Mexican flavours find favour
Mexican food and beverage producers will be making a major impression on gourmets cruising this year's Hofex trade show.
There will be six exhibition booths - the largest promotional presence by a Mexican food and beverage trade group ever to attend an Asian exhibition.
Among the bigger producers to display products are Mexico Lindo, a manufacturer of sauces; Norson, an exporter of pre-cooked traditional Mexican dishes, and Altro, a poultry and meats wholesaler. Manufacturers of the popular tequila brand, Herradura, as well as beer producer, Corona, will be on hand.
Mexican Deputy Trade Commissioner for Hong Kong, Norma Garcia, said Asia presented great growth potential for Mexican foods producers, largely because Asian diets had features common with food groups in the Mexican culinary tradition.
'We think the flavours we have in Mexico are similar to those found in Asia, not only in China, but in Thailand and Vietnam as well,' Ms Garcia said. 'We share similar ingredients and preparation methods.'
Ms Garcia said mainland consumers were already familiar with Mexican cooking, as she discovered by accident during an official visit to Chengdu last year.
She, along with colleagues, had stopped at a small local restaurant and were surprised to discover several Mexican dishes on the menu.
'It was amazing! The dishes were very close to authentic,' Ms Garcia said. 'We did some research and found out that Chinese people know more about Mexican foods than we had thought.'
Ms Garcia said many foreigners often confuse authentic Mexican cooking with 'Tex/Mex' cuisine, a food style that originated along the United States-Mexico border.
She said that while she enjoys Tex/Mex cuisine, she looks forward to educating consumers about the variety of culinary styles popular throughout Mexico.
