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Category: Food

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Food and Food & Beverage news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Indonesia to expand seafood market to England

    Indonesia to expand seafood market to England

    Indonesian government, through the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Resources, will work to expand the seafood market to England and North Ireland as part of an MoU for maritime cooperation signed by the two countries in July 2015.

    “The UK is the biggest seafood market for Indonesia, and the European Union accounts for 60 percent of our total seafood market,” Deputy Minister for Maritime Sovereignty Arif Havas Oegroseno said on the sidelines of the “Bilateral Maritime Workshop” here on Monday.

    With a large market, Great Britain is considered as setting the standards in the seafood market in the world.
    “Through our collaboration with the British, we could manage our shrimps, fishes, or other seafood species to meet the world standards as well as increase the production,” Havas stated.

    In addition, he said, cooperation on marine fisheries between the two countries was also considered as an opportunity to introduce Indonesian seafood products which were free of any illegal practices, including slavery.
    Indonesia and the UK have initiated maritime cooperation through the Bilateral Maritime Forum, a meeting of which would be held in London next April.

    The UK was one of the maritime countries, known for its experience and high end technology in the field.
    Therefore, the workshop held in Jakarta was expected to focus on some maritime issues which would be later discussed in the forum in London.

    Besides expanding the seafood market, the Indonesia-UK cooperation would also involve education, maritime investment in the shipbuilding field and exchange of information on international maritime law.

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  • Bakers Maison hits Philippines

    Bakers Maison hits Philippines

    An Australian bread-and-pastry chain is introducing its artisanal products to The Philippines, with a bold plan for at least 100 outlets.

    Bakers Maison, which makes French-style breads and pastries, is under the wing of Gardenia Bakeries Philippines, reports BusinessWorld Online.

    “We envision for Bakers Maison to have a minimum of 100 strategically located stores in the next few years,” says Gardenia Philippines president/GM Simplicio Umali.

    The first Bakers Maison has opened at SM North Edsa in Quezon City, offering freshly baked products “inspired by traditional and authentic French recipes and a fusion of flavours from all over the world”.

    Bakers Maison is part of the QAF group from Singapore, the parent company of Gardenia Philippines, and was established in New South Wales in 1998.

    All breads are partially baked in a clean and controlled environment and delivered frozen to the store for final oven baking, says Umali.

    “This process, otherwise known as the ‘par-baked’ method, guarantees consistent quality and freshness.”

    A central commissary production unit in Binan, Laguna, uses fast-freezing technology to lock in the freshness in the bread until final baking.

    Gardenia Philippines last month opened a sixth plant capable of producing 150,000 loaves a day to serve bread demand in Luzon. The P1-billion ($21,000) plant is in line with the company’s effort to intensify distribution to retail partners from Cagayan Valley to Sorsogon.

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  • Martell adds Asia travel-retail exclusive Millésime 1972

    Martell adds Asia travel-retail exclusive Millésime 1972

    Martell has unveiled its third addition to the Millésime Collection, called Millésime 1972, made exclusive to Asia travel-retail.

    The Martell Millésime 1972 is a limited-edition series with only 3,500 units numbered and bottled worldwide, of which 2,500 are exclusive to Asia’s travel-retail market, available at $838 with key product showcases in Hong Kong , Taoyuan, Changi and Kuala Lumpur International airports.

    The Martell Millésime 1972 bottle is inspired by the Martell “montre”, a small cylindrical carafe traditionally used to present samples of the various eaux-de-vie to the Cellar Master for blending. A vintage eau-de-vie, Millésime 1972’s sensory fullness has come of age after 43 years in old barrels and a resting period in the Chais de la Coquille, the Martell House’s oldest cellar in Cognac.

    Martell Millésime 1972 celebrates the expertise of the House, the perpetuating savoir-faire initiated by Jean Martell in 1715, with the promise of an unforgettable tasting experience.

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  • Pernod Ricard Asia troubles parent

    Pernod Ricard Asia troubles parent

    Despite difficulties in Asian travel retail, particularly in Korea, liquor supplier Pernod Ricard reports solid first-half 2015/2016 results totalling €5b ($5.7b) and organic growth of 3 per cent.

    It says the results represent a continued gradual improvement apart from difficulties for the Chivasbrand in the pernod Ricard Asia portfolio.

    There was a negative mix driven by geography – growth in India vs. a decline in China. Overall in Asia, the company had 5 per cent growth (or 4 per cent, taking into account the changing dates of the Chinese New Year) with double-digit growth in India. However, China declined by 2 per cent (down 8 per cent adjusting for Chinese New Year).

