards, and expansive, carefully-manicured grounds. The maharajah himself lives in one ample annex of the building, holding court beneath the portraits of rulers past and present.
“Guests bring the building alive,” says the maharajah, whose palace recently hosted the wedding of movie star and model Liz Hurley to her Indian beau Arun Naya. “Radical changes have come and this was part of it. Tourism is an engine of growth.”
The palace is considered the flagship property of the Heritage Hotels of India, a collection of distinguished properties. Also in the maharajah’s portfolio are Sardar Samand Palace, Bal Samand Lake Palace and tented camps that allow trips into the desert.
The company that is most closely associated with upscale heritage properties is the Taj Group. On the company books is Umaid Bhawan, the Lake Palace hotel and the 100-room Jai Mahal palace in the Rajasthan capital of Jaipur, a building that dates back to 1747 and was once the residence of the state prime minister.
Guests, who pay US$277 a night for a standard room in the plush property, are free to wander around the Moghul-style gardens, considered to be among the finest anywhere.
Another Jaipur hotel, the 79-toom Rambagh Palace was originally built in 1835 on a modest scale for the maharani’s favourite servant and was later refurbished as a royal guesthouse and hunting lodge. In 1925, Rambagh was converted into a palace, and became the residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur, switching to luxury hotel use in 1957 and to Taj management in the 1970s.
There are scores of other palaces, castles, forts and havelis (royal city dwellings), throughout Rajasthan, some members of larger hotel chains, others independently managed. Their future looks bright, given the surging popularity of heritage-style tourism and culture-themed vacations.
Having Liz Hurley’s wedding in Rajasthan hasn’t done any harm, either. Rajasthan had a free publicity ride, as the world’s paparazzi trained their lenses on the glamorous couple and the magical castles, glorious landscapes and colourful people.
city lake; originally it was merely a summer getaway, so the royal court could escape from the 50ºC-degree heat of the non-air-conditioned summers.
In more recent times, visitors have included Queen Elizabeth of Britain, soon after her coronation, and the actress Vivien Leigh. The Hollywood theme continued when the James Bond crew arrived to make Octopussy. In that movie Roger Moore was on 007 duties battling, among other villains, Vijay Armitrage, the Indian tennis star who was cast as a baddie.
In the past few years, giggly actress Goldie Hawn has woken up to a Lake Pichola sunrise; British foreign secretary William Hague checked in for his honeymoon; a regular visitor was the late Beatle George Harrison, an enthusiastic champion of Indian music and culture.
“Most of the time people don’t want to leave,” says a hotel spokesman. “We find a lot of people just sit around and read or sketch. Foreigners also come here to get married, dressing up in local costumes. People love to come to Rajasthan because of its history: it has always been the land of wars and chivalry and big moustaches. There is an image that it is the land of kings and rulers.”
The Taj Group’s Lake Palace hotel
A former royal hunting lodge is now a Taj Group-operated
79-room property
Jai Mahal palace in state capital Jaipur – 263 years old
Nostalgia – the Rambagh Palace’s afternoon tea offering
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At Blue Mountain Resort, in Canada, the IT-team has done away with CRM. Also gone is PMS. The loyalty computing system is no more. Business and Intelligence and other financials interfaces are a thing of the past.
In its place is a single database system by Centrum powered by Microsoft.
During a recent webinar, the group’s IT Director, John Gowers, outlined all the possible benefits he saw for using a single database solution; staff have one system to learn. If they migrate departments, their existing computing skills travel with them. Staff also input less. If, for instance, a guest books a room, and then requests dinner reservations, a tennis court and a spa treatment, all actions can be made by one employee, in real time and bookings show up on each relevant system automatically. If that same guest cancels his room, the act of actioning the request cancels all connected bookings. The tennis court is available immediately, the spa has room for one more.
Gowers says that the costs involved in connecting multiple disparate systems and their upkeep is diminished, and in the single database, all customer records are held in one place, making it an invaluable marketing tool.
Reporting successNot everyone prefers a single solution. Sandesh Dessai, Group MIS Manager for Meritus Hotels and Resorts employs nine systems, including Opera PMS, Micros POS, Grait Plain Accounting, IdeaS for revenue management, Synxis for CRS, and FCS Connect for one-touch service, but Meritus is in the process of linking Opera with IdeaS and Synxis for greater integration to improve efficiency. “Hotel management needs to see the morning report or flash report at every morning meeting. Without integration it’s very difficult to generate this type of report or information,” says Dessai.
Properties regularly use synergised systems to target performance in specific areas of the business. Hyatt Hotels Corporation cut problem orders in their meetings and groups business by a third after syncing the company’s own sales system, Envision, with Daylight, a hosted sales and catering solution created by Newmarket
International. Envision deals with leads and booking, while Daylight manages servicing, and makes use of Microsoft BizServer technology to gather event information and create focused to-do lists for relevant departments. According to Steve Enselein, Vice President of Catering and Convention Services, using the system has raised the group’s competitive edge. “The benefit of utilizing reporting is the information is delivered in real-time and the detail is more focused for each department, resulting in understanding expectations so we can deliver an exceptional experience,” he says.
Properties may find integrated systems beneficial as the internet becomes an integral part of customer service and branding. Systems that feed data from a booking site, for instance, into the main CRS or similar, can be used to monitor customer preferences and behaviours useful for targeting marketing campaigns.
“Capturing guest information is critical to a hotel’s ongoing marketing efforts in a couple of ways,” says Paolo Torchio, Vice President, Emarketing & Revenue Consulting for Sabre Hospitality Solutions. Obtaining address information and analysing spend and buy habits, says Torchio, is a first step. Capturing “clean” email addresses to communicate with past guests and build loyalty, he says, is another. “One often overlooked opportunity to utilize consumer information is to try to get them to opt-in to your prospect database. The website is a great opportunity to do this.”
Complicated buying processes in hospitality have led to average web conversion rates of two to three percent. “Which implies that 97 percent of site visitors leave without taking an action,” says Torchio. “The website should be as much about getting them to opt-in to the marketing database as it is about reservations through calls to action. These visitors then become great prospects for sending offers or encouragement to stay at the hotel where they have shown an interest,” he explains.
Website bookings for Hamilton Island Enterprises, a resort destination in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, have risen 50 percent with conversion rates up 85 percent year-on-year following a competition campaign offering its winner the chance to live on the island for a year in exchange for blogging the experience. The campaign, Best Job in the World, scored a huge viral following and
Integrated hotel systems combine multi-functions in one database. Elle Kwan finds out why it pays to get connected
Central “Those organisations that understand and implement strong social media strategies will reap the benefits” Grahame Tate
Photography courtesy of Meritus hotels and Resorts
Hamilton Island’s use of the internet and social media is a text book success story
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traffic to the company’s site surged. Hamilton Island implemented Guest Connect by Synxis as its booking engine, which, says Bernard O’Keefe, Group Online Marketing Manager for Hamilton Island, turned “lookers to bookers.”
“That increase translates to a more than a 40 percent increase in revenues just from the booking engine channel alone. In this economy, that is incredible,” says O’Keefe.
Features of the system include the ability to examine where customers fall out of the booking process. Hamilton Island can also insert survey questions into the booking procedure to record customer preference and views. Captured information is fed into SMS Host, the Group’s property management system where it is extracted and analysed to be used for marketing, while booking figures taken through Guest Connect can be measured for effectiveness and used to record return on investment for the marketing spend. Buoyed by positive results, Hamilton Island says it can now concentrate on intensifying direct marketing efforts.
ToolsProfiling is a central feature of the OPERA Customer Information System (OCIS) part of the Opera solutions suite offered by leading provider Micros Fidelio. Detailed profiling capability flows seamlessly with other products in the Opera range. OCIS allows multiple contact numbers, addresses and preferences to be stored and syncs duplicate profiles that may have been recorded in a group’s other properties. Guest affiliations can be recorded for special offers and a membership module supports many loyalty programmes.
This type of technology is becoming expected, says Micros Fidelio’s Hong Kong Managing Director, Carmen Lam, as customer relationship management channels widen. The advent of internet and social media has created change in the way hotels need to deal with customers. It has also changed the way a customer approaches the hotel, and Lam says the four and five-star properties she deals with require technology that enables direct outreach. “Without these tools, a hotel will find it very hard to book 500-plus rooms a day.”
Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Trip Adviser are having noted effects on the industry and already technology is racing to enhance the medium. SAS, the company that owns IdeaS, has recently launched analytics that offer hospitality a wide view on market activity occurring in social media.
