Tastefully Food & Beverage Expo 2012 @Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur

I just adore Food Expos!

         

Few weeks ago, I was at the yearly Tastefully Food & Beverage Expo 2012 held at Putra World Trade Centre with my BFF (best foodie friend!) to check out the whimsical list of food vendors available now in the country. I try to make it a point to go each year because I love catching up with the nation’s latest food industry and its offerings. The food exhibition is held three days and foodies are treated to a vast amount of food related products, services and cooking demonstrations from participating vendors. Though initially meant as a business platform for exhibitors to connect with trade buyers, many beloved foodies and home cooks have found much loves at the expo!

Since I had visited previous year exhibition late, this year I decided to go earlier to check out the goodies and promotions the vendors offer during the exhibition period. I was extremely pleased to notice right away that the number of vendors increased this year so this means that I get to nosy around much longer! With more awareness of the exhibition, I also noticed that there are more visitors too. Of course this didn’t deter me from enjoying myself tremendously with my BFF on sampling the food, checking out all sorts of food products, services and buying lots of goodies that day.

To give you all a peak at some offerings, here’s a compilation of some vendors at the expo. Trust me, this is only a small lot as there are just so many more vendors there…

Delfi Marketing Sdn Bhd – carries some of the famous brands like Hunts Sauces, Peter Pan Peanut Butter, ACT II Popcorn, Wesson Oil, Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate and more. Since I love making spaghetti sauce, I bought quite a few cans of the Hunts Stewed Tomato Sauce and Barbeque Sauce. I had to resist temptation in buying the Peter Pan Peanut Butter which I sampled and found it deliciously tasty and nutty! Website: http://www.delfimarketing.com.my/

Chef Tony’s Popcorn – a Manila born snack company, Chef Tony’s is set out to get a piece of market share among other popcorn giants since 2006. Using US grown popcorn kernels that are GMO free, the kernels are roasted over open fired roasting oven and tossed with various flavors. Since it was the Christmas season, there were special holiday flavors in addition to the regular. My favorites are Hazelnut Cream (holiday special), Country Cheddar and Creamy Parmesan. More details at their website: http://www.cheftonys.com/

Monkee Confectionary – featuring Chinese traditional pastries like Siew Bao, Egg Tart, Kaya Puff, Wedding Pastries and more. Main outlet in Jalan Pudu and a few others spread all over PJ & KL. Website: http://www.monkee.com.my/

Fraser & Neave Group - Cooking demonstration was happening at this booth where a chef was demonstrating a recipe for Chicken Bahmia using F&N evaporated milk. It’s definitely a healthier option to use evaporated milk and the chicken curry tasted creamy and delightful. Have you ever tried making curry with evaporated milk? Website: http://www.fn.com.my/

Sweet Hut- our very own dessert specialist was also present at the expo serving Hong Kong inspired desserts. I like this dessert café serving up puddings, sweet broths, cakes and even icy snow ice and have been at their Jalan Kuchai Lama outlet a few times already. Website: http://sweethuts.com/index.html

Fat Mum Sauce – a sauce specialist with six types of Asian based sauces under their repertoire. A quick check stated that Fat Mum Sauce was founded by a chef who owned a popular restaurant called Fat Mum Seafood House in Butterworth. Famous for its signature dishes, Fat Mum Sauce was born to let many from afar to be able to enjoy their dishes like Assam sauce, Cheong Cheng sauce, Black Pepper sauce, Kam Heong sauce, Mongolia sauce and Marmite sauce. I like their Kam Heong a lot and all one needs to do is to fry up the seafood or meat of one’s choice with the sauce. Time savers for those who still want a quick home cook meal!

Rich Crackers – I spied these giant crackers right away! We tried some and found these simply addictive. What makes this one so good? Crispy and no oil trace at all, the prawn flavors are definitely present with a sweet finish. The owner explained that they only use prawn meat to make these delectable crackers unlike others who will also use the shells of the crustacean. This will help to ensure that the real prawn flavor is delicious and delicate. Fish and vegetable crackers are also available.