    “Our half-year results are solid, delivering a continued improvement in sales,” says chairman and CEO Alexandre Ricard. “Our strategy has remained consistent and is driving results, in particular in terms of innovation.”

    He says the company plans to continue improving its performance and will continue to support priority markets, brands and innovations.

    Pernod Ricard includes Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, The Philippines and Vietnam in its emerging markets, and lists its top 14 brands for organic growth as Absolut, Ballantine’s, Beefeater, Chivas Regal, Havana Club, Jameson, Kahlua, Malibu, Martell, Mumm, Perrier-Jouët, Ricard, Royal Salute and The Glenlivet.

    Formed in 1975 by the merger of Ricard and Pernod, the company has a workforce of about 18,000 people. Its decentralised organisation has six brand companies and 80 market companies in each key market.

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  • McDonald’s Japan rebounds

    McDonald’s Japan rebounds

    McDonald’s Japan has recorded its first increase in customer numbers in nearly three years.

    Preliminary figures released internally by the company show footfall at stores which remained open for more than one year rose by more than 10 per cent Japan-wide. Better yet, same-store sales rose by as much as 30 per cent, according to a report by Reuters.

    McDonald’s Holdings Co (Japan) has projected a net profit of about 1 billion yen (US$8.47 million) for the year to December 2016 – which would mark its first time out of the red in three years since a food safety scandal relating to expired chicken hit the brand in 2014. In January last year sales plunged 38.6 per cent, customer ranks depleted by 28.5 per cent.

    In April last year the company unveiled a plan to cull its restaurant network and revamp remaining stores after a US$319 million loss.

    It also revised its menu, adding salads which has clearly drawn customers back to restaurants.

    Analysts say that despite the apparent recovery, the work is not complete with a long road ahead to restore profits to pre-2014 levels.

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  • Indonesia`s coffee output up 1% last year

    Indonesia`s coffee output up 1% last year

    Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla said Indonesias coffee production only rose one percent to 500 thousand tons last year.

    “Our coffee production has been stagnant. It only reached 500 thousand tons last year, just one percent increase,” he told a meeting convened to develop national coffee here on Saturday.

    Indonesia produces an average of 600 thousand to 700 thousand tons of coffee per year compared to Vietnam, whose coffee output reaches more than 2 million tons, he said.

    As a matter of fact, Vietnam once learned coffee farming from Indonesia, he said.

    He said Lampung province is the countrys largest robusta coffee producer with an annual production of 100 thousand tons per year.

    Also present at the meeting were Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman, Lampung Governor M Ridho Ficardo, and a number of officials.

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  • Yum! China fortunes rebound

    Yum! China fortunes rebound

    Yum! China has showed progress with a system wide sales increase of 3 per cent in the latest quarter – or 7 per cent on a constant currency basis.

    Same restaurant sales are now in positive growth, although by a fairly meagre 2 per cent given the 16 per cent decline in the same quarter last year. Nevertheless, the strong pace of 743 new restaurant openings, combined with some good productivity gains, helped to swell operating profit by 200 per cent.

    Given the big differential in growth prospects and the fact that China faces a very different set of problems and opportunities, it is hardly surprising that Yum! is looking to split its business into two separate companies. This is a sensible step that will allow Yum! and Yum! China to focus on their respective priorities. However, without the boost to growth provided by China, the legacy business will need to work much harder to reestablish its relevance if it is to grow in a much more competitive market.

    Globally, Yum! produced a set of results that exactly mirrors those of last quarter.

    KFC has ended its fiscal year with a fairly solid set of numbers. That said, the growth figures are expressed on a constant currency basis and so exclude the negative impact of the strong US dollar. When this is factored in the outcome is a little less rosy with total revenue for the quarter falling by 1.2 per cent over the prior year.

    Behind the numbers, both KFC and Pizza Hut continue to struggle with system wide sales, including the impact of exchange rates, falling by 5 per cent and 2 per cent respectively. Fortunately this has been somewhat offset by the rebuilding of restaurant margins, but not by sufficient enough a degree to prevent profits at KFC dipping and profits at Pizza Hut virtually flatlining. Across the quarter, these two traditional engines of growth simply failed to propel the company forward.

