Top flavours
The 20 most popular flavours on Asian restaurant menus are all fairly well-represented, each with an incidence greater than 4%.
Appearing in nearly one-fifth of Asian menu items, onions are by far the most common flavour. Many Asian cuisines, particularly Japanese, emphasize vegetables (such as onions) and place less importance on meat and poultry. ‘Sweet’ is the second most common flavour description, with an almost 18% incidence. Dishes like sweet-and-sour pork and chicken are extremely popular with restaurant-goers. ‘Spicy’ and sesame flavours are equally represented at about 14%. Different Asian cuisines feature a number of spicy foods, such as Korean kimchi and Thai curries. Other common flavours on menus include garlic and ginger, both generally perceived to have nutrition benefits. Cilantro, coconut and lemon were some of the least common flavours, although each appeared on roughly 5% of menus. Operators looking to differentiate their menu offerings might consider fusing these rarer flavours with the more common ones to create flavour hybrids like cilantro-ginger or lemon-sesame. Such combinations would likely appeal to consumers increasingly demanding bold and innovative flavours. | 