Analytics works in three ways. To give basic performance insight on friends and followers of the brand, take-up rate from posts, and most active sites; to single out key influencers in networks, who can be targeted with offers and promotions; and to mine text to gather brand sentiment among users. The information may be worked into revenue systems to aid decision-making.
Ignoring social media is not an option thinks, Grahame Tate, Managing Director of IDeaS. “To ignore this trend would be a disservice to any business in the hospitality industry, as it is akin to direct customer feedback on their facility and can have a real impact on the perception of the hotel and its brand. Those organizations that understand and implement strong social media strategies will reap the benefits as this trend continues to grow.”
As hoteliers try and work out which systems to link to best provide for their clients, the race is on for vendors to accommodate. For them, sychronisation is a must. Says Carmen Lam at Micros Fidelio, “This is a topic that Micros is passionate about. Indeed the holy grail that we have been working towards all these years.”
“Capturing guest information is critical to a hotel’s ongoing marketing
efforts” Paolo Torchio
IDeaS Managing Director Grahame Tate
Using technology to build profiles of guests
Sabre Hospitality Solutions – encouraging guests to opt-in to prospect databases
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t E c h n o l o g y
20 AHCT August 2010
Hong Kong was once considered the bastion of traditional Cantonese cooking, the place where chefs were mindful of the history behind the dishes they cooked and keen to preserve it. Now, according to celebrity chef and
restaurateur Martin Yan of television’s Yan Can Cook fame, Hong Kong’s chefs are driving the evolution of Cantonese food.
Yan, who learnt his craft in the territory before moving to the United States in the 1960s, visits several times a year. He is involved with the Hong Kong Chefs’ Society and was in Hong Kong recently to give a demonstration of his skills at the Towngas Cooking Centre in Causeway Bay.
Culinary combinationsThere he talked about the reason for this shift, which he attributes to many Cantonese chefs having worked in international hotels during the last few decades. He says this has given them the opportunity to “work with chefs (from around the world) and learn about different types of ingredients, herbs and spices, and to gain greater exposure to the culinary arts.”
A perfect example of this is Executive Chinese Chef, Ip Chi Cheung of the Island Shangri-La Summer Palace restaurant, who has been gradually introducing Western ingredients into his cooking. His combinations include Cantonese dishes with Western ingredients such as stir-fried beef ribs with goose liver pâté, tiger garoupa fillet
Mischa Moselle talks to industry insiders about the evolution of
dining in Hong Kong
with fresh lily bulbs and truffle pesto sauce and stewed fresh frogs with porcini mushrooms.
Assistant F&B Manager Nicholas Liang characterises Chef Ip’s cooking as not being “a complete departure from offering traditional Cantonese dishes”.
Lighter and fresherBoth Yan and Liang note that local diners are looking for dishes with less salt and oil in them and healthier, lighter options with less meat and more fruit and vegetables. While Yan also believes local diners are looking for food that is fresh and free from chemicals, Liang says: “There is an awareness among our guests but they generally do not ask about organic or sustainable sources.”
Other observers of the Hong Kong restaurant scene have identified a desire for a simpler dining experience.
This is where Morton’s comes in. The Steakhouse at the Sheraton Hotel, Hong Kong, is an American import, which is evident as soon as you walk in the door. It’s where great food is served by professional staff with genuine hospitality in a relaxing environment. “Guests definitely want quality, more so now than ever before, and are prepared to pay for it,” says Stephen McCrimmon, General Manager of Morton’s.
Garry Bissett, Director of Marketing at Dining Concepts (owners or franchisees of 17 restaurants) agrees. He says the
Keeping it simple
company’s success – a steady expansion of restaurant numbers and diversification of food – is also due to offering good quality dining in a casual atmosphere.
During the darkest days of last year’s economic downturn the restaurant group was able to capitalize on this strength by attracting diners from both ends of the spectrum – those moving away from the very top tier restaurants and, to an extent, from customers moving from lower end competitors.
Bissett puts the group’s staying power down to its business model of knowing the neighbourhood.
For example, the latest opening is a steakhouse called Prime in the Elements shopping mall located next to the ICC tower in West Kowloon. While the current lack of tenants in the latter building has been something of a disappointment, the restaurant is also next door to a residential housing development with 80,000 residents. It’s still early days for the restaurant, which not only offers the expected prime cuts of beef, but also an extensive salad buffet, yet Bissett says Prime is “thriving”.
Authentic and simple“Authentic experiences” is a phrase with increasing currency in the hospitality business and includes dining – customers are eschewing culinary clichés in favour of simpler “genuine” food. The idea remains controversial. One restaurateur says that the customers at his Thai restaurant only want Pad Thai and Tom Yung Goong.
Andy Curtis, Managing Director of Lime Concepts Group begs to differ.
Lime has been one of the outstanding success stories of the last year, starting as a takeaway in unfashionable Kennedy Town and
Observers of the Hong Kong restaurant scene have identified a desire for a simpler dining experience
Dining Concepts offer “quality food in a casual environment”
Celebrity chef Martin Yan evolving a lighter style of cooking
Photography courtesy of blanc white Pan and wok
Morton’s – recognisably a steakhouse
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Service check-upHow Singapore hotels are improving their customer handling skills
An accreditation scheme set up to help Singapore businesses identify their strengths and weaknesses, is producing good results, according to several of its members.
The Singapore Service Star was launched by the tourism board in December 2008, to “recognise and promote businesses that deliver good service and exhibit sound practices,” says Paul Tan, Director of Communications.
The scheme uses assessments by mystery shoppers to provide an overview of performance, highlighting the strengths as well as areas requiring improvement.
Swissôtel The Stamford is one of the scheme’s members. Its restaurant, Kopi Tiam, has been established for 23 years.
Nigel Moore, Director of Food and Beverage Services for Swissôtel The Stamford says: “The mystery shopping assessment has been the most valuable aspect of the programme.”
The exercise revealed that the restaurant and its staff could improve in two areas: customer service attitude and customer management, which included “offering guests a faster remedy to their queries.”
Moore concludes: “The ratio of customer compliments to feedback for improvement at Kopi Tiam has improved to a stellar 95:5; previously, the ratio was 70:30. The percentage of repeat customers has also increased.”
Tarik Temucin, Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage, The Ritz Carlton, Greenhouse, says the most useful aspect of the scheme was the programme to “equip employees with effective problem resolution skills” and “skills to anticipate and fulfill the needs of its guests”.
Kellvin Ong, General Manager, Rendezvous Hotel, Singapore, is also pleased his company joined: “In the first year after our Straits Café joined, the establishment saw a 50 percent increase in positive feedback from customers. The compliment to complaint ratio currently stands at 44:1.”
When it comes to sustaining the improvements, Ong is equally confident: “We believe that a happy guest will patronise the outlet again. Research shows that it is easier to retain customers than find new ones.”
Greenhouse – turning complaints to compliments
quickly growing into a small restaurant with a regular and devoted clientele.
Highly positive press coverage has helped but Curtis, a former TV host and radio personality with a long career in hospitality, attributes much of the business’s success to his Thai wife Kittiya Fuang Foo and her passion for cooking authentic Thai food.
As one reviewer wrote: “For me, Thai food is all about stacks of fresh herbs and vegetables mixed in with the chilies and protein, and this meal ticked all those boxes.”
Curtis says that many customers are bankers who live in newer private developments in the area and who come to Lime dressed in t-shirts and shorts and “feel as if they are on holiday in Phuket.”
Next month Lime is opening a bigger branch in Central with more on the menu, but Curtis is adamant they will be sticking to the genuine article.
Perhaps that, as opposed to responding to trends, is the key to success for Hong Kong restaurateurs.
Morton’s McCrimmon says that staying focused is crucial. He believes that the best restaurants “have identified a formula or a dining style that they can successfully manage and develop, and that is continually well received in the market.”
Finally, Martin Yan warns chefs that they must never be complacent in such a highly competitive industry.
Dining Concepts newest restaurant Prime is in a carefully considered location
Morton’s The Steakhouse focuses on the main attraction
Chef Ip, introducing Western ingredients to Cantonese dishes and diners
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“C an you do anything with sweet melons?” asks Todd Darling, who recently launched Homegrown Foods, upon acquiring farmland in Hong Kong’s New Territories.
“I can make sorbet...or granita,” answers business partner A.J Bellarosa.“I bought a hundred watermelons this morning,” says Darling.Bellarosa snaps his fingers. “I’ll make a granita. Add water and sugar, freeze
it, and then fork it.” He mimes running an instrument through the dessert. “Or maybe a sorbet is better. Bring them to the lab. I’ll make a sorbet.”
