[Event] Restaurant Asia 2023 & International Coffee & Tea Asia 2023

 The Restaurant Asia 2023 (RA 2023) and International Coffee & Tea Asia 2023 (ICTA 2023) which comprises of the 10th edition of Café Asia and the 9th edition of Sweets & Bakes Asia 2023 is back at Marina Bay Sands Singapore Expo and Convention Centre from 25th May to 27th May. This is a yearly event that I will attend and this year I went on the opening day itself during my lunch time. This event allows companies who are interested in venturing into business opportunities and new markets in the areas of food ingredients, supply chain, operations, tech, manpower and innovation to network with one another as most of the booths set up are key business figures representing the F&B industry from Singapore and international. 

During the opening, Guest-of-Honour Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, launched the Jobs Transformation Map (JTM) for the Food Services sector. A key highlight in the morning was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the formation of the ASEAN Restaurant Associations Alliance to further bolster relationships and opportunities in ASEAN. 

More than 240 international and local exhibitors from 26 countries covering a gross exhibition area of 7,000 sqm were present. This year, the exhibits focuses on plant-based food and sustainable products. 

Held in conjunction of this exhibition is also the official launch of Ömilk from F&N. Specially crafted for baristas in mind, the Ömilk Oat Barista, a plant-based alternative is characterised by its richness and creaminess making it ideal for coffees and lattes. Ömilk also collaborated with four-time Singapore National Latte Art Champion, Jervis Tan to present this plant-based oat milk at the booth. With no added sugar, colourings or flavourings, the natural fragrance of Ömilk can be drunk on its own or added to enhance the coffee or tea. We gave it a try and found that it's much gentle on the palate and is very smooth. Ömilk is also cholesterol-free and is halal-certified making it a great dairy alternative. Currently, Ömilk can be found selling exclusively in selected FairPrice outlets and RedMart at the recommended selling price of S$6.25 per 1-litre pack. 

Next, we visited frozt popsicles booth and was given a complimentary popsicle to try. Out of the 6 flavours, I chose the Mixed Berries Frozt. Made in Singapore using real fruits, these popsicles are sure to be a hit and it's vegan friendly, dairy free, gluten free and halal certified. 

We also went to the Vietnam Pavilion to check out some of their offerings. We tried the Vietnam Sandalwood tea which is quite soothing. 

New to the show is the co-located JIU Asia 2023 Pavilion. It's Singapore's first spirits event to feature a host of independent and local brands, white-label selections and rare collections. Did not managed to check out this. 

Came across a booth from Brilsta which specialized in jelly pearl ball made of natural seaweed extract and konjac as the main raw materials. This is rich in dietary fiber, calcium and iron, etc.  

What amazed me most at the exhibition was how advance technology are at the current moment. At the Technology Kitchen Showcase by Ty Innovations, we witnessed the future of cooking by Asia's first fully automated cooking robot. Invest in this robot and it will solves the problem with manpower and training. All the steps from dispensing the noodle for boiling to washing the pot can be fully automated. The menu can be quite diverse too from cooking pasta to fried rice.

We also checked out their latest Combi Speed Oven that can cook up to 4 different dishes simultaneously in their respective time and mode. It has a touch screen menu at the outside and everything can be customized as per order. Like for beef steak, we can input the thickness of the steak so that the timing and temperature will be adjusted accordingly. It can cook a whole chicken within a few minutes. Not only that, it also has a self washing function. Very impressive. If I'm a restaurant or cafe owner, I would definitely get it. 

We continued to explore some other booths before we had to go back to work. Sustainability and innovation are the biggest takeaway from this year's exhibition. Looking forward to the show in 2024. 

XOXO