    One of the key issues for both brands is the relatively slim growth within the US, which in the case of KFC is the division’s single largest market, and in the case of Pizza Hut accounts for the majority of the division’s sales. In our view both suffer from the challenge of maturity and, while they remain popular, the rather tired nature of the brands and a lack of meaningful menu innovation means they struggle to compete against rivals like Chick-Fil-A which are seen as more interesting by consumers. In many ways, both brands need to take a leaf out of the McDonald’s playbook in terms of reinventing themselves to become more relevant to diners.

    In contrast the Taco Bell division saw a strong rise in sales on at both total and same restaurant level. Restaurant margins also increased thanks to some favorable cost changes for commodities. While the combination of these things should have resulted in a good uplift in operating profit, a number of one-off costs – which included investment spending, legal fees, and the creation of a scholarship program – put pay to that. For the quarter Taco Bell operating profit declined by 7 per cent.

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  • Burger King Vietnam ‘not shutting down’

    Burger King Vietnam ‘not shutting down’

    Burger King Vietnam has refuted media claims the company is planning to exit the Southeast Asian nation.

    The US fast food chain entered Vietnam in 2012, initially opening in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat international airport, before progressively moving into suburban locations in the city.

    At the time the company projected it would open 60 stores within five years, but three-quarters of the way into that timeline, it still has just 16.

    The closure of three stores in recent months has fuelled speculation the brand may exit the market. But CEO Nguyen Gia Thanh told news website Dau Tu this week that was not the case.

    He said two stores in Ho Chi Minh City were closed to relocate in better sites with more affordable rents.

    The third store closed was in the capital, Hanoi.

    Thanh said Burger King will continue to expand in both cities and is not closing down in Vietnam.

    Vietnamese are not known as big consumers of burgers and Burger King arrived in the market with higher price points than established rivals Jollibee from the Philippines, Lotteria from Korea and fried chicken and burger chain KFC from the US.

    Rival Carl’s Jr has also struggled to make an impression in the market, largely targeting the expat market in districts of Ho Chi Minh where foreigners reside.

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  • Pernod Ricard reports 3% first half organic growth

    Pernod Ricard reports 3% first half organic growth

    Pernod Ricard has delivered “solid” first half results as the spirits maker saw 3% organic sales growth in the six months to 31 December 2015.

    Sales totalled €4.96bn during the period which represented “gradual improvement” against the same period in 2014.

    Reported sales growth was 7%, boosted by the weakness of the euro compared to dollar and sterling revenues.

    Sales growth in the Americas was 4% compared to 2% growth a year ago and was largely driven by the US (3% up against flat growth last year).

    Europe saw a 1% sales improvement against flat sales in 14/15, with the growth driven by Spain and the UK, though there was decline in France and Russia.

    Results of the world was 5% ahead of last year, with double-digit growth in India, Africa/Middle East and Australia, but China fell by 2% and by 8% if adjusted for the earlier Chinese New Year.

    Pernod Ricard said it saw strong performance from Jameson, Martell, The Glenlivet, Perrier-Jouët, Mumm and Indian whiskies.

    However, performance was weaker for Chivas (due to Asia and travel retail) and Absolut (albeit amid improving underlying trends in the US).

    Alexandre Ricard, chairman and CEO said: “Our half year results are solid, delivering a continued improvement in Sales. Our strategy has remained consistent and is driving results, in particular in terms of innovation.

    “For full year FY15/16, in a still contrasted macroeconomic environment, we plan to continue improving our business performance year-on-year. We will continue to support priority markets, brands and innovations while focusing on operational excellence.”

    The company expects to deliver organic profit growth from recurring operations of between 1%-3%.

    Pernod Ricard shares fell 6.7% today to €92.89 on the continued weakness in China.

    Pernod Ricard has also instigated a number of organisational changes and a raft of job changes in its senior team effective from 1 July 2016.

    Firstly it is to simplify its Americas region to concentrate on its core business: the United States and Canada. Secondly, it will create two new management teams based around the lead countries of Mexico and Brazil in South America, reporting to Pernod Ricard EMEA. Thirdly, it has created the role of CEO, Global Travel Retail, which will be taken by Mohit Lal, currently MD of travel retail Asia.

    Job moves include Paul Duffy, currently chairman & CEO of The Absolut Company who will become CEO of Pernod Ricard North America, and is replaced at Absolut by Anna Malmhake, currently CEO of Irish Distillers.

  • Online grocery shopping taking off in Asia?

    Online grocery shopping taking off in Asia?

    Asian consumers are embracing technologies that enable them to buy groceries online and with one click rather than having to walk to bricks and mortar stores to get what they need.