Bellarosa makes dessert-concoction look easy. Director of Creative Development for Commune, a burgeoning farm and food producer in Hong Kong, he is also pastry chef for one of the Group’s first enterprises, a restaurant called Posto Pubblico. Bellarosa, whose resumé lists some of the world’s best kitchens (Spain’s El Bulli, and in New York, L’Atelier Joel Robuchon and Jean Georges), has a million and one ideas for desserts. His dishes collide texture and flavour and are a sumptuous mouthful to describe, let alone eat: Ciliegia, a New York cheesecake with a digestive-biscuit crust, cherry sauce, a sour cherry, raspberry and blueberry compote and a morello cherry sorbet; Zucchero, a caramel semifreddo with a brown sugar cookie crust, rum raisin sauce, brown sugar cake and brown butter ice cream with a Rice Krispie swirl; and Ananas, a polenta pineapple upside down cake with crème fraîche, ginger rum sauce and sage frozen yogurt. “Sage and pineapple go very well together. Their flavour profile is like peanut butter and jelly,” says the American chef.
Flavour arraySince Heston Blumenthal plated bacon and egg ice cream at his Fat Duck restaurant, the world seems to have rediscovered frozen desserts. Count: sorbet and sherbet, semifreddo and gelato, frozen yogurt and granita, high-fat and low-fat and no-fat, advances toward pro-biotic and calcium-fortified options, artisanal and savoury. Flavours have come into their own.
Top chefs welcome every choice. “When I design desserts there is always a frozen component. The range of ice cream flavours available for food service really depends on the modern chef ’s ambitions. You can pretty much do whatever you like,” says Bellarosa, who makes all of his in house, on trend – handmade ice-cream is seeing a huge resurgence.
Premium coffee, chocolate and wine have all educated Asian palates, and so the profusion of new and exotic ingredients, like the herb-based temptations Bellarosa offers, are increasingly popular. An emphasis on specially-sourced and handmade gelato propelled Hong Kong-based Gelato company XTC On Ice Gelato into the limelight, but it’s specialty flavours prepared with the Asian market in mind that has cornered a niche in the market, says company director Georgie Riley. Recent local hits have included black sesame, Hong Kong milk tea and tofu, with honey lemongrass and raspberry lychee upcoming. “Members clubs and supermarkets like our range where global players cannot flex to the local flavour,” says Riley, “We have customers hooked on these ‘only in Hong Kong’ flavours.
As interest in emerging economies such as China and India grows, so does interest in flavours local to those cultures. XTC is currently working on an Indian-inspired pistachio kulfi, using star anise and crushed cardamom.
Universal appealBut not everybody agrees such clear preferences are evident. “I do not see very strong flavour differences from one Asian country to another. What differs is the expectations of the consumers in
What are chefs preferences when it comes to frozen desserts? Elle Kwan delves into the kitchen to find out what dishes are as cool as iceThe inside scoop
The Harbour Grand Kowloon’s Tea World desserts include ingredients such as tea, coffee and mango
A.J. Bellaroso’s Zucchero for Posto Pubblico, a caramel semifreddo with a brown sugar cookie crust, rum raisin sauce, brown sugar cake and brown butter ice cream with a Rice Krispie swirl
Another Tea World dessert from Harbour Grand Kowloon
Mövenpick’s Cognac VSOP ice cream with Tarte Tatin
A.J. Bellaroso’s Ciliega for Posto Pubblico, a New York cheesecake with a digestive biscuit crust, cherry sauce, a sour cherry, raspberry and blueberry compote and a morello cherry sorbet
Mövenpick’s Cognac VSOP ice cream on Coffee Zabaglione
Fruit Tea, part of the series at Harbour Grand Kowloon,
which combines white, green and oolong tea jelly
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ingredients are processed in a natural manner without artificial additives, artificial flavourings or artificial colours. Implementing this policy in all circumstances requires dedication, effort and close collaboration with the suppliers but is essential to ensure the perfect intensity of the ingredients’ authentic aromas and tastes.
Maîtres Glaciers, flavour developers for Mövenpick in Switzerland, recently created ricotta cheese with pink pepper ice cream and basil pesto ice cream with consumers’ increased expections in mind, and encourage chefs, through training and supplied recipes, to get creative. High-end consumers have moved past viewing ice cream as a summertime treat – Jakubowicz says his sales peak around special occasions like Chinese New Year, Christmas and Valentines – and now want imaginative fare.
The company’s suggestions for a Cognac VSOP ice-cream released last Christmas included serving scoops alongside a scallop carpaccio or with beef tartare. “Cognac VSOP is part of our gastronomy range which is aimed at chefs who are willing to go beyond the traditional consumption of ice cream as a dessert,” Jakubowicz explains.
The Swiss company also felt compelled, in 2009, to tackle another key trend – health – by creating a list of ‘one scoop’ dessert recipes, and also in launching a yoghurt sorbet. Jakubowicz suggests restaurants do well to offer at least one low-fat option to diners as the trend for wellness grows.
The less sugary treatMEC 3, a leading gelato base and pastes supplier working with standalone stores, hotels and restaurants globally, agrees. The company developed their Yoga line with a well-known fruit drink maker, Yoga, and offer a rice milk gelato. “Healthy, low fat and low sugar and natural ingredients are basically the new trend,” says, Emanuele Manenti, Manager for Asia, adding that showcasing ingredients, nutrients and source go towards meeting increased customer needs for information.
At the Harbour Grand Kowloon, Pastry Chef Ken Lee is offering a Häagen Dazs ice cream promotion whose recipes revolve around another trend for natural ingredients, using tea, coffee and mango as a starting point. Lee recently began serving the famous brand, which has a long history in the region, in response to customer comment cards showing a preference. “Guests comment that Häagen Dazs ice cream is less sweet than other brands. I used a brix meter to test it and found that the sugar content of Häagen Dazs ice cream is 1-1.5 degree brix lower than other ice creams,” says Lee.
Those newer to the region are working hard on image. Ben and Jerry’s entered Hong Kong almost a decade ago, and also has branches in Singapore. While they might not compete with companies offering such low-fat options, Ben and Jerry’s is famously rich and packed with contrasting flavour and texture – an exclusive Asian release, Cookie Affair, included two types of cookie chunks – a worldwide company move to supply 100 per cent fair trade ingredients by 2013 may be just the environmentally-friendly initiative needed to entice a wider market share. In the meantime, the Hong Kong franchise is actively using social media to target their core 18-34 market, aiming to gain stronger brand awareness amid plans for retail expansion in the region.
In his restaurant tbls, Chef Que Vinh Dang is hand-making a yamamomo sorbet, using the little-known fruit found in Hong Kong markets. While he delights in using sorbet as a summertime refresher, his heart remains with ice cream. “The best way to enhance any dessert is with ice creams. The more flavors available, the more a chef can get creative with their desserts,” he says.
But Dang predicts the tide will turn on wackier flavour options, with consumers demanding a return to simple flavours made with exceptional quality. Then, Dang says, skill is required. “If you know how to make a really good vanilla, that’s always going to be your foundation.”
“When I design desserts there is always a frozen
component” A. J. Bellarosa
A.J. Bellaroso’s Ananas for Posto Pubblico, a polenta pineapple upside down cake with crème fraiche, ginger run sauce and sage frozen yoghurt
The Harbour Grand Kowloon’s Mocha Tiramisu
Mövenpick’s Cognac VSOP ice cream scallop carpaccio
terms of sophistication, which is closely linked to their exposure and understanding of western gastronomy,” says Olivier Jakubowicz, Business Country Manager for Swiss ice-cream company, Mövenpick.
We sell more sorbets during the summer; however the increase is not that significant. We usually launch a limited edition sorbet each summer.
This year we launched Mango sorbet, made of creamy Alfonso Mangos from India. Natural mango puree is the heart of the recipe (37 percent fruit content), with morsels of the natural fruit flesh adding the occasional delicate contrast. Of course all our selected
XTC is often booked for
weddings, where gelato replaces
the traditional wedding cake.
Guests enjoy dipping in and
picking their own flavours
Valhrona chocolate goes into these hand-crafted chocolate cookie and gelato creations by XTC
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The appearance of two new independent coffee shops in Hong Kong’s Central district has been hailed as the latest sign of a genuine coffee culture emerging in Hong Kong.
Next door to the Luk Yu Teahouse, an icon of the city’s yum cha and tea-drinking traditions, is new girl on the block, Holly Brown. With two floors of stylish space and comfy seating, the chic café also offers multi-coloured gelatos and cupcakes along with coffee brewed by two Grand Barista champions.
