Luxury Asian Pacific hotel group, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has launched a new healthy menu brand aimed at meeting participants.
Its “Signature Performance” healthy menus already into 20 of its 55 hotels and resorts with the rest in line to introduce the menus by end of 2008.
Shangri-La said the menus are one of the components of Healthy Lifestyle Cuisine, a program designed to provide healthy dining options to Shangri-La customers. Sixty varieties of healthy dishes are featured in Signature Performance Menus, in addition to the standard meeting menus.
Each dish is assigned to a distinct category depending on their specific benefits; “Mindfuel” are dishes that provide a healthy balance of nutrients that improve concentration, increase energy levels and overall productivity for a busy executive; “Jetlag” dishes help reduce insomnia, fatigue and increase vitality; “ActiveYou” dishes give optimal nutrition for tissue maintenance, muscle repair for the sport and fitness enthusiast; and “ChiBalance” dishes are based upon the principle of chi to restore balance and harmony to the mind and body.
Currently, an assortment of Western options is available for lunch and dinner. By the end of 2008, Signature Performance options will also include Chinese dishes.
“Our chefs have brought all their talents to bear to produce Signature Performance dishes that are flavourful, delicious and beautifully presented; they are a treat to the senses as well as one’s health,” said Jean-Michel Offe, group director of food and beverage. “The menus are carefully crafted so that meeting planners can customise menus with the right food choices to boost energy levels and vitality for improved attentiveness, concentration and energy.”
Dishes on the menu include Black Pepper Pumpkin Ravioli with Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Sauce, Pan-seared Tuna with Green Lentils, Couscous and Orange Lemongrass Reduction, Oven-baked Salmon Fillet Wrapped in Prosciutto with Herby Lentils, Spinach and Yogurt, Chicken Breast Roll with Enoki Mushrooms, Carrots and Wild Rice, and Tropical Mango and Strawberry Salad with Yogurt Sherbet or Fruit Soup with Berries and Papaya Sorbet.
The healthy menus are the latest in a string of major food and beverage initiatives recently rolled out with focus on bringing healthy dining to a higher level of creativity at Shangri-La properties.
In November 2007, Shangri-La teamed up with Mr. Wong Chi Wing, head of food and dietetic at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital and a registered dietician to develop menus to meet the nutritional and lifestyle needs of its guests, from frequent business travellers to active, health-conscious vacationers and conference attendees.