Subway UAE adds Daqoos Series to menu

Source: Subway. Subway UAE has teamed up with Excellence Hot Sauce to serve up nostalgic UAE flavours in every bite.

Subway UAE has localised its menu for the first time ever through a partnership with Excellence Hot Sauce (Daqoos, دقوس).

A celebration of Excellence Hot Sauce and crushed chips, typically Chips Oman, is at the heart of the campaign, termed The old days, served fresh: Daqoos Series. The decades-old signature heat, crunch and tang elevates street food across the region.

The lineup features three creations:

- Fresh & Furious, with crispy chicken bites, Excellence Hot Sauce, and crunchy chips 

- Wahed Sub Laham (literally "(give me) one beef sub"), combining tender beef Philly steak, melted cheddar, Excellence Hot Sauce, chips, fresh vegetables, and ranch dressing

- Fery Good, Fery Nice (Dynamite Chicken), a side dish starring crispy Dynamite Chicken bites enhanced with Excellence Hot Sauce and chips.

"The beauty of this campaign lies in its ability to take something deeply rooted in local culture and give it a fresh, contemporary perspective," said Ibrahim Hasan, Regional Head of McCann Content Studios – MENA.

"Subway UAE proves that with the right approach, global brands can tell local stories with authenticity and impact." 

Mahmoud Mneimne, Marketing Director for Subway UAE said: "Our goal was to craft an experience that captures the soul of UAE cafeteria culture while offering a fresh and innovative take. 

"We're proud to have created something that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly new, reflecting the vibrant community we serve."

The limited-edition menu is available across Subway UAE outlets. It is complemented by a limited-edition merchandise collection designed by Waggish. Inspired by Dubai's street vendor culture, the line includes hoodies and stickers that combine street-style aesthetics with Subway's branding.

Explore

Watch an associated video from Subway UAE's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DC6zj0avy6f/

Waggish's Instagram channel is at https://www.instagram.com/waggish.ae/

JR East Group offers vegan and Muslim-friendly sweets

Source: JR East via PRN Asia. JR East Group offers Plant Based Sweets Series. CAMPENELLA BROWN cookies are on the grey dish while Boule de Rouge cookies are in the glass bowl.

The East Japan Railway Company (JR East) Group, which operates the Shinkansen and other trains over a network of railways that cover half the main island of Japan, has launched the Plant Based Sweets Series to share delicious, high-quality food from Japan with people around the world.

Plant Based Sweets are Tokyo confectioneries made entirely from plant materials. They contain no ingredients from animals, including sugar refined from animal bones, honey, or alcohol.

The Plant Based logo is included on selected products by JR East Group. The logo's image of plants enveloped by two leaves conveys the idea of "plant-based only ingredients" while the words JAPAN QUALITY are assurance that the item was produced in Japan and is of the highest quality.

The Plant Based Sweets Series launches with products developed by three well-known Tokyo confectionery makers:

TOKYO CAMPANELLA BROWN

I'll Company's Tokyo Campanella Brown sandwiches milk-free chocolate between three crunchy butter-free French biscuits. The dough is made from whole wheat flour and 100% pure sudakito sugar from sugar cane on the Amami Islands.

Price: ¥1,200 for eight pieces (tax included)

Almond Caramel Sandwiches (Tokyo Banana World)

Price: ¥1,296 for eight pieces (tax included)

From the savoury caramel filled with roasted almonds to the almond-scented cookie dough coating, Tokyo Banana's Almond Caramel Sandwiches are full of almonds, topped off with a hint of banana. The cookies are made by GRAPESTONE Company.

Las Olas Series

Manufactured by Gâteaux de Voyage Company, the Las Olas Series consists of six different products including Boule de Rouge cookies. Boule de Rouge cookies are coated with raspberry powder, filling each bite with a blend of sour raspberry and cookie sweetness.

Price: ¥1,296 for 12 pieces (tax included)
*Price depends on the flavour

JR East separately announced that it will open a JAPAN RAIL cafe at Tokyo Station on March 5, 2020. This is designed to be a site where visitors from overseas can interact with one another and gather seasonal travel information on Japan.

The cafe will provide inbound tourists with up-to-date seasonal information which cannot be obtained from guidebooks or online, as well as travel support as a one-stop service while acting as a hub where travellers can exchange information about their trips in Japan.

JR East will establish a tourism information and travel consultation counter at JAPAN RAIL CAFE to propose specific travel plans in Japan in conjunction with tourism promotion campaigns underway in various parts of the country. Visitors can exchange their vouchers for the Japan Rail Pass and other specially-planned tickets for visitors from overseas as well as selling JR tickets and Welcome Suica* cards for inbound tourists.

The menu will include seasonal Japanese food and drinks, ekiben box lunches, and special food products made exclusively for the cafe under the supervision of Japanese tea producer-dealer Senchado Tokyo. Moreover, the cafe will advise visitors on how to enjoy Japanese tea during each meal.

Virtual travel in Japan will be available via a 140" screen. Visitors can also make use of digital signage at the Wall SHOP to search for travel information. Videos from japan-guide.com will be shown as well.

Details:

The snacks can be obtained at:

- In front of Tokyo Station's Tohoku, Joetsu, and Hokuriku Shinkansen South Transfer gates

- Nomono Tokyo Store, located outside the B1 ticket gate of the B1 Marunouchi Underground Central Gate at Tokyo Station

Other shops in Tokyo Station are scheduled to carry Plant Based Sweets.

*Suica comes with stored value that can be used on Tokyo’s public transport: Tokyo’s JR East Trains, subways and buses, as well as to pay for purchases on trains, vending machines and at participating stores.

