Umami, the so-called fifth taste along with sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Exhibitors at the Japanese sections offered samples of dashi, the savory, umami-rich broth fundamental to Japanese cookery, in a range of consumer-friendly, easily adaptable items like salad dressings and entrée sauces.

Korean kimchi as a tasty additive to condiments, as well as variations on bibimbap, rice bowls with toppings from sweet to savory. Malaysian cuisine received a major push, supported by a government-sponsored marketing initiative to put its gastronomy on the global culinary map.

Street food for Generation Next. A section of the show called The Food Truck Spot was launched to address the hot street-food phenomenon and its digitally driven communications media, especially popular with young, active diners. For more on the popularity of street food, see “In with Street Food” in the March/April 2010 issue of SmartSolutions™ magazine (available online at www.shamrockfoodservice.com).