The hit US reality television series Top Chef has just been filmed in Singapore. The producers have tried to keep details under wraps, but the island is reportedly the location for the season finale. One of the filming locations is said to be at At-Sunrice GlobalChef academy, and local food personalities featured include Makansutra’s K F Seetoh and Chef Ignatius Chan of Iggy’s. The show’s head judge, James Beard award winner Chef Tom Colicchio (pictured), also wrote about his dining experiences in Singapore on his Twitter page. A testament to Singapore’s status as a gourmet hotspot, it would be little surprise to see more culinary reality shows filming here in the near future.

The two companies have officially announced that PengWine will be solely distributed in Singapore by Top Wines. PengWine names its wines after species of penguins such as Rockhopper, Fairy and Magellan, and is one of the top companies in Chile’s Maipo Valley. It has already garnered several awards from Wine For Asia, Lianhe Zaobao and other publications, and looks to strengthen its premium positioning with the new partnership. Flora Loh, owner and managing director of Top Wines, said that Top Wines’ status will also benefit. “This collection of iconic and premium Chilean wines nicely augments and compliments what we have in the existing portfolio.”

For an example of PengWine’s great offerings, please view our Wine of the Week section.

May Chef Giovanni of Regent remind you to eat healthily as you stare at the train panel while waiting for your ride to come. That is because his face is plastered at Toa Payoh station, and will move to Orchard stop in September. The Italian chef had been handpicked by National Healthcare Group’s to be its spokesperson for the "Caring It Forward’’ campaign on healthy living. That seems to be a swerve in lane from employing celebrities or personalities, who have followers or fame, to professionals who have credibility. This may prove more effective as Chef Giovanni cooks healthy Italian dishes at Basilico restaurant, Regent, from rocket salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and low-cal pasta to grilled veggies and fish. He leads a health-conscious life also where he practices hot yoga twice weekly and tai chi at Botanic gardens with a trained master. Talk about someone who walks the talk.

Its cuisine we mean. The long-awaited, well-publicised “Original Annual Penang Fair 2010” had finally come to Concorde Hotel. From 5-15 August, be tantalised by all your favourite traditional Penang food. Helmed by the expert and genuine food lover Chef William Wongso, you can be sure the food is spiced with a twist. Using spices from Munik seasoning, he has the art of blending sweet and spicy palates that accentuates both flavours without overriding any of the spices. Do not miss the spectacular dishes as Chef Wongso brings the heart and soul of Penang cuisine to you.

If you stay at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, the phone may seem redundant as all guests will order room service through iPad now. Starting September, all guests can have a feel of the digital concierge services at this renowned hotel. At the touch of a screen, including  ordering room service, making restaurant reservations, communicating with the concierge, requesting wake-up calls, exploring local destination guides and printing airline boarding passes. In time to come, how will digitising of customer service streamline the number of employed in the service sector? It is providing faster and higher quality service to guests, boosting tourism industry, but will this benefit flourish at the expense of another industry, the employment industry?

International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is launching a food mission from Singapore - from the tip of the Asian continent, to the tip of Africa. In the first-ever food business mission to South Africa and Nigeria, eight companies visited Lagos in Nigeria, and Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa from 31 July to 4 August. The sheer population size of 48 million in South Africa with an educated upper-middle class and 149 million in Nigeria theoretically represents a large potential market of consumer products. Backed up by statistical results, food exports to and from both countries have grown at double-digit numbers since 2007. There is a new question of a stretching divide between the haves and the have-nots. There is a spike in poverty and disease-ridden news constantly out of Africa; so if the upper class is improving, is the government doing enough to pull up the lag at the end of the economy spectrum? Or will this growing divide have long-term repercussions?

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) will introduce a new Food Safety Excellence logo to recognise companies that have consistently achieved high standards of food safety. The logo will be awarded to local food companies which have attained an A grade for at least five consecutive years. Parliamentary Secretary for National Development, Dr Maliki Osman, said that food safety is of high importance as Singapore strives to increase its supply of home grown food and become more self-reliant.

Backed by the self-help group The Coeliac Society of New South Wales (NSW), this event is open to the public free of charge on 6 and 7 August, and is one of a growing number of events in Australia and the Pacific catering to gluten free diets. Now in its sixth year in Sydney, the show aims to promote the claimed benefits of gluten free dining, and showcase new products on the market to those already practicing a gluten free diet. The exhibition shows signs of healthy growth, as almost half of visitors at last year’s show had not attended the 2008 edition.

Rather than focusing solely on food and foodservice products, this New Delhi exhibition also showcases new innovations in agriculture and related fields. Visitors can therefore expect to find a wide range of wheat cleaning, sorting and milling machines, pollution control solutions and more. Several food and agricultural schemes by India’s state and central governments will also be highlighted. Though only in its sixth edition, strong federal backing and India’s huge dependence on agriculture ensure that this exhibition can only grow over time.