Try the street food of Taiwan at Tea Valley

The Tea Valley backdrop at their Downtown East outlet.

Tea Valley (茶食坊), a Taiwan casual diner in Singapore, is set to go places. At a food tasting session at its oldest outlet in Downtown East, Lawrence Lim, Director of the company, explained that the cafe chain would like to expand further - not just in terms of outlets, but also into the types of services Tea Valley can provide.

Lim.

"I want to bring value to my diners. Taiwan made a strong impression on me for its extensive street food offerings. I believe that good food should be enjoyed by one and all at affordable prices. We hope to open more outlets around Singapore in the near future to add another dimension to Singapore's exciting street food scene," he said.

Tea Valley began in 1999 as a bubble tea shop, but soon expanded into offering Taiwan street food as well. In Taiwan, street vendors often set up their portable stalls in the evenings along smaller alleys, or at regular night markets. The food is often fried or deep-fried for a quick, portable snack, and is especially satisfying on chilly nights.

Lim has transported dishes from Taiwan's street cuisine over to Singapore, taste-testing the recipes multiple times before introducing them to customers. He has found that popular snacks in Taiwan do not always tempt tastebuds locally - like the very chewy tianbula (甜不辣), which Tea Valley has reinterpreted as a fishcake, while others simply go out of fashion and end up being retired.

The tasting menu for the day included a single-portion seafood steamboat, hot and sour noodles, fried golden (enoki) mushrooms, deep-fried cuttlefish, crispy salted chicken, as well as a selection of the 40 teas that are on the menu at Tea Valley @Downtown East.

The jasmine passion tea has a strong hint of passionfruit, while the honey lemon tea is very sweet and redolent of lemon. All three of these teas are served chilled, and come with chewy white pearls. Rose honey tea was my favourite, as it is served warm in a glass teapot to show off the pink rosebuds, and barely tinged with the fragrance of honey.

The steamboat was a colourful mix of prawns and vegetables, cooked to tasty perfection, while the fried dishes combined crispy salty-sweet batter shells with succulent interiors. In Taiwan, the same type of food typically runs to being more strongly flavoured, but these were lighter and more suited to the local preferences for less oily food.

Lim imports high grade teas as well as other food ingredients from Taiwan to make sure the experience is as authentic as possible. His menu includes classics such as oyster meesua, plum sweet potato fries, and crispy salted chicken. He recently invested in a central kitchen to ensure consistently high-quality meals. Next steps, he said, include exploring the feasibility of catering and franchising, as well as opening a new outlet in Tiong Bahru.

Crispy salted chicken

A photo posted by J Tang (@shimmertje) on Mar 12, 2016 at 12:22am PST

Seafood steamboat with teriyaki chicken on the side

A photo posted by J Tang (@shimmertje) on Mar 12, 2016 at 12:34am PST

Hot and sour noodles

A photo posted by J Tang (@shimmertje) on Mar 12, 2016 at 12:55am PST

Golden needle mushroom

A photo posted by J Tang (@shimmertje) on Mar 12, 2016 at 12:23am PST

Deep-fried cuttlefish

A photo posted by J Tang (@shimmertje) on Mar 12, 2016 at 12:27am PST

Rose honey tea at Tea Valley

A photo posted by J Tang (@shimmertje) on Mar 12, 2016 at 12:19am PST

Jasmine milk green tea with white pearls. The tea is a high grade tea from Taiwan

A photo posted by J Tang (@shimmertje) on Mar 12, 2016 at 1:06am PST

Interested?

Tea Valley will be introducing fruit vinegars as well as selected menu items at a Taiwan fair at Isetan Westgate from 5th to 13th April, 2016.

Tea Valley @Downtown East is at The Alley, #01-05A, open 11am to 10pm daily; peak periods are typically weekday and Sunday lunchtimes as well as Saturday evenings. It is one of several outlets, all of which can be booked for functions. The others are at:

Chevron House #B1-04, 10am to 8pm weekdays except public holidays
Clarke Quay Central, #B1-47, 11am to 10pm daily
POMO, #01-26, 10am to 9pm daily, except public holidays.
An outlet is anticipated at Tiong Bahru Plaza.

The menu differs slightly from outlet to outlet - the Downtown East outlet features 19 mains and 21 snacks, as well as eight ranges of beverages. It is the only one which serves steamboat. Tea Valley @Chevron House and @The Central offer all-day set meals comprising a main dish, an appeteiser and a drink.

posted from Bloggeroid

A view of one of the most popular booths at Jao He night market in Taipei, Taiwan. Visit the Flickr album on night markets in Taiwan.

Which foods are the most paisa vasool? ING Vysya Bank reveals all

Source: ING Vysya Bank.

As part of a digital marketing campaign, Facebook fans of ING Vysya Bank have shared some interesting insights on what foods are considered value-for-money for Indian foodies. 

In this first-of-its-kind campaign, around 14,000 netizens were asked the value of food items across different meals. Across each category that covered breakfast, lunch, beverages, snacks, dinner and dessert, people voted for the most "paisa vasool" (value for money) food from five choices provided. For instance, nimbu pani was voted the most preferred beverage while idli - sambhar was the most "paisa vasool" breakfast. Similarly, vada pav and gulab jamun emerged as value-for-money food.

The campaign, that showcased the value of money and savings, also offered interesting prizes to participants. The bank has been consistently engaging with its social media fans and customers through various contests and polls. It recently concluded the 'Master Save' campaign which lasted for a month, receiving over 40,000 likes on Facebook and over 5,000 followers on Twitter.