Sorn, a luxury restaurant in Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district, has won second place among Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants this year.
The restaurant has also been awarded the Best in Thailand.
Sorn was founded by Supaksorn “Ice” Jongsri, a Thai chef who presents uniqueness in Thai southern foods, drawing gourmets from many countries to taste them.
Apart from these awards, Sorn was named a two-star Michelin restaurant.
Thai Airways is marking Valentine’s Day by serving very special desserts for passengers on some international flights.
Passengers in business class will be served raspberry macaron with gold leaf, rose-scented mouse and fresh strawberries, while those in economy class will get raspberry pudding, coconut mousse cake and heart-shaped chocolate in raspberry sauce.
The desserts will be served on February 13 on flights from Bangkok to Sydney, London, Frankfurt and Copenhagen, and on February 14 on flights to and from Sydney, Frankfurt and Zurich.
Foodie Island Hokkaido runs from January 28 to February 6 at the G Floor of Siam Takashimaya and Sooksiam at Iconsiam.
Japanese department store “Siam Takashimaya” is celebrating “Foodie Island Hokkaido” at Iconsiam. The store has joined hands with the Hokkaido government and specialty store Hokkaido Dosanko Plaza to organise the treat.
Sumptuous food and famous local products from Hokkaido are available under the concept “Feel Hokkaido in Thailand with all five senses”.
A Hokkaido Obihiro-style pork donburi cooking demonstration is also being held, using ingredients freshly imported from Hokkaido.
The “One More Hokkaido Dosanko Plaza” booth sells famous local products from Hokkaido, including Hokkaido potato cookie, a sweet potato cake filled with red bean paste, cookie sandwich filled with white chocolate, Hokkaido Hogaja potato cracker with shrimp and more.
All products are directly imported from Hokkaido and they bear a logo to certify that all products and produce are grown, manufactured and processed with safety, the store said.
Foodies can taste fresh seafood bento, a Japanese-style packed lunch. You can enjoy salmon, scallop and salmon roe imported from Hokkaido. For those having a sweet tooth, there are tasty bakeries made with ingredients from Hokkaido.
The event also offers a special promotion. Shop for 1,000 baht in the event and you will get a free Kyun–chan Tote bag (while supplies last).
Foodie Island Hokkaido runs from January 28 to February 6 at the G Floor of Siam Takashimaya and Sooksiam at Iconsiam.
For more information, contact 02-011-7500 or Facebook Siam Takashimaya
Japan Frito-Lay Ltd has asked customers to voluntarily return 3,348 bags of Lay’s Original potato chips imported from Thailand after they found a large amount of glycoalkaloids, the Facebook page “Krob Krueng Rueng Yee Poon” (all about Japan) posted on Thursday.
The page said that eating a large amount of glycoalkaloids at one time could cause many symptoms, such as diarrhoea, vomiting, and stomachache.
In a statement, Pepsi‑Cola (Thai) Trading Co Ltd said on Thursday that Japan Frito-Lay Ltd had asked customers to return bags of 140g Lay’s Original chips imported from Thailand after a customer complained that it was bitter and had an astringent taste.
The company explained that glycoalkaloid occurs naturally in potatoes. It was not a residual, additive, or contaminating substance.
PepsiCo assured about the quality of its potatoes and that they were produced with maximum safety adhering to international and the Food and Drug Administration’s standards. The company added that it uses only safe ingredients and follows regulations strictly.
Unsurprisingly, Thailand topped the list of countries with the spiciest cuisine in the latest ranking published on the WorldAtlas website.
Spices have the power to make food tasty, savoury, aromatic and sweet, though the preference of spice varies from region to region, the page said.
“In the Middle and the Far East, spices are an integral part of the food culture, and food cannot be prepared or served without spicy ingredients,” the page said.
Citing a study conducted by Harvard and China National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, WorldAtlas said consuming spices at least once a day lowers the rate of mortality by up to 14 per cent.
“Spices like turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, and chillies also speed up metabolism,” the page said. “Some spices such as turmeric possess anti-inflammatory properties and have been used for decades to treat conditions like nausea, arthritis, headaches, and autoimmune disorders.”
Capsaicin, an active agent, found in chilli peppers is believed to slow down and even destroy cancerous cells, while cumin and turmeric have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties that help fight against harmful bacteria, the page added.
WorldAtlas said there are several ways to circumvent spicy food at a Thai restaurant in Europe or North America, but it is a lot harder to find bland food in Thailand.