Careful Classic – I thought the name of this was interesting! I spied a whole chiller filled to loads of puddings and there was even a durian pudding. I tried their Lemongrass Jelly Lemon Juice and found it really refreshing and thirst-quenching. Though their Crispy Durian Rolls were selling like hotcakes, I didn’t try them since I don’t like durians. We also spied coffee and collagen health drink for sale. Website: http://www.careful.com.my/

Han Sung Kim Chi – this is my top favorite booth of the day! I met Uncle Choi and he is just the sweetest Korean I know. This humble uncle has a Kimchi factory churning out pungent spicy pickled cabbage to whet our appetites. He roped in his family to make some scrumptious Korean dishes like Pa Jeon, Kim Chi Pa Jeon, spicy Tteokbokki, Hotteok and Kimchi. We bought some and love the Kimchi Pa Jeon (Kimchi Pancake)  and Hotteok (Sweet Peanut Pancake). Mr. Choi was generous and let us try the Tteokbokki (spicy Korean rice dumplings) and his Kimchi. Both was also really delicious in my books! You can find Mr. Choi in his FB:  Han Sung Kim Chi

Spotted another Korean booth selling Kimbab (Sushi Rice Roll) and Manduu (Dumplings). At this point I did wish for more tummy space as they also looked really yummy…

We also tried a Thai booth’s dishes of Som Tam (Papaya salad), Crispy Fried Shrimp, Mango with Sticky Rice and Tapioca in Coconut Milk. The Som Tam packed quite a punch and went so well with the Crispy Shrimps. We round up with the sweet desserts to cool down.

Par Tea Time - We also quenched our thirst with a refreshing Grape Yakult concoction! They were running Buy 2 Free 1 promotion. Par Tea Time also serves Taiwan snacks such as fried chicken chop, fried tempura, french fries and signature waffle at their outlets in PJ & KL. Check out their website for more information at https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Par-Tea-Time/505277056164573

Old Sweet House – showcasing Bahn Mi inspired sandwiches with baguette, ham, hotdog and pickled vegetables.

Gee Seng – founded since 1961, this company has been exporting their famous curry abroad. Famous products include Curry Chicken, Fish, Tom Yam, Laksa, Vegetarian Curry and Sambal. As easy as ABC, simply add meat, seafood or vegetables to the sauces. Website: www.geesengcurry.com.my

Famous Cuisine – love this bilingual magazine! Lots of recipes featuring home-style dishes that is easy to follow. I have been an ardent fan of this magazine and never fails to buy all their published cookbooks. Famous Cuisine also organized food trips for a price and readers are always welcome to join them! Website: http://www.famouscuisine.com/

Yuen Chan – Spotted one of the famous brands selling all their famous sauces. It was really tempting to want to buy most of the products, especially the ready-made sauces. Their products are pretty decent and I do use them in my cooking sometimes.

Charmy Yaki – really cute Japanese pancake with filling. Certainly wanted to try but ran out of stomach space!

Chocolat-ier Bite Me – Unique chocolates for sale to tempt chocolate lovers! They have really cute and retro themed chocolates and Choi Yen just couldn’t resist the pretty Hello Kitty ones.

The Laughing Cow – love the cheese! I bought quite a few for my little one together with the Cheez Dippers and some sauces with noodles for my mum.

Japanese Wafu Dressing – simply delicious! Trying to find out where else I can buy these…

Myojo – Bought both Fried Prawn Noodles and Chili Crab Noodles! Tried the Fried Prawn Noodles and they were super yummy. Soft yellow noodles are braised in a seafood sauce with some sambal. Can’t wait to try the Chili Crab Noodle… website: http://nissinfoods.com.sg/

Nikudo Seafood – now I know where to buy my seafood! They carry a big range of seafood that is worthy to make one drools. We spied giant lobsters, huge scallops, all sorts of fish and seafood products. They currently have two locations with one in Taman Ehsan, KL and SS2, PJ. Website: http://www.nikudo.com/

Don’t miss the next Tastefully Food & Beverage Expo is in May 2013!

I just love visiting food expo and this one is brimming with so much to see, taste and buy that you’ll need a huge shopping cart! If you miss this one, make sure to look out for the coming one. Plenty of promotions and discounts so it’s a great way to bargain hunt some food products and also get to know some new ones.

Stay tune for the next Tastefully Food & Beverage Expo with their FB: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Taste-Fully-Food-Beverage-Expo

Website: http://www.tastefully.com.my/