    This was among the findings of HappyFresh’s proprietary survey of shoppers across five countries.

    Among the findings of the survey is that about 75 percent of online grocery shoppers are between 25 and 44 years old, and the majority are women. They place their orders weekly, and fresh produce accounts for 50 percent of every order.

    Not surprisingly, mothers  outnumber all other customers buying groceries online. The top five most ordered items are milk, eggs, onions, bananas and, naturally, baby diapers.  The second biggest group is young professionals and expatriates, whose top buys are tomatoes, spaghetti, coke and chicken breast.

    Interestingly, online purchase of groceries peaks at about 5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. during the weekends and on Monday.

    Happy Fresh said this means customers enjoy shopping at the end of working hours or like to get their shopping done during the weekend or early on Monday so they don’t need to worry about groceries for the rest of the week.

    “We are seeing an “uberization” of the retail industry in Asia. The outlook has never been more promising. Opportunities abound in this region with its sophisticated food-loving consumers, growing wealth and rapid urbanization. The continued increase in mobile adoption and broadband penetration has helped boost our online grocery sales,” said Markus Bihler, CEO of HappyFresh.

    Founded only in 2012, Happy Fresh is headquartered in Jakarta but operates across the region. Last year, the company completed a $12-million Series A funding led by Vertex Venture (Vertex), the venture arm of Temasek Holdings, and Sinar Mas Digital Ventures (SMDV), the venture arm of Sinar Mas Group of Indonesia.

    Riding on this new wave in the retail landscape, the online grocery platform forecasts a double-digit growth for the grocery markets in Asia and to be worth SGD$19 billion by 2020.

    It sees large supermarkets and hypermarkets as important players in the grocery retail landscape and they will continue to do well and dominate in this region. Many, however, are integrating online delivery service into their business model to make it even easier for tech-savvy, time-crunched consumers.

    Biller said  HappyFresh partners with supermarket retailers – particularly the SMEs (Small and medium-sized enterprises) who do not have the capacity or ability to invest in technology – to go digital and reach out to a new set of customers.

    Its partners include Ranch Market (Indonesia), LOTTE Mart (Indonesia) and Village Grocer, Sam’s Groceria and de Market (Malaysia), Big C, Gourmet Market and Tang Hua Seng (Thailand), Lafé Market and Simple Mart (Taiwan).

    “Currently, two out of five online shoppers want to receive real-time offers via their smartphones while they shop. Thus, we foresee a double-digit growth ahead for the online grocery business,” Bihler said.

    More consumers are also purchasing groceries via digital platforms such as mobile apps.

    HappyFresh sees the increased popularity of online grocery shopping in Asia being fueled by two factors – traffic congestion and long working hours in most Asian Cities.

    Three Southeast Asian cities (Jakarta, Bangkok, and Surabaya) are in the Top 10 cities with the worst traffic congestion globally, according to a traffic congestion survey conducted by Castrol and Tom Tom.

    Asian countries also tend to have the longest working hours; they have the highest proportion of people who spend more than 48 hours a week at work. This number is expected to rise as Asia becomes even more affluent.

    “Customers are also becoming very selective when it comes to quality foods. A Nielsen study shows that today’s shoppers are seeking fresh, natural and minimally processed foods with ingredients that help fight disease and promote good health,” Bihler said.

    “This presents a tremendous opportunity for niche consumer segments, especially in the healthy eating space, and other categories that may be more difficult to find on in-store shelves. As a result, a number of specialty retailers have emerged in the health and wellness space, from national online grocery delivery services with extensive fresh sections to local produce delivery services,” he added.

  • Slower sales for Chinese New Year goodies, say Chinatown retailers

    Slower sales for Chinese New Year goodies, say Chinatown retailers

    Food takes centrestage during Chinese New Year, like most festive celebrations. But in the lead up to the occasion this year, retailers selling festive goodies say business is more lacklustre compared to 2015.

    Family-run bak kwa (sliced barbecued pork) stall Bee Kim Heng has seen festive retail sales drop by 10 to 20 per cent compared to last year. Based at People’s Park Food Centre, Bee Kim Heng — which is run by Mr Teo Ah Thin, 81 — has been in operation for almost 50 years.

    “We suspect it’s the economy, (it’s) because of the retrenchments that are going around in the market,” said Mr Damien Teo, who helps his father out during busy periods like Chinese New Year.