One block away on Wellington Street, Oscar’s espresso bar, which opened in February, promises a taste of Sydney’s coffee culture. Co-founder Rebecca Mikula-Wright explains: “We had been bringing my brother Saxon’s coffee from Australia for years and we wanted to bring that level of quality and taste to Hong Kong. We found that many people were looking for the same thing.”
Saxon Wright is a leading light of the Australian coffee scene. A co-founder of the Australian Independent Roasters, a specialty coffee roasting business offering custom-made, private label roasting, he also runs Pablo & Rusty’s, a chain of Sydney coffee bars and is certified as a World Barista Championship judge.
Oscar's blend is roasted in Australia by Saxon Wright, using beans from El Salvador, Ethiopia and Guatemala among other locations the owners were reluctant to disclose, but 50 percent are from Rainforest Certified farms.
Whether it’s the drip effect of 15 years exposure to global coffee chains, the ease with which people can now make coffee at home thanks to innovations such as Nespresso’s capsules and machines, or the growing forums for coffee connoisseurs and enthusiasts and competitions such as the World Barista Championship, an increasing
number of guests and consumers in Hong Kong are seeking out good coffee.
First mover Duncan Cave believes hotels and fine-dining restaurants should be striving for the finest coffee the way they do other ingredients and he wonders why they’d offer anything less than five-star coffee.
Cave is Chief Operating Officer at Uncle Russ Coffee, the longest established chain of gourmet coffee bars in Hong Kong, which started brewing in1992. He is an established machine importer and coffee roaster with almost two decades of experience in the coffee business.
Cave says that training staff to operate modern espresso machines and make different types of drinks is straightforward and that it’s a false economy to invest in a very expensive machine.
Ruth Williams finds guests are demanding a higher standard from their barista
Coffee culture
Hong Kongers are adding coffee-drinking to their tea-drinking patterns
The flat white – an Australian classic from Oscar’s
Increasing sophistication – a latte macchiato from Nespresso
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For would-be baristas, the Uncle Russ training course starts with a general introduction. Given enthusiastic trainers with a willingness to share their knowledge, Cave says it’s easy to train staff how to make great coffee in a relatively short time. Basic training takes about four hours and after that it’s a matter of practice.
“There has to be a reason why gourmet coffee shops use semi-automatic espresso machines,” says Cave. “Once you have taught someone the basics they should be able to make any kind of drink by just following the recipes.”
These days the Uncle Russ company roasts coffee at its own roastery in Aberdeen, Hong Kong. “We roast in 10kg batches, which compared to larger roasters is very small, but it means we can custom roast and blend,” explains Cave.
Acting as a consultant to clubs and restaurants in Hong Kong, the Uncle Russ company has provided training services and developed custom blends, which has helped venues sell more coffee.
To keep their guests on site and stop them heading off to specialty outlets, some Hong Kong hotels are attempting to compete in this highly lucrative market.
In Causeway Bay, The Excelsior Hotel has an Italian-style coffee bar in its lobby called EXpresso, which offers freshly brewed, premium Italian coffee brand, Illy.
While the brew at the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel’s Java+ coffee shop in its lobby lounge is impressive, according to Cave.
Specialty coffeeIn the 13 years since he founded The Koffee Ko Limited, in Hong Kong, Managing Director Blair Donaldson says he has also noticed an increase in demand for better coffee in Hong Kong hotels. “Some want a high-end or exclusive blend for their fine dining restaurants, and a second tier coffee for other locations. But the better hotels are now looking to put specialty grade coffees throughout the hotel,” says Donaldson
Koffee Ko offers over 45 blends with origins from around the world. “We are seeing a lot more interest in private label coffees for hotels and larger clients. We work with their head chef to design a custom blend based on their specifications. Some of these might be certified organic, Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade, or ‘shade grown’ coffees.”
Koffee Ko has been working with many of these suppliers since1997 and Donaldson says that there is a lot more interest in the source of the coffee. “We also work closely with Bolaven Farms - a sustainable farm using Fair Trade practices which is certified organic,” he adds.
The most popular coffees at Koffee Ko are from Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Panama and Honduras. Koffee Ko also sells machines and offers training. Donaldson, too, is confident that the basic skills for operating a semi-automatic espresso machine can be taught in less than four hours.
“This includes machine functions and operation, correct espresso extraction, grinder settings, milk foaming, drink preparation, preventative maintenance and cleaning,” he says, adding “Obviously we like to spend longer than that with each client because we like to see the staff in action so we can correct mistakes and offer tips.”
After that Donaldson says it is down to practice. “Normally, about 10-14 days is needed for someone to become proficient and confident enough to make all drinks unsupervised.”
“Fully automatic machines are a different matter. The technology today is so sophisticated that a child could use it, and make fairly good drinks too,” he says. “But even today, nothing can compare to a skilled barista behind a good semi-automatic.”
Consistent coffee from Grand CrusSince it was launched, Nespresso has been a huge success. With high-profile marketing campaigns featuring the man smoother than latte, George Clooney, and the creation of coffee boutiques in high-end malls, the premium brand has become the fastest growing on the market.
Nespresso machines and its Grand Crus coffee are now seen in many meeting and banqueting venues and in premium guest rooms in leading hotels. Nespresso reports a significant increase in demand for its machines and coffee in F&B areas because hotel guests are demanding greater quality, consistency and variety of coffee.
Matthieu Pougin, Country Manager, Nespresso Hong Kong, says hotel guests appreciate and recognize the Nespresso brand and that staff find it easy to operate its coffee machines, quickly learning to make espressos, lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos and other popular coffees.
“Often staff are amazed at how easy our machines are to use compared to the other traditional, fully-automatic machines,” says Pougin. “Staff do appreciate the fact that they need to spend less time preparing and worrying about in-cup quality and now have more time to interact and talk about the coffee with guests.”
Nespresso also provides front- and back-of-house training for staff to increase their knowledge and understanding of coffee, preparation and pairings as well as technical troubleshooting. “We are delighted to provide this as it enhances both the guest experience and reinforces our partnership with our international hotel partners,” says Pougin.
“With Nespresso, our customers benefit from recognized expertise and the highest standards of quality at every level, from the production of our gourmet coffees through to the design of the machines themselves, which combine clean lines and cutting-edge technology. The result is consistently superior coffee that will satisfy the most discerning palates.”
Nespresso – present in MICE space and premium guestrooms
Hong Kongers are seeking out good coffee
Rebecca Mikula-Wright and Pavel Mikula, co-founders of Oscar's
“The better hotels are now looking to put specialty grade coffees throughout the hotel” Blair Donaldson
Impressive coffee at Marriott Sky City
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Roka innovatesRobata in Japan means a down-to-earth grill with a blue-collar feel.
Hong Kong robata restaurant Roka, sister to Zuma, is moving the concept upmarket with the addition of premium ingredients and a sophisticated sake and beer service.
New sake tasting sets comprise three different rice beverages – sparkling Hitotoke Rose, a light drink ideal as an appetizer or with a dessert; the medium-bodied Shirayuki Honjozol and the strongest of all Akishka ‘bambi’ Junmai.
The beers include a stout, a pale ale and a wheat beer, all brewed in Japan.
On the food front, new menu items mix and match Japanese and western ingredients. New appetizer foie gras no ume shu is goose liver marinated in plum wine and served on seaweed bread. In a similar vein butterfish tatatki is served with white asparagus and a yuzu dressing while a prime tuna maki roll with sesame and wasabi is topped with caviar.
Adding to the traditional mains and signature dishes such as black cod skewers, are a 20 oz tomahawk ribeye steak, a cut from Australia that resembles the eponymous weapon. Parties of two or three can share the 35 oz Australian porterhouse.
Ideal gifts?Hotels across the region are gearing up for the Chinese mid-Autumn festival with offers on mooncakes and gift hampers.
Ying restaurant at Altira Macau is offering traditional white and gold lotus seed paste mooncakes, along with a low sugar option, while the Hotel Nikko in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is serving up cakes in five colours, each representing one of the elements.
In Singapore, the Orchard Hotel’s Hua Ting restaurant is creating both contemporary and traditional pastries while Raffles Hotel is making snow skin Champagne truffle cakes and hazel chocolate cakes.
Hotels in Hong Kong offering the full gamut of modern and traditional cakes include the Grand Hyatt, Kowloon Shangri-La, the Kowloon Hotel, Langham Hotel, the Landmark Mandarin Oriental and the Miramar.
The Steakhouse Bar and Grill at the InterContinental, Hong Kong has introduced dry-aged beef to its menu, some of it cold smoked.
Dry aging works by giving time for juices to be absorbed into the meat, which enhances flavour and tenderizes. The process also gives time for the beef’s natural enzymes to break down connective tissue in the muscle, which, in turn tenderizes the meat.
