Plaza Premium Group (PPG), a leading pay-per-entry airport lounge operator, has established its reputation by offering the best amenities for travellers. Knowing that a sure way to one’s heart is via the stomach, PPG has taken great care with its F&B offerings.
As part of its comprehensive portfolio of offerings, PPG also manages TGM Singapore, located at Changi Airport’s Terminal 2, better described as a restaurant than a traditional lounge.
PPG, with a mission of “making travel better”, has built up an international footprint in 150 countries across 600 international and domestic airports. The Hong Kong-based company serves some 20 million travellers a year, including at Singapore’s Changi Airport, one of PPG’s most visited lounges, besides Hong Kong and Heathrow of London.
Chan Seong June, executive sous chef at PPG, says the restaurant has been operating since 2014. While the establishment originally featured a Japanese-Korean ala carte menu, it has undergone various transitions, once adopting an izakaya approach.
In its latest iteration, TGM Singapore offers a fusion of an ala carte menu and buffet-style dining during its opening hours from 6am to 1am.
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“We serve an international buffet there, offering salads and desserts like cake and ice cream. But for the main course, we have Japanese and Korean cuisine via ala carte, so we have dishes like bibimbap and truffle beef rice bowls available,” says Chan.
Chan says that the new menu design, which has been in effect for the past four months, has been popular with customers, especially among transiting passengers. “While we didn’t have too many customers before the Covid-19 period, now business at TGM has really ramped up, so I think we did a good job with the menu refresh,” he adds.
Another menu that has been redesigned is that of PPG’s restaurant in Terminal 1, Terrace Chinese Kitchen. The Hong Kong teahouse-style eatery opened in July 2022 within the terminal’s public F&B space, allowing travellers and non-travellers alike to enjoy traditional Cantonese offerings such as century egg congee, steamed rice rolls and their signature steamed rice bowls.
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Despite everything on the menu except desserts being made in-house, Chan says that the flavour profile of the dishes had to be tweaked over the years, with the restaurant constantly observing reactions and gathering feedback from diners regularly.
He says: “Singaporeans prefer spicier, brighter flavours, which aren’t necessarily found in Hong Kong cuisine. So while our original menu was more faithful to Cantonese flavours, we have made them a bit more heavy.”
Beginning in October 2022, the chefs at Terrace Chinese Kitchen started experimenting with new and existing dishes while staying faithful to the restaurant’s concept of serving authentic Hong Kong cuisine.
The latest menu redesign will be launched in December. It will feature familiar favourites like scrambled egg sandwiches and Hong Kong-style instant noodles with luncheon meat.
Chan says that the biggest change to the menu is the introduction of dishes meant to be shared among a large group of people for more family-oriented meals.
“In the past, our menu at Terrace Chinese Kitchen was usually meant for the lone traveller looking for a comforting meal. However, we want the restaurant to be where a family or group of friends can gather for a large meal before sending someone off at the airport. This concept makes total sense to me.”
The restaurant’s new dishes are inspired by open-air establishments in Hong Kong called dai pai dongs or “big licence stalls” in Cantonese, where stir-fry dishes are rapidly fired up with an intended charred or smoky flavour.
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These new dishes include evergreen favourites such as kung pao chicken, wok-fried scallion ginger-sliced fish, and, of course, the all-time classic, sweet and sour pork.
“The stir-fry dishes are great, but so are the simpler menu items. My personal favourite on the menu is just white rice topped with crispy lard, a fried egg and luncheon meat,” says Chan.
A package deal
While PPG is currently focused on these two brands under its F&B umbrella, Wu Wei Qiang, PPG’s regional director of operations, says there are expansion plans as the group is not content with operating two outlets in Singapore.
“Because we have plans to expand our portfolio of lounges in Malaysia and Indonesia, these two countries are places where we could expand our F&B presence,” says Wu. “Ultimately, the objective is to increase revenue for our restaurants. Other than that, we want to increase our brand awareness because our dishes are really authentic, and people don’t really know that PPG has F&B brands.”
As part of a holistic airport service experience, PPG also allows priority pass and dragon pass holders to enjoy benefits when dining at TGM or Terrace Chinese Kitchen.
Wu says: “For example, when diners who have our priority pass dine at Terrace Chinese Kitchen, they can use existing points they have earned through visiting our lounges to get special discounts off specifically assigned menu items.”
The group also partners with external parties globally so passengers can enjoy these meal benefits when visiting airports internationally.
Wu adds: “We are airport service providers. Ultimately, we want to create a seamless experience for passengers, which includes the dining experience. PPG is not only a lounge; in our Terrace Chinese Kitchen restaurant, passengers can definitely find a good, authentic Hong Kong meal.”
