CookSmart (4th Issue) Page5

Cover Story

Witness to the drastic changes in catering business

Mango expressed that Chinese catering has evolved tremendously in the last 20 years. In the 1950s and 1960s, he said, many citizens were engaged in manual work and had big appetites. The dishes offered in restaurants were often loaded with sauces and seasonings, making them go well with rice. "People simply poured two to three rings of soy sauce into a dish of plain rice to make it a meal. Soy sauce was consumed so heavily that the restaurateurs had to add extra salt to it." These eating habits inevitably increased the salt and fat intake of people.

Mango is glad to see that many restaurants have adopted healthy cooking methods. More customers ordered big portions of vegetables and restaurants began to offer a wider variety of fibre-rich ingredients such as oyster mushroom, king trumpet mushroom and Japanese long cabbage. Their popularity in turn lead to a reduced cost.

To better equip their staff for this healthy eating trend, many restaurant and hotel groups are providing extensive training to upgrade the quality of their food.