The ageing happens in a cabinet that refrigerates and has an environment controlled for humidity. The cabinet has glass windows so
Insert joke herePussy, the latest natural energy drink has been launched in Hong Kong to an unsurprisingly large amount of lewd and laboured humour from the English language press.
The drink was originally launched in England in 2006 and spread in popularity in nightclubs there purely through word of mouth. The drink is said to give a natural high, free of the chemical jitters of heavily caffeinated drinks and to boost the memory.
Pussy is also being positioned as a mixer for cocktails or with Champagne, gin, vodka and tequila. Aimed at the “fresh, creative, original and entertaining” the makers are keen to emphasise the drink’s all-natural ingredients. Pussy has a base of white grape juice from southern Italy, key limes from Mexico, lychee and passion fruit. These are infused with a blend of six herbs – milk thistle, a Chinese stimulant called schizandra, Siberian ginseng, the South American tonic sarsaparilla, ginko biloba and guarana, which is, ahem, Brazilian.
Premiumisation processThe Langham Place, Mongkok in Hong Kong recently hosted the launch of a new ultra premium vodka, Shanghai White.
In marketing terms the vodka is being positioned over the pricey Grey Goose.The justification for the high price is the unique distillation process for the new Diageo
product. Distillation is in Szechuan and in small batches in a 35-litre pot still. The process is based on 600-year-old Chinese techniques, takes six months and is only done to order.
Chinese distillates are used to create a drink that is distilled four times and then given a light charcoal filtration. This is a vodka that can be sipped on the rocks, or even warm (though purists may disagree). The drink even shows a degree of terroir, having a slight lip-tingling, peppery kick.
Elements of celebration from Hotel Nikko
striploin (F1 grade) is aged for 14 days and smoked to provide an intensely flavoured and succulent piece of meat.
F1 beef is from a first generation mix of Gunma meat and dairy livestock.
The dry-aged beef joins a menu that already features premium beef from Japan’s Saga and Gunma provinces, Australian Wagyu and the best grades of the meat from Canada and the United States.
Eight salts and 12 varieties of mustard accompany the main event.
that the meat can be monitored without being disturbed.
Cold smoking means the beef is held over hickory wood chips at less than 100ºF (38ºC), which imparts flavour without cooking.
The meat, selected by the hotel’s Executive Chef Graham Burst, comes from four sources. The United States Nebraska striploin is aged for 21 days, Canadian prime Angus porterhouse steak and Angus prime rib steak are both aged for 35 days while the latter is also smoked. Japanese Wagyu beef
A selection of eight salts from around the world
Traditional skewers from Roka
Russian drink with Chinese characteristics
New drink prompts orgy of innuendo
Champagne truffles from Raffles Hotel
Aged for 35 days – Canadian prime Angus porterhouse beef
Christmas CaroleRegular readers will remember that the Scrooges of AHCT get a bit tetchy at unfeasibly early mentions of Christmas from the hospitality industry. The prize for earliest reference has gone to someone from a Langham property for two years in a row.
This year though the tip of the Santa hat goes to the InterContinental Hong Kong – they started planning their Christmas activities in early July, as they told us on July 14th, leaving a mere 164 shopping days to the big event! But judging by past experience these will be events well worth looking forward to.
Benefits of smoking
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Non-stick means low fatDanish oven manufacturer Hounö’s newest trays, sheets and grilling grids come with the non-stick coating QuanTanium.
The coating conducts heat rapidly, meaning lower cooking times. It also means trays are easy to clean after use.
The Combi Sheet is a 2-in-1 solution as one side is for grilling meat and vegetables while the other, plain side is ideal for cooking pizzas. The thickness of the sheet and the QuanTanium coating ensures very crisp pizza bases. Trays are ideal for roasting breaded products and eliminate the need for pre-frying, reducing fat use by up to 90 percent.
The new Hounö Potato Spikes with 28 spikes is perfect for the preparation of potatoes, chicken legs and tomatoes. The enamelled spikes ensure quick preparation, as heat comes from the spike inside each product as well as from the oven chamber.
For more information:www.houno.com
Wine glass offers harmonious resultsThe Harmony 53 wine glass from Rastal has been designed by noted wine and sensory analysis expert Martin Darting.
The accomplished winemaker and communicator of aromas is quality manager for food & wine magazine; originator of the Sensory Wine Picture Sensory Colour Analysis; an IHK-certified lecturer at the German Wine and Sommelier School and a sommelier trainer at the Swiss College for Sommeliers and Wine Connoisseurs.
Darting’s input has created a glass with a shape that intensifies the diversity of aromas in wine. Even light aromas can be detected and subtle aromas gain in intensity while sharpness in the top notes is reduced and the varietal remains distinct.
For best results both full-bodied wines and those with less pronounced aromas need to be swirled in the slightly tilted glass. The relatively short, narrow body of the glass facilitates a quicker aroma volatilization, heightening aroma density.
According to Rastal, fruity wines also benefit from being tasted in the glass.
“The perceived well-balanced, overall impression of aroma diversity makes Harmony 53 an ideal tasting glass.”
For more information:www.rastal.com
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Revolution in cookwareBlanc nano-ceramic cookware from White Pan and Wok is as big a revolution in cookware as the change from black and white to colour was in television, says company director Robert Chua. He should know – in his multi-decade career as a TV tycoon that was only one of many changes he has observed in Asia.
The technology in the cookware allows it to heat up quickly from a low temperature source and also heats evenly and rapidly. The non-stick surface, which is a new technology that avoids the carcinogens present in some other non-stick coatings, also means cooking with less oil or other fats.
The pans are said to be environmentally-friendly with a relatively low energy manufacturing process.
The white surface is easy to clean with just warm water. Currently the cookware is more suited to domestic use but a professional range is under development.
For more information:www.blancwok.com
The 0.4 l or two-cup teapot from Finum takes the tedium out of making tea.
The Tea Control 0.4 features a filter basket made from the new BPA-free material Tritan – all the diner or waitstaff need to do to stop the brewing process is to turn the lid on the filter. There is no need to remove the leaves or teabag from the pot, leaving the table clear of mess and spillages.
The new Tea Control tea maker is a redesign of the larger previous model, which had twice the capacity.
Tea Control 0.4 l is also available with a dark filter basket, which can hide staining.
The stylish borosilicate glass pot allows one to monitor the expansion of the tea leaves and spreading of color.
It comes with an elegant stainless steel knob & heat-insulating coaster made from merino woolfelt and is dishwasher safe.
Tea Control 0.4 is created for the modern tea enthusiasts who appreciate design, functionality and quality.
Utility patents held include those for the EU, United States and China.
Outdoor drinking enthusiastsThe designers at Italesse have come up with Beach, described as the “optimal solution for outdoor events, and also for al fresco parties, around the pool or on a boat.”
Beach is a collection of coloured goblets and tumblers made of unbreakable dishwasher-safe polycarbonate. The variety of sizes makes the set ideal for serving all types of beverages – wine, beer, long and short drinks and cocktails.
For more information:Italesse S.r.l.Via dei Templari 6 Loc. Noghere34015 MuggiaTriesteItalyTel: +39 040 9235555Fax: +39 040 [email protected]
I’m a little teapot
For more information:www.finum.com
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The right ice-making machine is a hugely important purchasing decision for any F&B business, and has to be made subject to a
range of criteria - the type of ice and volume of production required, the amount of space occupied, and the amount of noise generated by the units among them.
“Ice machine sales have soared over the last 10 years,” says Jerry Kaiser, Commercial Director for Asia Pacific, Australia, and India for Manitowoc Foodservice Asia Pacific, a specialist in professional ice making and refrigeration equipment. “Markets for ice that are growing every year are India, China, Australia, the Philippines, Korea, Taiwan, and Indonesia.”
Manitowoc’s products in this field include cube, flake and nugget ice machines, as well as ice dispensers and storage bins. The company, established in 1964, claims to be America’s top selling ice machine manufacturer, and also asserts that its S-Series range of units were “the first ice machines designed to meet the demanding criteria for sanitation established by NSF/ANSI Standard 12-2003”.
In common with many of its competitors the company stresses its green credentials, which include the use of non-CFC refrigerants.
“The Manitowoc EnerLogic program helps operators conserve energy and maximize profits. When you see the EnerLogic mark you’ll know you’re getting the most from every energy dollar spent on Manitowoc Foodservice equipment,” says Kaiser.
The company’s clients in Asian markets include restaurants, clubs, bars, hotels, cinemas, convenience stores, ice production plants, golf courses, fast food outlets, meat and food processing plants, hospitals, schools, universities, military bases, government offices, nursing homes, laboratories, health clubs and gyms, medical applications, sports arenas and stadiums.
