Big Roy Visits Food & Hotel Asia 2014

This is one of the largest scale food and hotel exhibition in Singapore and if I remember correctly, there were 10 halls of exhibits at the Singapore Expo. As usual, going to the Singapore Expo for such a big event, best is to take the train. I went with a friend in a car and we waited for more than 2 hours to get into the car park! And getting a parking lot is the next challenge! Reminder to myself, TRAIN ONLY NEXT YEAR!

Well apart from checking out what was available in food supplies in the industry, I was more drawn to meeting the 2013 World Barista Champion, Pete Licata. Saw his entire competition on YouTube and was inspired by the way he presented and his knowledge and passion for coffee. Pete was there as a spokesperson for Nuova Simonelli espresso machines, who are the official main sponsor for WBC events. Pete is a very cordial guy, obliging to photo taking, and is really calm with so many people surrounding him. I really wonder if the people there actually know who he is or  were they there just for the free latte? Anyways, I’m a big fan and am glad I got a picture with him and he made me a latte! 🙂

Pete Licata & me!
Pete Licata & me!
Preparing the latte
Preparing the latte
Latte by Pete Licata
Latte by Pete Licata. Simple latte art is alright, most importantly is the extraction of the espresso. Most folks here are suckers for latte art. Good latte art doesn’t mean the coffee is good!

 After the lovely meeting with Pete, I went on to check out the rest of the fair. To be honest, very large scale but most of the foods that we asted don’t taste that natural. Could be to keeping costs low hence lots of preservatives are used in the production? I really dunno, maybe next year I can see some good suppliers? Anyways, some pics for you guys to salivate to. 🙂

Some chocolate making
Some chocolate making
Splurging on booth designs
Splurging on booth designs
Cake samples
Cake samples
Pralines
Pralines
Durian flavor
Durian flavor
Gelato sampling
Gelato sampling
Cream cheese sample
Cream cheese sample
Pizza sample
Pizza sample
Innovative! They drove in the whole lorry!
Innovative! They drove in the whole lorry!

Hope to see you guys at the fair in 2016! 🙂

 

Gastronomically yours,

Big Roy