Asian Flavors are in Favor (2/2)

Quoting Eric Wahlgren again, changing in the America’s demographics plays a major factor in the boom of Asian cuisines? …When Americans are eating out these days, they're increasingly going ethnic, industry watchers say. Last year, 6.1% of all dinners ordered in U.S. restaurants included an Asian dish, vs. 4.4% in 1989, according to NPD Group, a Port Washington (N.Y.) That's off the 7.6% peak in 2002, but the drop may result in part from the growing popularity of another ethnic food: Mexican. …But the success of PF Chang's would suggest that Americans are becoming more diverse in their tastes." That growing diversity could mean a tasty future for ethnic-themed restaurants, analysts say. By 2050 both the Asian and Hispanic populations in the U.S. are expected to triple, with Asians making up 8% of the population, vs. 4% last year, according to the Population Reference Bureau. Hispanics, meantime, are expected to represent 24% of the U.S. population, vs. 13% in 2004. "A lot of [the potential for success] of ethnic food will have to do with changing demographics," says John Beisler, senior restaurant analyst with Monarch Research in New York City. Asian Restaurants Growing More than 61,000 Asian restaurants in the U.S., account for 6.78% of total number of 900, 000 drinking and eating places in the nation. Annual sales for Asian restaurants in 2004 are estimated to be over $23 billion dollars, which makes 4.83% of the total annual sales of foodservice in U.S. In our calculation, we counted only the restaurants that call themselves Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indian, Malay and Pan-Asian’s. Beyond our narrow definition, there are a lot more of Asian-themed, and/or Asian-influenced cui-sine restaurants that are not yet included. Among the 61,000 Asian restaurants, 40,889 offer Chinese menus. The estimate of annual sales is computed based on a recent survey result conducted by Chinese Restaurant News (www.c-r-n.com), in which 200 Chinese restaurants were asked to fill out a questionnaire about their restaurant facility and sales anticipation for the year of 2004.numbers may run lower than the reality due to the bias of the survey focusing on one type of Asian restaurants. Comparing the numbers in year 1999, we had got 31,776 Chinese restaurants that collaboratively rang an annual sales estimate of $10 billion. In the year 2004, there are nearly 41,000 Chinese restaurants, gaining the annual sales of $15 billion. To Ride On the Waves? Asian Restaurant News initiated a Viewpoint Exchange Session with a panel of renowned authors, experts, and operators of Asian Cuisines: Asian Ingredients: Menu For Success. Centering these themes: 1. What are the ingredients in Asian Cuisine? 2. Why are Asian ingredients so popular today? 3. How are they used in our restaurants today? 4. What are the trends? The editors of Asian Restaurant News have assembled a questionnaire to ask the experts. The discussion and commentary exchange are presented to our readers with the thoughts and advice from experts in many Asian cuisine concerning a major challenge in today's restaurants: How to better serve Asian Ingredients on the menu for maximum profitability. Questionnaire * What is your comment on the definition, the trend of Asian Cuisine? * What is the definition and trend of Asian flavors? * What do you see as new trends in Asian cooking, how are they applied in restaurants? * What are the new stars do you see on the menus of Asian restaurants? Why are they be-coming the new favorites? * What would be out of the menu? * What remain to become a tradition? * What are the most popular fusion ingredients being used today? * How can you combine the basic ingredients of Asian cuisines with European flavor pro-files (French, Italian, etc.)? What are the most popular fusions and why? * Are there any “rules” for a successful combination of flavors when it comes to combining the ingredients of different cultures? * What do you predict will be the next big fusion movement, and why? * How do you avoid “fusion confusion?” * What Asian ingredients are most noted for its healthy benefits? * How have these healthy ingredients been integrated with today’s integrated with today’s dishes? * What are some of the ways to introduce the healthy side of Asian ingredients to customers? * How can Asian ingredients be understood and marketed in a restaurant within the context of the new food pyramids introduced earlier this year by the Department of Agriculture? * What are some Asian ingredients or cuisine specific beverages that are being offered today? * How can a restaurant successfully introduce new types of beverages on a menu? * Would you think offering items such as Asian wines, different beers from other Asiancultures, microbrews,etc. would be beneficial? * What Asian Ingredients are staples for good soups? * What kinds of enhancements or improvements can be made to a soup using Asian ingredients? * What flavors are customers asking for? * What drives the trend toward using Asian Ingredients today? * How do you incorporate Asian Ingredients in your menu to keep your customers returning? Reference: Eric Wahlgren, Spicing Up the Food Scene, http://www.businessweek.com Andaleeb Ahmed, Flavor and taste perceptions of Asian foods,www.preparedfoods.com