    Mr Teo, who is in his 30s, added: “A lot of our business is very dependent on regular customers. Some of the regular customers, for example — in the year before, they’d buy 3kg, maybe 5kg. This year, some of them have cut down in terms of the quantity they buy. They just want to save up a bit, I guess.”

    Similarly, fruit and nut supplier Tian Ran has experienced a 30 per cent drop in sales for the festive period. “A lot of people are browsing and tasting, but fewer are buying. I think it’s due to the bad economic situation,” said a Tian Ran employee, who only wanted to be known as Mr Fang.

    Mr Fang has been selling peanuts and melon seeds — traditional Chinese New Year snacks – for the past eight years. While this year’s takings are poorer than last year, the 40 year-old said he feels things are not as bad as in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis.

    Less than a few hundred metres away, in the annual Chinatown Festive Street Bazaar, employees running a temporary waxed meat stall also opined that buying sentiment is poor.

    “We’re mainly in distribution, but we have set up a stall at this bazaar for many years. This year, sales are down about 30 per cent,” said a stall employee, who only gave his name as Mr Liang.

    The 56-year-old who has been in the business for 30 years, believes that shoppers have held back due to the rainy weather, and a poorer economic climate.

     

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  • McDonald’s China plans 250 new stores in 2016

    McDonald’s China plans 250 new stores in 2016

    McDonald’s China is shifting its focus from tier 1 and 2 markets to smaller cities as it expands its footprint in the mainland.

    The US fast food operator plans to open 250 new stores in the lower-tier cities in 2016 which represents its biggest expansion plan in any international market.

    Phyllis Cheung, CEO of McDonald’s China, says the company will target third and fourth tier cities, along with developing digital ordering and offering customised burgers.

    Cheung says 150 stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou will have self-service kiosks introduced this year allowing customised ingredients. The build-your-own concept is called My Burger and has already been introduced in some Asian markets, including Thailand.

    “Within two to three years, we hope mobile ordering and other digital capabilities would cover all of our restaurants in China, and we will also launch our proprietary smartphone application for ordering by the end of this year,” Cheung said in an interview.

    The Us chain opened its ‘Experience of the future’ flagship restaurant in Beijing’s Wangfujing St this week which features table service for customers who order using the WeChat app.

    McDonald’s China boasts more than 2200 stores already.

  • Super retail network adds speed for Pizza Hut Hong Kong

    Super retail network adds speed for Pizza Hut Hong Kong

    Pizza Hut Hong Kong has is implementing a super retail network solution from Hutchison Global Communications to connect more than 100 outlets to the company’s data centers.

    Pizza Hut says the solution – a next generation metro Ethernet data capability characterised by bandwidth of up to 10Gbps and super-low latency of less than one millisecond – has enabled it to accelerate online ordering via mobile apps, the website and phone calls.

    The orders are sent to HQ which then tasks outlets closest to delivery locations.

    Super retail network (SRN) runs over a dedicated optical private network, eliminating bandwidth bottleneck issues.

    MPLS and VLAN technology and automatic network-level failover, provide high level security.

    Based on a dual-core network design, SRN delivers full core network resilience and allows quick access to company applications such as those for point of sale and online catalogue functionality.

    Howard Wong, Pizza Hut information technology director, says deployment of HGC’s SRN enabled the company to shorten the time it takes to process online ordering and boosts the restaurant’s overall operational efficiency.

    The offering also provides the capacity to expand the company’s armoury of in-store applications.

    Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings, of which Hutchison Global Communications is the fixed line division, says it is creating vertical retail solutions based on the next generation network’s capabilities.

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  • Cold Weather Bears Down Once Again on Laos

    Cold Weather Bears Down Once Again on Laos

    Laos is bracing for another potentially devastating cold snap following one in January that brought a rare snowfall to the tropical nation and was blamed for the deaths of thousands of livestock and fish, government meteorologists said on Thursday.

    The Lao Department of Meteorology and Hydrology predicted today that the western Houaphan and Xiengkhouang provinces and the central Xaisomboun province could see lows reaching four degrees Celsius over Feb. 5 to 8.

    “The temperature will drop throughout the country, especially in the north and northeast, Xaysomboun and the areas of the plateaus,” weather forecasting and aeronautical meteorology division chief  Vanhdy Douangmala, told RFA’s Lao Service. “Other parts of the country will also face cold weather.

    Weather in the Vientiane is expected to be cloudy and cold, and a resident of the capital city told RFA that the temperature was already dropping.