“Customers are asking for ice machines that make a lot of ice in a small space – taking up less of their important storage space – and also ice machines that do not make a lot of noise and that do not add heat to the location,” Kaiser adds.
“We have the 5 S’s – Sanitation, Savings, Sound, Serviceability, and Styling. Our ice machines are the easiest to clean in the industry with the SeCS self-cleaning features and the optional Auto Cleaning Accessory or AuCS. We have several Energy Star models; our ice machines have insulated walls to reduce sound, are designed for ease of service, and are designed to look good wherever installed.”
Large capacity, small unitManitowoc has been selling ice machines in Asia for almost four decades, by comparison with which another US company, Maxx Ice, a division of Fort Lauderdale Florida based The Legacy Companies, is a relative newcomer to the field.
“Although our Maxx Ice line has only been available in Asia for a short time, our experience in the region with a multitude of other product lines has made the entrance into Asia’s commercial market decades in the making, and has contributed to its successful launch. We provide ice-making equipment for hotels, restaurants, and bars across Asia, irrespective of the size of the operation. By far our most popular units in Asia are the 250 lb (113 kg) self-contained unit and the 400 lb (181 kg) modular unit,” says Maxx Ice’s Frankie Mendez.
Like Manitowoc Ice, Maxx Ice recognizes a clear connection between green credentials and sales performance.
“We have seen a growing number of clients seeking ice machines that are energy efficient. They are concerned with the ecological impact of the equipment, and also realize that energy and water consumption affects their bottom line. Maxx Ice equipment is specifically designed to conserve water and energy without sacrificing production capability,” states Mendez.
“The entire Maxx Ice line is designed to be compact and efficient. We understand that our clients need units with large output capacity, but not large units. Our ice machine designs are streamlined to help the client maximize use of space. Additionally, we continue to focus on energy and water conservation technology because of our clients’ concern for the environment and economy in business.”
Venues such as cocktail bars use ice in huge quantities, although much of it is thrown away after a single shake. Bar consultancy Alconomics Asia’s Sam Jeveons estimates that the bar of Café Gray Deluxe at Hong Kong’s Upper House, which he manages, gets through the whole of his cube ice machine’s 80 litre capacity in a single shift, and on particularly busy nights ice has to be bought in from outside suppliers for purposes such as filling champagne buckets.
Ice can be made in many shapes and sizes – for professional bar use Alconomics Asia’s bartender manual lists no fewer than 14 different types – but in Asia most bar operations manage with one machine for crushed ice and one for cubed ice. Many get by with a cubed ice machine alone.
Even within this category however machines can offer a range of shapes and sizes of ice, with different options being optimal for different drinks (see overleaf).
Attention to detail in the ice making process pays off in the quality of the drink, says Robin Lynam
right
“Customers are asking for ice machines that make a lot of ice in a small space” Jerry Kaiser
Maxx Ice Line’s 250 lb capacity ice machine
Worldwide demand for ice machines is growing
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The right ice for the right drink
The modular 400 lb unit from the Maxx Ice Line
Manitowoc is one of several companies supplying small machines with large capacities
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Bespoke iceMaster mixologist Sam Jeveons was taught by his mentor Dale DeGroff that “ice is the soul of every drink” and must be thought of as an ingredient, not merely as a cooling agent. He took the advice to heart.
Every serious bar, in Jeveons’ opinion, needs at least two high quality ice machines – and, ideally, three or four to provide a choice of shapes and sizes.
“The better machines filter the ice and purify whatever water source you have coming, in to its optimum level. After that it’s all about how long it takes to make the ice cubes. The slower the machine, the clearer, denser, harder the ice - and that’s what you’re looking for. It’s a bit like when you are looking at a diamond. You are looking for clarity, and clarity in this case means a lack of oxygen inside the ice, and therefore a denser ice that will melt slower. It’s not just about the shape of the ice, it’s about the way it’s produced,” he says.
Different drinks however do call for different types of ice. For long “highball” drinks Jeveons recommends cube ice – and the more of it the better. The more in the glass the slower it melts. Cube ice should also always be used for shaking purposes. Crushed ice is used for cocktails in which the ice is supposed to progressively dilute the drink, the best example, according to Jeveons, being the Mojito.
The principles, he says, for using ice in cocktails and ice in neat spirits are subtly different.“You want dense ice in spirits, but you also want a large surface area. Connoisseurs don’t
want their spirits diluted, but they do want them chilled. A bigger ice cube will melt more slowly. There are ice machines that produce 3cm by 3cm large ice cubes. It takes about 25 minutes per cube, but overnight you can get 20 or 30, and those are great for single malts and things like that,” Jeveons explains.
SphericalisationAnother unusual ice option at Café Gray is made using a device called the Taisin Ice Mold, a Japanese invention which emulates the hand-sculpted ice balls made by Japanese bartenders by remolding large ice cubes rapidly, under pressure, into spheres. The process takes about a minute and provides a useful element of bar theatre.
Jeveons has an agency arrangement with the manufacturers and has also sold Taisins to a number of other bars and private customers, including the newly opened Sliver in Hong Kong’s Wyndham Street.
When the Taisin was first launched Macallan bought a number of units and presented them to upmarket bars internationally, subject to the condition that only The Macallan could be served with the special ice. Jeveons recommends the spheres for premium vodkas as well as whiskies, however, and reckons that the flexibility to do as you please with the units justifies the purchase cost. Because of their lack of corners and smaller surface area, the spheres are slower to melt than cubes.
Depending on the size of ice sphere required, Taisins cost between US$600 and US$1000, and can now be found in various locations in Asia, Europe and North America. You will not, however, find them in Japan.
“They have a culture of shaping ice by hand, and they run a two year bartender apprenticeship where you have to learn all these things prior to making drinks. They see it as a tool to sell to Westerners who don’t have that dedication,” says Jeveons philosophically.
“It’s just a quirky cool thing to have. It really does show attention to detail.”
The bar at Café Gray Deluxe easily dispenses over 80 litres of ice a night
Mendez says that “Cubes and bullets are the type of ice requested most often by our clients,” while Kaiser states that Manitowoc has “dice ice cubes, half dice ice cubes, regular ice cubes, flaked ice, nugget ice, and octagon shapes. Our ice shapes in Asia are the same as in the USA or in most parts of the world”.
Outside the bar world in outlets ranging from cafés and fast food outlets to convenience stores, Kaiser notes a growing vogue around Asia for frozen drinks, particularly in Singapore.
“The newest beverages are ice smoothies that can have all kinds of ingredients such as fruits, juices, and coffees. And these ice blended smoothies are healthy too,” he observes.
These drinks can be made with various types of ice, but businesses that sell them in serious volumes and need a steady supply on tap require dedicated “slush” ice making equipment for the purpose.
This is a field in which Italy has led the way, and Italian company GBG has been specializing in cold and frozen drinks machinery since the 1960’s.
Today the company manufactures a range of machines to produce slush, sherbert and cold drinks including the Granismart Frozen Drink Machine, which is particularly suitable for outlets in which space is at a premium. The company claims it is “The smallest professional slush machine in the world” and “up to 30 percent smaller than standard frozen drink machines”.
GBG’s Granisherbet machines are specially designed to produce natural sherbet, fresh granita or other frozen drinks for F&B outlets, and are also constructed with transportability and ease of use for events such as banquets, conferences and meetings in mind.
Although Europe and the United States have a long history of ice machines and frozen drinks making, Asian companies are also very much to the fore in the business. Not surprisingly Japan has led the way, and Hoshizaki International enjoys a particularly good reputation in this area.
In China Focusun Refrigeration Techno log y Co Ltd . i s a l ead ing manufacturer.
The growing market for ultra-cold drinks may or may not be a by-product of global warming, but it is increasingly clear that F&B professionals are investing well in their businesses when they buy high quality ice making technology. People do like to chill.
License to chill
Thora Jacobsen reports on some new dining ware keeping things cool at HKCEC
Keeping F&B items cold is not just the preserve of the bartender – it’s also important in foodservice, especially for a buffet concept restaurant.
If anyone knows about restaurant concepts, and especially buffets, it’s Maurice Kong, Director of Food & Beverage at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
This catering operation is “not on a small scale” Kong tells AHCT as he explains that the centre has seven restaurants supplied by seven individual kitchens and seven production kitchens. If there are any catering facilities employing more than the 305 staff that HKCEC does they can only be the airline catering kitchens at the international airport. Here chefs specialize in the cuisines of Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, the west and of course China.