The Thai threshold for spicy is much higher than most countries, and what foreigners consider extremely spicy is usually just another flavour for the locals, the page said.
“Spices in Thailand range from curry, hot pepper and ginger,” the page said. “Restaurants that serve spicy dishes have a competitive edge over other restaurants.”
Pork prices in China went down last week, official data showed.
From Jan. 4 to 7, the average pork price index in 16 provincial-level regions tracked by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) was 20.22 yuan (3.2 U.S. dollars) per kg, down 6.2 percent week on week.
This figure also represented a year-on-year drop of 56.4 percent.
China released a slew of measures last year to advance sustainable and healthy development in the hog industry, detailing tasks to avoid drastic fluctuations in the market and ensure stable supplies.
In the coming five to 10 years, China will see cyclical market fluctuations effectively alleviated and pork supply security capabilities increased, with an aim to maintain the market’s self-sufficiency rate at around 95 percent, according to the guidelines jointly released by government agencies including the MARA.
“The signing and future of RCEP would undoubtedly bring benefits and development opportunities,” says secretary general of the Malaysia International Durian Industry Development Association Edwyn Chiang, noting that RCEP will boost more agricultural investment and cooperation for Malaysia and the RCEP members.
Malaysia’s agricultural exports, including its much sought-after durians, will greatly benefit from the rolling out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), industry experts said.
RCEP will facilitate the broader market and development space for the development of Malaysia’s agriculture, as well as strengthen agricultural investment and international cooperation between Malaysia and the RCEP members, Edwyn Chiang, secretary general of the Malaysia International Durian Industry Development Association told Xinhua in a recent interview.
The Black Thorn durians are seen at a durian orchard in Raub, Malaysia, Nov. 21, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)
“The signing and future of RCEP would undoubtedly bring benefits and development opportunities. Among the members of the agreement, ASEAN, China, Japan and Australia are all important agricultural countries, and there is a huge space for the development of agricultural economy and trained cooperation between Malaysia, and China, ASEAN, Japan and Australia,” he said.
Chiang also said the golden age of the durian trade has begun, predicting that by the year 2030, the export volume of durians will increase by 50 percent, and the production of the well-known Musang King variety of the fruit will double.
“At the same time, the external market competition influenced by the agreement will also help the development of domestic agriculture, and reshape the regional industrial chain, and the value chain of agriculture,” he said.
Deputy Secretary-General Michael Chai Woon Chew of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia said the agreement will boost the export of a whole range of Malaysian agricultural products to China while helping to raise local production standards.
Chai explained that the Malaysian durian industry has worked hard to comply with China’s stringent importation requirements and this is well worth the effort considering the vast size of China’s domestic consumer market, especially the demand for tropical fruits.
Malaysia first exported whole frozen durians to China starting in 2019, after the country’s authorities cleared the fruit for export.
In 2020, China imported around 575.9 million kg of fresh durians, with an import value exceeding 2.3 billion U.S. dollars. Between 2017 and 2020, China’s annual import value of fresh durians increased more than threefold, according to market and consumer data provider Statista
Grocery retailing has always been a symbiotic relationship of buyers and sellers co-existing to meet consumer demand. 40 years ago, as grocery retailers in developed global economies grew and increased their market share, they in turn established more power and influence over their suppliers. The resulting effect on prices, product choice and innovation for shoppers had often been overlooked, as had the impact on the sustainability of production and consumption.
Today, however, it’s widely accepted that to generate consumer demand and remain competitive requires a greater focus on collaboration, to work with transparency to achieve shared objectives that meet the needs of shoppers.
This report will guide you to discover more about: • The evolving relationship between Retailers and CPGs • Future drivers for successful partnerships • Data to enrich collaborative touchpoints • Technology to connect you to your shoppers • Guiding principles for insight driven collaboration
The paper also explores what will drive collaboration to better serve shoppers. We will highlight the hallmarks of successful partnerships across the dunnhumby global network, and we will uncover the role data, technology and e-commerce will play in facilitating successful collaboration. We will hear first-hand from over 80 industry leaders at our retail and CPG partners in a survey conducted across 15 markets, alongside the thoughts of senior experts at dunnhumby and our technology partners.
THE FUTURE OF RETAILER AND CPG COLLABORATION
INSIGHTS FROM THAILAND
While the global insights shared in this report were generated from 80 participants from 15 markets (including Thailand), there was a disparity in the volume of respondents from EMEA, NA and other regions. To combat this, and provide data relevant specifically to the Thai market, the dunnhumby team conducted additional research surveying 34 CPG and retailer experts from Thailand.