Absolut Vodka has unveiled the Absolut Sophie mirror, a limited edition collectible mirror designed in a mesmerising blood red hue. It was conceived by Singapore-based designer Sokkuan Tye, who won the In an Absolut World design competition at the Singapore Design Festival 2009. The mirror is a haunting yet exquisite marriage of Absolut Vodka’s premium image with Tye’s unique sense of creativity.

It is only right that the ‘capital’ of wine should have a sophisticated image, and not one plagued with cheap commodity wine. These labels sell for less than two euros (2.50 dollars) per bottle in France, and are called ‘Basic Bordeaux’. This was decided by the power-ridden Bordeaux’s wine trade council (CIVB) which is run by winegrowers and merchants. Government organisations have plans to assist in the transition of winemakers being exiled from production. Not only so, the number of countries being targeted for market is being streamlined too by half- from 60 to 30.  Top of the list are China, the United States, Britain, Japan, Germany, Belgium and France. Is France being selective about its wine, or elitist? That is the question on many consumers’ minds.

Not a live one at that, but a dead one. Still, is it an ingenious marketing tactic, or a distasteful stunt that might shun drinkers away? The limited edition Belgian ale called ’The End of History’ was the priciest and strongest beer ever made. Containing 55 percent alcohol and sold at 700 pounds (S$1,370) each, they were all swiftly snatched up in four hours. BrewDog, the brewery responsible for packaging these beers in dead squirrel bodies and stoats said they were aiming for something ‘monumental and epic’. How innovative and revolutionary can marketing efforts go? Is the phrase ‘crossing the line’ still in fashion, or is ‘defining the line at your digression’ the new black? One can only guess what would be next, serving beer in dead kittens or puppies?

Singapore’s widely globalised and multicultural cuisine scene had drawn one of the top chefs from Japan onto our shores. Shinji by Kanesaka at Raffles Hotel is 38-year-old Shinji Kanesaka’s first overseas venture. He is the two-Michelin-star chef-owner of sushi bar Sushi Kanesaka in Ginza. When asked why the choice of sunny island out of other big culinary cities such as New York, London, Paris, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi, the chef replied the country is close to Japan and the modern and contemporary nature of Singapore society drew him to launch his restaurant here. There will be an authentic experience at this restaurant, as the aesthetics and structure of it will be just like a sushi bar exported right out of Japan.

If you take a trip down Wild Honey at Mandarin Gallery, there will be more than all-around-the-world all-day breakfast menu to impress you. “You can browse through the pictures for the menu at the cashier”. As we ventured to place our order, we did not spot any booklet atop the clean counter. Apparently, Wild Honey uses two iPhones to store the pictures of its menu and drinks. Not only was it efficient, they run the low risk of bent and crumpled edges of pages that uglify menus. However, we were lucky to be the only ones placing an order for a good 30 minutes as it was low peak hour, as we took ages to select a breakfast among the myriad of ambrosial photos. But I’ve walked by the restaurant during peak period, and diners could hardly mash a line to order. With the iPhones being the only picture menus they have, diners are unable to browse through the pictures concurrently, as with traditional menus at their tables. It portrays a technologically-advanced image, but efficiency-wise - is this the best concept? Instilling an iPad, or iPhone at every table that digitally orders in real time would increase efficiencies and assist in peak hours. That may be an idea that will be pursued by restaurants in the future.

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Mount Faber Leisure Group has officially announced the launch of its new cable car rides after a S$36 million overhaul. Part of The Jewel Box, the group’s upscale dining and shopping attraction, the cable cars have been given a glitzy makeover and offer a unique gourmet experience hundreds of feet above ground. The new fleet consists of 67 metallic black and chrome cabins, each with removable dining tables and wine glass holders. The flagship car, billed as the world’s first “seven-star” VIP jewelled cabin, boasts its own wine cooler holder for a truly luxurious 13-minute ride to and from Mount Faber and Sentosa.

This August sees a host of new items and promotions for gourmet lovers in Singapore. For seafood fans, Oriole Café is serving up live mussels flown in from Tasmania cooked in a variety of dishes, all priced at S$24. Bedrock Bar & Grill is offering tantalising new meat dishes, such as smoked duck salad (S$18), pork king ribs (S$28) and mesquite grilled chicken (S$28), as well as a daily three-course set lunch priced from S$25++ to S$35++, and not to mention a bar snacks at just S$8.50 during happy hour (Monday to Thursday from 6pm to 7.30pm). To celebrate the opening of its second outlet in Singapore, Kichi Kichi Hotpot is offering its set lunches and dinners starting from S$14.90 for students and S$19.90 for adults, featuring its signature rotary hotpot as the centrepiece of the dining experience. Also celebrating its second outlet in Singapore is Nando’s. After enjoying stellar success with its Bugis Junction outlet, Nando’s opened its second restaurant at Tanglin Mall on Monday, and its spicy peri-peri chicken is guaranteed to be just as hot!

For reservations and enquiries, please call the following numbers:
Oriole Café – (65) 6238 8348
Bedrock Bar & Grill – (65) 6238 0054
Kichi Kichi Hotpot – (65) 9170 1146
Nando’s Tanglin Mall – (65) 6235 3555