Outside of the restaurants themselves, those kitchens have to cater for banquets and be prepared to serve as many as 250 tables simultaneously. A recent event saw Kong’s staff cater for a conference of international bankers – 1,600 attending a sit down dinner while 2,400 were at a buffet.
A catering operation of this size needs to stay on the latest trends and be ready to innovate, a motive that drives Angus Cheng, Executive Chef – Western Kitchen. It was Cheng who introduced Kong to Vidacasa’s Thermal-Controlled Dining ware, especially for use in the east-meets-west concept restaurant Congress – presentation trays that keep food chilled from below with ‘advanced green technology’. The Congress restaurant serves a wide variety of international cuisines, buffet style, with some living cooking stations.
As with any buffet, much of the food has to be kept cold and crisp and the dining ware stays at a temperature of between 0ºC and 4ºC for six hours, easily long enough to last any meal service.
One of HKCEC’s specialities is Chinese appetizers but “not barbecue pig but Shanghainese appetizers” from its Shanghainese restaurant. These are generally served cold but it is impractical to keep 2,500 portions for a banquet cold on ice, a job that Vidacasa’s dining ware can do.
Kong is very keen on the look as well, which he describes as “simple and elegant”. The white colour is suitable for all food presentations and the oval, square, rectangular and round trays are adaptable to most styles of food. The oval tray for example looks equally good for a dessert presentation as a savory one.
Kong is also impressed with Vidacasa’s green credentials, commenting on its low carbon footprint and energy saving features – the ThermoBattery is re-chilled by being placed in a freezer for 24 hours.
Round dining ware from Vidacasa
Busy man – Maurice Kong, Director of F&B at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
E q u i p M E n t
AHCT August 201042
The eighth Guangzhou International Hospitality Equipment and Supplies Fair – Hosfair – attracted 928 exhibitors – a 34 percent increase over the previous year.
Pavilions came from as far and wide as Italy (newcomers), Spain, Australia, South Korea, Sweden, the United States and, of course, greater China and its regions – China itself, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Exhibitors occupied four indoor halls of the famed exhibition complex – or 43,200 square metres.
Carbon footprintVisitor numbers were up as well, by 14 percent over the previous year. Visitors came from 57 countries or regions and numbered 41,022, according to the organizers.
The eighth edition of the show was subdivided into ten categories – Kitchenware and catering equipment; Tableware; Hotel furniture; Hotel textile; Cleaning and laundry equipment; Hotel guestroom and lobby supplies; Coffee; Wine; Hotel hot water facilities and Air conditioning and last but not least Hotel intellectual and technology products.
The fair was also marked by a series of events looking at the catering and green issues currently to the fore in the industry. These events included the 2010 Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau World Gourmet Summit & Promotion Meeting for Most-Popular Kitchen Brands; Summit Forum for Hotel Intellectualization & Networking in a Low Carbon Economy; The Innovation Forum of Technology, Pro-environment and Health of Hospitality Products; The 2nd Cooking Performance of Guangdong Gourmets and The 5th Guangzhou International (Barista) Latte Art Championship.
Exhibitor boost for Guangzhou fair
Hosfair Guangzhou 2011China Import and Export Fair ComplexGuangzhouChina
June 30-July 2, 2011
www.hosfair.com
DATE EvENT DETAILS ORGANIzER
Sep 7-9 Restaurant & Bar Hong Kong Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Wanchai Hong Kong
Sep 7-9 Asian Seafood Exposition Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Wanchai Hong Kong
Oct 17-21 SIAL (France) Parc des Expositions de Paris Nord, Villepinte - France
Oct 28-30 Wine & Gourmet Asia 2010 Hall D, CotaiExpo at The Venetian Macao Macau SAR, China
Nov 10-12 FHC China 2010 Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Shanghai, China
Nov 24-26 Hotel Expo 2010 The 6th International Hotel Equipment, Supplies and Food & Beverage Expo The Cotai Strip Convention and Exhibition Center at the Venetian Macao
Mar 29 – Hotelex Shanghai 2011Apr 1, 2011 Shanghai New International Expo Center Shanghai China
Diversified Events Hong Kong LtdTelephone: +852 3105 3970Fax: +852 3105 3974E-mail: [email protected] www.restaurantandbarhk.com
Restaurant & Bar Hong Kong is the fastest growing exhibition for the hospitality sector in Asia Pacific. Currently in the ninth year, it has a growing reputation as the biggest and best niche gourmet Hospitality event in the region. Its focus on bringing excellent products and services will inspire and create ideas to help you develop your foodservice and hospitality business.
Diversified Events Hong Kong LtdTelephone: +852 3105 3970Fax: +852 3105 3974E-mail: [email protected] www.asianseafoodexpo.com
Meet face-to-face with seafood buyers from Hong Kong and throughout Asia Pacific with direct purchasing responsibility for live, fresh, frozen and packaged products. The Asian Seafood Exposition is the newest product in Diversified Business Communication’s global seafood portfolio that includes the world’s largest seafood fairs: the European Seafood Exposition and the International Boston Seafood Show.
Wine & Gourmet Asia is a trade, networking and culinary platform showcasing the very best of Asia Pacific’s fine wine, gourmet and hospitality industries. The event is for the region’s hospitality industry leaders as well as all gourmands and wine enthusiasts.
Koelnmesse Pte Ltd Tel: +65 6500 6712 Fax: +65 6294 8403 Email: [email protected] www.wineandgourmetasia.com
FHC China is the most international trade show for food, wine and hospitality equipment in China. FHC China features Wine and Spirits China 2010, Meat China 2010 and Tea and Coffee 2010 specialist areas, with Olive Oil China, Ultimate Barista Challenge China, Ice Cream University, Wine Seminars, China Sommelier Wine Challenge, FHC international cooking competition and more.
Lily ZhuChina International ExhibitionsRoom A2402-03, Singular Mansion, No.318-322 Xian Xia Road, Shanghai(200336), ChinaDID:(86-21)6209 5209 Fax:(86-21)6209 5210Email: [email protected]
After the success of the past five editions, The sixth Hotel Expo will be held in The Venetian Macao again. Gathering thousands of hospitality industry decision makers and procurement groups from not only Macau, but also Hong Kong, China and other major Asian countries. Hotel Expo is the largest exhibition in the hotel, catering and hospitality sectors of Macau.
Coastal International Exhibition Co., Ltd.Room 2106, China Resources Building, 26 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong KongTel: +852 2827 6766Fax: +852 2827 [email protected]
Hotelex shows are the meeting point for the hospitality industry. Managers, manufacturers, traders and distributors gather annually to source, sell, network and debate future trends.
Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co., Ltd. 10/F, Xian Dai Mansion, 218 Xiang Yang Road (s), Shanghai, 200031, China Tel: + 86 21-6437 1178 Fax: + 86 21-6437 [email protected]
Incorporating 3 exhibitions: IPA, In-Food and SIAL this is the largest international meeting place for the food industry under one roof. Including all processes, semi processed, ingredients and finished products the exhibition caters for retail, trade, manufacturing and catering services showcasing different stages of the industry and is the food industry’s main growth driver.
Compexposium/Immeuble Le Wilson70 Avenue de Général de Gaulle, 92058 Paris La Défense Cedex, FranceT: 33 (0) 1 76 77 13 33F: 33 (0) 1 53 30 95 15www.sial.fr
E v E n t s
44 AHCT August 2010
E x h i b i t i o n s
August 2010 AHCT 45
T he Hotel World Asia event has been hailed a success by the organizers. The event comprised IHIF (see opposite page), a design expo
under the auspices of hospitality architecture and design title Hospitality Architecture+Design (HA+D) and a technology conference by Hotel Management Asia.
A post-show survey of exhibitors at the HA+D Expo & Conference found that almost 90 percent of them had their expectations met and were satisfied with the quality and number of attendees. The survey also found that the exhibitors felt there was a positive environment for doing business and that they were intending to return to the event in 2011.
The aim of the expo was to showcase the products and services of hospitality interior suppliers and manufacturers to architects and designers and to connect the latter to owners and operators.
The conference programme featured speakers from the United States, Britain, Italy, France, Australia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore. Topics discussed were as diverse as branding and design, developments in China and India, the prospects for Thailand, Vietnam and the Mekong delta and designing destination restaurants.
The event attracted more than 1,700 visitors from 26 countries, while the HMA Technology Conference attracted 120 delegates from hospitality IT and the technology industry. The delegates heard sessions on in-room technology and infrastructure, cloud computing, telepresence and mobile applications.
