Orange Latern

  In Singapore, food waste concerns are on the rise. Last year, we threw out 744 million kg of food – the weight of about 51,000 double-decker buses! The sheer amount of food wastage is troubling in two ways. One, because it adds to the limited space in Singapore’s only landfill. Two, because Singapore must import most of its food due to our limited land resources to grow our own, we’re wasting a significant number of resources and energy that goes into growing, processing, and transporting food for our consumption. This in turn also increases our carbon footprint, as we’ll have to find ways to dispose of the wastage in an environmentally safe manner. What can we do as consumers? For starters, food waste at the consumer level tends to be because we buy too much for our own consumption, and then throw it out once it hits the best-by dates. Another way is when we order too much food when we are eating out at buffets or hawker centres and find ourselves unable to finish our food. In b...

  The past 2 years had been terrible with the in-person restrictions and dining-in measures in place for the F&B industry. However, things should look up for the year 2022 as the vast majority of the populace have been inoculated against the covid-virus, and with the latest omicron variant posing no serious threats to vaccinated individuals based on recent reports. For 2022, we’d believe that most individuals will experience some significant events in their life journey as well. Planning for such significant events is nevertheless time-consuming when you strive to make them memorable! As in all kinds of planned events, there is one item that you can’t omit from your list, Food! And sadly, this is also one of the trickiest parts of your list. There are simply too many things to consider when choosing the perfect caterer for your event. Quality of food, presentation, food hygiene and safety, and of course cost! There are many mistakes that people made through the course of cateri...

  Singapore catering industry has seen significant changes over the decades as along with demographics changes, consumers’ preference to higher disposable incomes per household. From where it used to be catering for events such as business seminars and luncheons, house-warming, baby showers to current demands for a bespoke wedding reception,  Tingkat , schools, senior living facilities and hospitals, and even to just a simple house gathering amongst close friends & relatives are some of the current occasions where organisations and individuals will give thoughts to engaging a caterer. In the current pandemic situation where government restriction measures are still in place, dining out with family members and close friends has turned out to be a luxury in the past 18 months. However, this is not to say that you can’t have such gatherings in your own home, as long it stays within the mandated numbers. In fact, you can pamper yourself by getting caterers to solve the food pr...

  When Singapore enacted its stay-at-home measures for 2 months, a survey done by the Singapore Management University found that the social satisfaction levels for senior citizens dipped by about 4%. Among those affected, senior citizens who were living alone felt the greatest impact. It’s not hard to imagine why – the senior citizens who lived alone either relied on their family members to visit or they met their peers within their neighbourhood while they go about their daily routines. However, during the stay-at-home measures, family members were discouraged from visiting their elderly family members. Furthermore, senior citizens were encouraged to stay at home more often to minimise their risk of contracting the virus. With such sudden disruptions to their daily routines over a prolonged period, many senior citizens have found it difficult to return to their daily lifestyles. Thus, more than ever, we need to check in with our senior family members, especially if they’re living ...

  Over the past decade, Singaporeans have been eating out more and more often. A 2018 Nielsen survey polled 202 respondents to find that 24% of them have indicated that they eat out daily, while over 55% of them eat out on a weekly basis. Of the 3 meals per day, dinner was the meal that was usually consumed out of home. It’s hardly surprising, given our busy lifestyles and the fast-paced society here in Singapore. Eating out is the most convenient solution to resolving our daily needs, and the wide variety of affordable food in Singapore means that we are spoilt for choice. At the same time, it can be hard to gauge how much food we should order when eating out. We just know that we’re  starving  by the time we finally grab a seat at a crowded hawker centre. Plus, while there may be different portion sizes available, it can still be hard to gauge how hungry we feel to how much we plan to eat. And sometimes, what if the food isn’t to your taste, or you’ve ordered more than ...

  According to an article, many people wish to exercise more, eat healthier, save money, lose weight, and reduce stress at the start of every year. Losing weight especially has been tough when working from home! When you’re sitting in the same position all day long, it’s hard to ignore that your favourite pair of pants may have become a little tighter over time. Not to fret! There’s still time to lose weight at home, and it’s less of a hassle than you think. Here are three ways to do so: 1)     Exercise Home workouts are now more popular than ever. Gyms and fitness studios now host virtual classes, offering a variety of activities from Pilates and Zumba, to strength workouts that you can do at home with your household items. You can even find apps that act as a virtual personal trainer, complete with features to track your calories burned and workout plans with detailed instructions to help you achieve your fitness goals. Since you don’t have to worry about taking a trip ...

  Singapore catering industry has seen significant changes over the decades as along with demographics changes, consumers’ preference to higher disposable incomes per household. From where it used to be  buffet catering  for events such as business seminars and luncheons, ‘house-warming’, ‘baby showers’ to current demands for a bespoke wedding reception, ‘ Tingkat ’, schools, senior living facilities and hospitals, and even to just a simple house gathering amongst close friends & relatives are some of the current occasions where organisations and individuals will give thoughts to engaging a caterer. This is especially true with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic where social distancing measures and travel restrictions are in place. Outside dining at restaurants has taken a heavy toll due to the restrictions and safety measures in place since the start of the pandemic. Le Xin Catering   has some  buffet catering recommendations  and packages for cus...