    Laos was hit with unusually cold weather and a rare snowfall on Jan. 24-25. The temperature in Houaphan province hit 1.5 degrees Celsius and was blamed for the deaths of more than 1000 cattle. The cold was also blamed for killing three tons of fish in ponds in Xiengkhouang province.

    People bundle up

    “From 24-25 January, it was so cold that people couldn’t go out,” the Vientiane resident said. “We just stayed home and sat in front of our stove. I have never seen it freeze like this before. I had to wear three sweaters and many retail shops were closed.”

    The Lao government is campaigning to raise funds to aid rural people suffering the cold weather and is opening bank accounts for donations, according to information from the government office.

    It is difficult to determine if the bitter cold set records in the secretive nation, but the average low temperature in Vientiane hovers around 16.5 degrees Celsius in January and 19 degrees in February.

    Cold hits Asia

    In Vietnam, authorities said more than 8900 cattle died during a cold snap that damaged 6000 hectares of  rice paddy and more than 4600 hectares of vegetable plots.

    Many parts of Asia have been hit with rare cold weather which is being blamed for more than 65 deaths, and disrupted transportation, according to the Associated Press.

    Subfreezing temperatures in North Korea’s northern provinces this month caused water main pipes to freeze and burst, cutting off tap water to local residents, sources inside the country told RFA.

    Meteorologists blame the intense cold on a polar vortex – the large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of the earth’s poles. While the vortex always exists near the poles it tends to weaken in summer and strengthens in winter. Many times during winter in the northern hemisphere, however, the polar vortex will expand, sending cold air southward with the jet stream.

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  • Saté Kampar Opens Next Week

    Saté Kampar Opens Next Week

    East Passyunk Avenue has very little to do with Asian cooking. Besides two Chinese-American take-out joints, Bing Bing Dim Sum is as “Far East” as Passyunk goes, operating under deliberately inauthentic pretenses. Saté Kampar (1837 East Passyunk Avenue) is Malaysian through and through, and conversely, authenticity runs through its veins.

    Ange and John Branca are officially opening Saté Kampar next Wednesday, February 10 — a date decided by Ange’s grand aunt. “She decides the opening date. That’s also a way of involving her. Everyone in my family contributed to the restaurant in one way or another.”

    The Brancas’ restaurant is a family affair, Ange’s godmother was a recipe writer and preservationist, her aunts and uncles were restaurant owners back home, though owning a restaurant is a little different in Malaysia. “It’s more casual, a communal effort. If one member of the family cooks, then they cook for the whole town.”

    Ange wants to do the same for Philly. Born in Kampar (she visits often), Ange and her family moved to Kuala Lumpur when she was two years old. She received her college degree in Scotland, moved to the States to pursue a career in business accounting, and met her husband, John, rock climbing at her brother-in-law’s gym. After climbing to the top the corporate ladder at Deloitte and IBM, Ange decided to retire to pursue her dream of owning her own Malaysian restaurant in Philadelphia.

    “I wanted to do something that isn’t work, something I’m passionate about. When I retired I wanted to bring home the idea of family, my background, this food.”

    And she really brought it home. Almost everything in the restaurant is imported from Malaysia, from the marble-topped custom tables typical of a Malaysian restaurant, to an ornate wooden cabinet in the front of the restaurant, containing Malaysian goodies available for retail purchase. Plates and silverware are common to that of the markets and carts that line the streets back home. A mural by Jared Bader depicts a street food scene on Jalan Alor in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur. “We wanted to bring the street food scene inside.”

    The restaurant’s namesake item, saté — skewered and grilled marinated meats — will be flamed over custom grills loaded with coconut shell briquettes (again, imported from Malaysia). And since southeast Asia has an enormous Muslim population, there will be a separate halal grill for practicing guests searching for a taste of home. But while saté is the focus, the rest of the menu is meant for sharing. Back in December, the Brancas gave Eater a sneak peek of those share items as preliminary guidance for a cuisine mostly unfamiliar to those that stroll the Avenue known primarily for French and Italian restaurants. With a new cuisine, comes a new education, and the Brancas are ready to teach.

    Despite being BYOB, Saté Kampar will offer specialty drinks at the bar: pulled teas, “kopitiam” (traditional coffee house drinks), mix-your-own Ribena sodas, Milo (a regionally popular chocolate malt drink), and most impressively, freshly-hallowed coconuts, poked with straws.

    Stay tuned for pictures and menus, and mark your calendars for next Wednesday’s unveiling. With Perla’s impending opening just down the street, East Passyunk’s dining scene is primed for a heavy dose of diversity.

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