“We have been extremely pleased with the success of all the combined elements of our HotelWorld Asia event: IHIF, HA+D Expo & Conference and HMA Hotel Technology Conference,” says show Director and Executive Editor of Hospitality Architecture+Design magazine, Tony Smyth. “We have had very positive feedback to each of the conference programmes from the many high-level delegates who attended the sessions and we are really excited that so many of our exhibitors to our first HA+D Expo have said that they made valuable contacts, did some serious business and want to sign up for next year’s event.”
Expo highlights hotel design
Networking and mapping the future of the hotel industry were key themes of the recently held International Hotel Investment Forum Asia Pacific 2010.
Networking opportunities included a “speed dating” style event at the Venetian Macau, with delegates – not always successfully – encouraged to move at some pace between tables, introduce themselves and swap business cards.
More conventional networking opportunities were the cocktail events held at the same venue and the Four Seasons Macau.
Seminars at the show highlighted revenue-generating strategies for hotel investors in Asia.
Steve Jacobs, President Sands China, spoke on the benefits of mixed use resorts, citing the Venetian Macau as an example of a resort anchored by exhibition space and with shopping, restaurants and, of course, casinos, that had generated spectacular revenues for its owners. Jacobs also told delegates that the company was mulling – but not yet actively interested in – integrated resort-style projects in countries such as Vietnam and South Korea.
Tony Wheeler, founder of the Lonely Planet guides that have become synonymous with independent travel, gave a well-received speech on his favourite and least favourite properties.
Attendees also heard sessions on hotel development and investment trends; differing interpretations of the hotel pipeline; thoughts on new markets and players in them – the Pacific islands coming in for scrutiny in one session; asset management and finance and the importance of finding lenders who understand the hospitality industry.
As the Asia Pacific hospitality industry rebounds from the poor environment of 2009, there were also sessions examining the global risks and upsides of hotel investment and the event included interviews with owners and leading players in design, daily operations and from economists.
The 300 or so attendees also heard insights on branding, the key to achieving good branding being to value staff, according to one speaker
Keen insights from industry players
E x h i b i t i o n s
AHCT August 201046
E x h i b i t i o n s
August 2010 AHCT 47
Hospitality Asia 2011 is co-located with:
International Furniture Fair Singapore 2011 28th ASEAN Furniture Show
www.iffs.com.sg
Deco Asia 2011 www.DecoAsia.com.sg
International Furniture Fair Singapore Pte Ltd 62 Sungei Kadut Loop, #04-19, International Furniture Centre, Singapore 729507
Tel: (65) 6569 6988 • Fax: (65) 6569 9939 • Email: [email protected]
Organiser:
Experience a true
in AsiaSHOWCASEHOSPITALITY
9 – 12 March 2011 • Singapore Expowww.HospitalityAsia.com.sg
HospitalityAsia 2011
The clean solution
www.wineandgourmetasia.com
Asia (excl. Hong Kong, Macau)
Ms Lynn How
Tel: +65 6500 6712
Fax: +65 6294 8403
Hong Kong, Macau
Ms Winky Fung
Tel: +852 2591 6083
Fax: +852 2591 6380
Wine &Gourmet ASIA201028 – 30 October 2010Hall A, The Cotai Strip® Cotai Expo™ at The Venetian® Macao-Resort-Hotel
Organized byWith support from
Koelnmesse Announces Expansion of Hosted Buyers Program
Wine & Gourmet Asia Hosted Buyers Program was launched successfully in 2009 and received very positive feedback from its participants.
Exhibitors can be assured of additional sales channels as we match you with your preferred buyers even before the trade fair takes place. Hosted buyers are pre-screened to assess their purchasing power and if they are genuine.
More than 100 hosted buyers are expected to be present at Wine & Gourmet Asia 2010.
What’s in it for exhibitors?
- Guaranteed one-to-one meetings with hosted buyers from major retailers, importers and distributors.
- Receive a personalized meeting schedule. - You can nominate up to 5 top clients to become a
Hosted Buyer.
Wine & Gourmet Asia –Your Gateway to An Untouched Market!Featuring epicurean events, wine master classes, seminars and the Asian Cocktail Championship, Wine & Gourmet Asia is much more than your traditional B2B trade show.
Located in Macau, Asia's Las Vegas of the East, Wine & Gourmet Asia is a premier gateway to the Macau/Hong Kong /Southern China region and the economically thriving Pearl Delta region. Since its premiere in 2007, this boutique event attracts over 7,000 trade professionals annually and successfully established itself as a reputable trade platform in this region.
Exhibit Profile
Food &Beverage
Hospitality &Foodservice
Wine &Spirits
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WGA10 210x297mm AHCT Aug Ad.ai 7/21/10 5:06:13 PM
Brad Garner
Amanda Hite
Nigel Roberts
Hansar Samui in Thailand has announced the appointment of Stephen Jean Dion as Executive Chef. The young Quebecois chef started his culinary career aged 18 at Les Halles and has since worked in renowned restaurants in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Dion has also worked as a private chef for royalty.
Hotel analysts STR have announced the appointment of Brad Garner as Chief Operations Officer. Garner will be responsible for the company’s day-to-day business operations and a primary point of contact for clients and other relevant parties. Garner joined STR in 1995 after gaining a BS degree in marketing from Old Dominion University.
Hotel analysts STR have announced the appointment of Amanda Hite as Chief Strategy Officer, a role that will see her supervise strategic and long-term goal planning. Hite joined STR in 2006 from a post as Director of Research for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. Hite has a BS in Business Administration.
Langham Hotels International has appointed Amy Ho Director of Public Relations (Asia). Ho has previously worked in media relations, event management and PR, including for 5-star hotels and the world-renowned agency Ogilvy. Her last post prior to Langham was with Estée Lauder.
Ativa Hospitality, Bangkok has announced t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f K a n c h a n a Ruangsiriwichayakul as Hotel Manager of SilQ Bangkok. The Bangkok native has 10-years experience in hospitality, including stints with Novotel and Sofitel. Her background is mainly in Front Office and Operations.
Langham Place, Mongkok has announced the appointment of Teresa Poon as Hotel Manager. Poon returns to the hotel after a short period away, having been a crucial part of the pre-opening team as Director of Sales before promotion to a sales and marketing role after the opening. Mongkok-born Poon has opened four hotels in 23 years in the industry.
Deanna Varga
Pan Pacific Hotels Group has announced the appointment of Nigel Roberts as Vice President, Area Operations, Oceania. Roberts started his career in England 36 years ago, before moving to posts across Asia with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, before working for Sheraton in Australia, Vietnam and Malaysia and recently for Langham Hotels International.
MGM Hospitality has announced the appointment of Michael Saglid as Managing Director, Asia-Pacific Development. The Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne graduate has worked in Asia for Hyatt, Shangri-La, Le Meridien and Minor Hotels and Resorts. Saglid’s last post was as CEO at Stein Group International.
New luxury hotel brand Saffron has announced the appointment of Patrick Schaub as General Manager of its Oriental Residence Bangkok. The Swiss native has 16 years experience in hospitality, having held senior F&B posts with leading hotels in Switzerland and the United States. In Bangkok, Schaub has worked at The Peninsula and Westin Grande Sukhumvit.
Pan Pacific Hotels Group has announced the appointment of Andy Tan as Vice President Sales, responsible for global sales in seven regions. Tan joins Pan Pacific from a stellar career at Starwood that saw him the recipient of sales awards in 2005 and 2007. Tan has worked for Accor and in Thailand and Singapore.
Sofitel Sydney Wentworth Hotel has announced the appointment of Deanna Varga as Associate Director of Sales and Marketing. Varga has previously worked in an S&M role for Accor at the Swiss Grand Resort and Spa but much of her career has been with Tourism Australia. Varga has had marketing roles outside of hospitality and some print and advertising experience in Hungary.
Anantara has announced the appointment of Axel Jarosch as opening General Manager of its Anantara Al Madina A’Zarqa Resort & Spa in the Gulf of Oman. The Iranian-born German who studied in the Philippines is a polyglot with degrees in economics and hotel management. Jarosch has experience in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Michael Saglid
Patrick Schaub
Andy Tan
Stephen Jean Dion
Kanchana Ruangsiriwichayakul
Amy Ho
Teresa Poon Axel Jarosch
a p p o i n t M E n t s
AHCT August 201054
Elle & Vire, partner of your successSaint Honoré with Raspberry and Violet Fusion - Created by Jean-Michel Perruchon - M.O.F. Pâtissier 1993Ecole Gastronomique Bellouet Conseil Paris - www.ecolebellouetconseil.com www.thechefsweb.com
Success is
a touch of Creativity
a dash of Passion
a generous handful of Know-how
We use the same ingredients as you do
10ELVIR003-210x297_CremeExcel.indd 1 16/07/10 10:03