  Healthy living is the ongoing trend for the 21 st  century and most people are seriously switching up their lifestyles for healthier living. People are now working out more, eating the right foods, cutting down on sugar and fats. Even government bodies and agencies are also actively promoting healthy living by raising sugar tax among many other initiatives. But when it comes to food, we all know how easy it is for us to slip right back to our unhealthy habits of consuming sugar and oils. While they may not be as unhealthy as before, the accumulation of such diets is still going to cause us inconveniences in the future. Obesity and many other health conditions are still relevant in our society. However, it is also apparent that there are many healthy food operators appearing in the market. Food trends are also slowly inclining towards healthier choices. It is no doubt that people are starting to eat healthily. However, there is one option that has always been in the market fo...

  Finding the perfect caterer for your event is never an easy job. Different caterers specialize in different types of events. Ask the caterers if they have experience in serving at your kind of events. Verify by checking out their profiles, websites and social media handles. When it comes to selecting the perfect caterer, few things that are important to consider; Customer Service No matter which caterer you choose, their customer support has to be strong to handle your enquiries and requirements. She has to be easily contactable and respond to your calls or emails promptly. You wouldn’t want to engage a caterer that replies to you a week later to your enquiries. Is your caterer flexible enough to accommodate your simple request such as the level of spiciness of the foods? If the caterer is not willing to accommodate, then you have to seriously consider another caterer as you do not want to be tied down to the caterer inflexibility. Customer Reviews Finding a caterer that provides...

  Do all playgrounds look the same? Even 20 years ago, there were different kinds of playground. Some were built on concrete, some on sand and some were just made of different structures pieced together on the same compound and we still call it a playground. But as time advances, we get to see more and more complex looking  playground design in Singapore . The one thing that is common in all playgrounds is the kind of flooring they have. It is a type of rubber flooring called, the “ EPDM flooring ”. The EPDM flooring is commonly used for all playgrounds as they one of the cheapest and safest types of flooring to use. Not to mention, they abide by American’s safety standard for flooring when it comes to playground equipment. Thus, it became a necessity for all playgrounds unless better flooring is suggested. Nowadays, we have all kinds of playgrounds. As playgrounds are no longer just for the point of having fun, they are also beacon of development for growing kids. If you noti...

  No matter how busy our lives have become, it’s more important than ever to eat together as a family. As mental health becomes a growing concern, mealtimes are the best way to check in on our family members and their mental well-being. Plus, there are many advantages to eating together at home, especially if you have young children in the family. Children can pick up good table manners during mealtimes   No one likes a messy eater at the table or someone who unashamedly snatches up all the abalone pieces during the annual reunion dinners. Because young children learn by observing their family members, it is up to parents (and grandparents or older siblings) to be good role models for them. This includes important concepts such as filial piety and respecting one’s elders, especially before big family gatherings! Having shared meals together also allows children to learn lifelong habits which will benefit them in future social situations. However, when you find that your childr...

  When it comes to  buffet catering , you often see many reviews about a certain buffet caterer online, complaints, rants and basically negative stuff on them. While there are a lot of buffet caterers out there, there is bound to be one or two black sheep just like any other industry out there. But of course, in today’s digital age, all you need to do is a little research on  buffet catering recommendation , you should be safe ordering from a specific buffet caterer. Before we make some judgement, we need to be clear of certain misconceptions regarding buffet catering. Here are some misconceptions you need to clear – Food is of poor quality Take note that, these foods are prepared by professionals and their food sources are often fresh from the day’s harvest. But of course, food quality is often hard to judge. If you are comparing to top restaurants, then the quality is sure to be lower as compared to restaurants. Otherwise, it is perfectly fine. Be it any type of caterin...

  In recent years, there’s a growing awareness of the alarming amount of plastic pollution that we produce. In 2019, to cut down on the amount of plastic waste, more than 270 food and beverage outlets in Singapore phased out their use of disposable plastic straws.   However, plastic straws are not the only culprit either. Think of the plastic forks, spoons, and plastic wrapping around our disposable wooden chopsticks. We throw away all these whenever we take away our food. Most of the time, you receive your food in plastic or Styrofoam containers too. Even for local delights like Hainanese chicken rice, or our beloved black carrot cake, they’re in a paper wrapping lined with plastic that can’t be reused. Not to mention all the takeaway iced coffee and tea we buy every day.   A survey led by students from the National University of Singapore found that we generated an extra 1,334 tonnes of plastic waste from our takeaway and delivery meals during the 2-month circuit b...

  Ordering a  buffet delivery in Singapore  isn’t as easy as it seems. Typically, people tend to go online, look up “ buffet catering recommendation ”, scan for awhile before deciding on which caterer and you want and click on the package and check it out. But if only it was that clear cut. Now before you jump straight into ordering your next  buffet catering , you may want to first put on the brakes and go through things slowly. Here are some things you might have overlooked in your past purchases – Price per pax does not include delivery fee You might be wondering why the price may have inflated after checking out. Or maybe things don’t tally when you only budget in what was written on their website. The total cost is never just the price per pax multiplied by the number of people attending a party. What’s worst is that you searched for cheap buffet catering only to realise they have a much higher delivery fee as compared to other caterers or additional 7% GST incu...