The results generated by respondents in Thailand concurred with the global consensus that retailer / CPG collaboration will increase, with 74% of industry leaders expecting collaboration to continue to grow over the next 5 years, driven by a combination of rapid change of market situation and shopper behaviours. Strong collaboration in developing the correct strategies will help retailers and CPGs effectively respond to change and grow within a new and more complex market environment.
THE FUTURE OF RETAILER AND CPG COLLABORATION
The global results provide good insights into changing behaviour and the drivers and touchpoints that will influence this shift. However, by honing in on more granular, regional data, we can see that the future drivers for successful partnerships, and how they are prioritised, vary based on geographic region. This is true in the case of Thailand. The global insights shared here were generated from 80 participants from 15 markets (including Thailand). However, there was a disparity in the volume of respondents from EMEA, NA and other regions. To combat this, and provide data relevant specifically to the Thai market, dunnhumby conducted additional research surveying 34 CPG and retailer experts from Thailand. The results generated by respondents in Thailand concurred with the global consensus that retailer / CPG collaboration will increase, with 74% of industry leaders expecting collaboration to continue to grow over the next 5 years.
The top reasons for the predicted increase were intrinsically connected; “to find direction / strategy and develop the business plan together in order to recover and drive sales / gain a mutual win” (28%), “to respond to rapid changes in consumer behaviour/needs” (17%), and “to help the business find solutions to survive / recover” (14%). The majority of Thai industry leaders surveyed believe that the collaboration between retailers and CPGs will increase driven by a combination of rapid change of market situation and shopper behaviours. Strong collaboration in developing the correct strategies will help retailers and CPGs effectively respond to change and grow within a new and more complex market environment.
The majority of Thai industry leaders surveyed believe that the collaboration between retailers and CPGs will increase driven by a combination of rapid change of market situation and shopper behaviours. Strong collaboration in developing the correct strategies will help retailers and CPGs effectively respond to change and grow within a new and more complex market environment.
By exploring this in more detail, in terms of both key drivers and touchpoints, we can understand how CPGs and retailers can optimise collaboration to maximise their investments and resources whilst producing a superior experience for customers. But first, it is worth noting the difference between cooperation and collaboration. The global survey highlighted some confusion around this notion as whilst the two sound similar, they present differently.
Dishes featuring grasshoppers and crickets may soon be served up in European homes and restaurants. Grasshoppers were marked as safe for consumption by the European Food Safety Agency on Friday, while the house cricket (acheta domesticus) is being studied as a new source of protein.
Grasshoppers are believed to carry as much protein as a 100-gram piece of chicken tenderloin.
This is the second time that the EU has approved insects as safe for consumption after certifying dried mealworm in June this year.
Stir-fried basil has recently joined the ranks of Thai delicacies like tom yum kung, phad Thai and green curry, and Kod Krapao restaurant in Bangkok is serving up a vast variety of dishes spiked with Thai basil.
Normally “phad krapao” (stir-fried basil) comes with pork, chicken, beef or seafood. The adventurous few have even gone as far as using liver, fermented sausages or just veggies.
However, at Kod Krapao the varieties are endless, ranging from crispy or fermented pork to Chinese sausages, though its braised pork with basil has proved to be the most popular.
The phad krapao dishes at this restaurant are not too spicy, so the taste of basil is not overpowered. Of course, each plate is served with a side of fish sauce with chilli, so diners can adjust the taste.
No phad krapao is complete without a fried egg, and at this restaurant, you have a choice of chicken and duck eggs, though the fried chaiya salted egg is not to be missed. The yolk of these eggs is not too salty because Kod Krapao only uses freshly processed eggs.
To get a chance to enjoy the delicacies on offer, diners should get to the restaurant before noon or after 2pm to avoid long queues, though braised pork is usually sold out at lunchtime.
Bangkok’s Kod Krapao restaurant serves up all sorts of Thai basil flavoured delights
Take the BTS to Ari station and head to Soi Ari 1. Kod Krapao is located in the food court zone of A-ONE Ari and can be identified by its red sign and picture of an elderly woman in Chinese clothes sporting the Thai text โคตรกะเพรา.
Bangkok’s Kod Krapao restaurant serves up all sorts of Thai basil flavoured delights
The restaurant is open from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm, though on Saturdays it closes one hour later.