Pizza Hut China's No. 1 Best-selling Pizza

China's durian obsession has run so high that it's now taken pizza sales by storm. 

 

Yum China, which operate Pizza Hut in the country, said in their quarterly earnings call on Monday that durian pizza has become their top pie nationwide. 

 

"One in every four pizzas sold in Pizza Hut China is now a durian pizza. We sold nearly 30 million durian pizzas year-to-date", said Joey Wat, Yum China's CEO, in a call with analysts. 

 

It's "now our No. 1 best-selling pizza", she declared.

 

China is by far the world's biggest importer of durian, bringing in 1.4 million tons of the fruit in 2023 alone. That year, HSBC analysts said the country was largely responsible for a 400% surge in durian demand worldwide. 

 

Grown typically in Southeast Asia on trees that take nearly a decade to mature, it's seen as a luxury item in Chinese cities, which regularly hold entire festivals dedicated to tasting the fruit. E.g., Malaysia Durian Festival held at the 21st China-ASEAN Expo on September 26-27 in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, giving Chinese consumers a chance to savor the unique fruit in various forms.  

 

Yum China launched their durian pizza eight years ago. In their 2023 annual report, they said that the dish has officially brought in at least $100 million in sales since then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic picked up three priceless Champions League points yesterday with a brilliant 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig at a packed Celtic Park. 

 

The Red Bull GmbH club – who are still searching for their first point in the competition – opened scoring in the 23rd minute but Nicolas Kuhn turned on the style with a wonderful curling effort in off the post to equalise on 35 minutes. 

 

Again, Kuhn stroked in from just outside the six-yard box after Daizen Maeda’s fresh air swipe allowed Greg Taylor's cut back to reach him just before the break. 

 

And Reo Hatate put the game out of reach in the seventy-second minute after he lifted the ball into the roof of the net when the Leipzig keeper spilled Alistair Johnston's cross.

Celtic's seven points (W2, D1, L1) is already their most in a Champions League campaign since 2012-13 (10).

Melts Cola is a Lemon

Introducing the new Melts Cola. Crunchy and cheesy, and loaded with satisfaction, with a surprisingly tangy twist of Cola Sauce. That's what the ad claims.

 

And Melts are an all-new way to go solo. Pizza Hut take their signature Thin 'N Crispy® crust, load it with toppings and cheese, fold it over, bake it to melty perfection, then sprinkle it with a parmesan and oregano blend. 

 

Of course, when there is Cola, I just had to try it! I even tried it on two occasions. 

 

On Monday, at Jalan Putra Mahkota 7/6C, Putra Point Commercial Centre, Putra Heights in Subang Jaya, Selangor, I purchased an à la carte Melts Cola. 

 

My verdict: The wraps were decent enough but I especially loved the Cola taste although they could be a tad more generous with the sauce. 

 

On Wednesday, at Jalan USJ 9/3, USJ in Subang Jaya, I ordered the MyBox set. 

 

My verdict: The wraps were underwhelming. And I could hardly taste the Cola sauce. 

 

In fact, the whole presentation was disappointing. As you can see from the pics. Honestly, they look pathetic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melts Cola is a lemon. Overall, a real letdown from Pizza Hut Malaysia.

 

Note: Each Melts order comes with two pieces.

Vegan Leather Made From Mangoes

Ready or not, veganism is getting into the mainstream. And it does seem that more and more people are joining the plant-based movement. 

In fact, people cite one or more of three key motives for going vegan – animal welfare, environmental concerns and personal health – and this is accompanied by an endless array of new business startups, cookbooks, YouTube channels, trendy events and polemical documentaries (“advocacy films”). 

A sample of the ever-growing range of vegan products. Image credit: Jill Mead/The Guardian 

It is said the traditional food industry is already desperately trying to catch up with the flourishing grassroots demand. 

If you don't already know, Guinness have gone vegan when they stopped using fish bladders in their brewing process, after two and a half centuries. 

In the UK, restaurant chain, Wagamama have introduced a vegan menu. Pizza Hut have joined Pizza Express and Zizzi in offering vegan pizzas. Marks & Spencer and Pret a Manger have introduced vegan ranges. And Tesco have a position called director of plant-based innovation. 

The latest is a company in the Netherlands that are utilizing what would otherwise be wasted food to create vegan leather. That food is a fruit we know of as mango (Scientific name: Mangifera indica).

Fruitleather Rotterdam receive free leftover mangoes from the quality control sector of a Dutch fruit company and breaks it down to a puree to be turned into a durable, cruelty-free leather alternative:

 

What will they think of next?

Slowly and steadily, it looks like the world is embracing a plant-based lifestyle. I suppose that promotes sustainability and it can only be good for the battered and beleagured world.

Pizza Hut Does Not Welcome Wheelchairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Photo of the Pizza Hut outlet in MidValley taken yesterday

 

On Monday, Anthony Thanasayan, who was accompanied by a friend, visited the Pizza Hut outlet in MidValley shopping mall but he had a shock of his life when he was pointedly told that he might not be able to enjoy his meal if he is on a wheelchair.

 

“The restaurant manager asked me to leave my wheelchair outside and walk into the restaurant as she claimed it was their outlet’s policy,” he said. Huh? Did she mean that Thanasayan was faking his disability? Or maybe she forgot to bring her brains to work that day and she did not know the purpose of the wheelchair!?!

 

 

So here is this person who is a MPPJ councilor and a well-known activist fighting for the rights of the disabled, who was reminded of his disability and that he should feel lousy about it!

 

Thanasayan, who had been on a wheelchair for the past 10 years said: “I struggled for years with disability not to be told by Pizza Hut that I am not good for their pizza’s.”

 

Sure, Thanasayan did receive an apology but the strange thing is that the Pizza Hut management still denied the allegations made against the outlet manager! So, why bother to apologize?

 

Stupidity has now infected MidValley!

 

I was at No. 57 at The Boulevard, MidValley City to take up the role of General Evaluator at the MAICSA Toastmasters meeting. The invitation was made when I met their club president, Sharon Yee at the Sai Masters Toastmasters meeting on October 13, 2013.

 

[By the way, MAICSA is The Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators].

 

The meeting may have started five minutes late but it still managed to finish on time! If there was anything that could be done better – I would please urge that the speaker and evaluator read the Advanced manual, i.e. Storytelling properly before they present themselves in front of an audience. I know we learn as we do but let’s do it correctly. Anyway, it's a decent meeting and my score is a 5 upon 10.