Singapore Food Festival 2008 Opening Celebrations @ Lau Pa Sat

Raffles Quay - The Singapore Food Festival opened to the beat of the kompangs and Chinese drums here at Lau Pa Sat on the evening of 4 July. The guest of honour, Mr. Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for Trade and Industry officiated the launch of Singapore Food Sampler by dishing a plate of Char Kway Teow, much to the delight of the crowd. The celebration continued with performances, black and white movie screenings and the quintessential offering of True Singapore Taste hawker dishes by some of the highlighted stalls. For more information on Lau Pa Sat and the Food Festival, do visit their official websites.

Mr. Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for Trade and Industry officiating the launch of the Singapore Food Sampler.

Some of the highlights of the True Singapore Taste hawker dishes at Lau Pa Sat Festival Market including satay, laksa, chicken rice and roti prata.

Wah! So many people that day! As guests, food bloggers were presented with a "media" tag (so cool!) and a S$20 TST card to enable them to feast the night away at Lau Pa Sat. Together with Keropokman & Momo from SingaporeDailyMakanPhoto and AromaCookery, we explored some of the highlighted dishes from the participating hawker stalls.

Among others, the Char Kway Teow from Lakeview Char Kway Teow (Stall 77). The sufficient amount of heat gave it a rather aromatic flavour. The Fried Carrot Cake was flavoursome with a hint of sweetness from the sweet dark soy sauce. The diced bits of the cake were firm as well. Other dishes ordered were Bak Kut Teh and Braised Duck from Taste Good (Stall 14). The group seemed to enjoy the visually appetising Rojak from Sister Rojak (Stall 34). Cuppa Choice provided us with a few cups of well-decorated, rich cappuccinos. A good finale after the mugs of Tiger beer consumed.

With a myriad of local and western delights to tantalise the tastebuds and a strategic location to boost, it's no wonder that Lau Pa Sat stands among the prominent hawker centers in Singapore. A few more visits will be needed to determine if it will be in my list, alongside Hong Lim Food Centre, among others.

As for this year's Singapore Food Festival, be prepared for a month of celebration of food and culture. And most of all, a heritage.

Join in the fun!

Lau Pa Sat Festival Market
18 Raffles Quay
Singapore 048582
Tel: (+65) 6220 2138
Website: http://www.laupasat.biz

For more information on the food festival, check out these links:Singapore
Food Festival 2008
http://www.singaporefoodfestiva l.com.sg

Singapore Tourism Board
http://www.stb.gov.sg

Singapore Food Festival 2008 – Press Conference

FORT CANNING PARK – The 15th Singapore Food Festival will be held from 4 to 27 July 2008, celebrating the best of local dishes with emphasis on hawker food made popular in the 1950s and 60s. At the press conference held on 1 July at At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, organizers highlighted the major events taking place throughout this month-long festival at certain prominent tourist locations. Among others, a Seafood Weekend at Robertson Walk on 11 July, Ethnic Food Trails from 11 to 13 July at Chinatown, Kampong Glam, Little India & Lau Pat Sat and the Sentosa BBQ on 26 and 27 July. Details of all events can be found at the festival’s official website.

Hamish Brown (of Gold 90.5 FM) with the festival’s official partners (from left): Mr Ng Yong Hwee, President & CEO, City Gas, Mr Tan Kian Chew, Group CEO, NTUC Fairprice, Mr Andrew Phua, Director, Tourism, Shopping & Dining Cluster, STB and Mr Peter Knipp, CEO, Peter Knipp Holdings.

"Hi! You are from….?"…errr, I’m Nic. Food blogger? *grinned*. I peeped at the guestlist. OMG! I was excited to see his and his name. Starstruck, me. Keropokman (himself being an icon as well) told me he had met them both before. In fact, the three of them were involved in a talk, related to food blogging sometime back. Alas, they couldn’t make it that morning.

Later at the conference, guests were treated to an array of signature Singaporean dishes, courtesy of the festival’s partners. Among others, the iconic chicken rice and satay. NTUC FairPrice and City Gas also took the opportunity to introduce some of their products.

Wah, sakura chicken! My first time!

Another highlight of the festival will be the City Gas Singapore Chef Awards, presented by City Gas and endorsed by the Singapore Chefs Association. In line with the Singaporean theme, chefs are required to create a new dish using local ingredients and will be judged based on creativity, presentation, taste and relevance.

Wah liao! I also got to vote for City Gas Chef of the Year 2008 and City Gas Junior Chef of the Year 2008, under the Media Choice category. Awesome! That aside, all the dishes looked absolutely stunning. The burst of creativity in the judging room was definitely inspiring. And I am not disclosing my choice. Hehehe…As a whole, I thought the idea of a local theme should be applauded.

The Opening Celebrations will kick off from 4 to 6 July at Lau Pat Sat, an iconic hawker centre in Singapore. With a nostalgic theme of the 1950s and 60s, patrons can expect about 100 featured stalls serving authentic local dishes. The Singapore Food Sampler offers foreign visitors a chance to savour three types of local delights for free. Vouchers are available at the Singapore Visitor Centres and core event venue, with just a show of their passports.

It’ll be interesting to have a taste of yesteryears. For visitors, it’s a big slice of cultural revelation. For locals, it’s a reminder of the food that made them who they are today. While I recall that ‘Times Of Your Life’ song from Paul Anka played at the press conference that day. Indeed.

Let the celebrations begin!

For all information on the festival, check out these websites:

Singapore Food Festival 2008
http://www.singaporefoodfestival.com.sg

Singapore Tourism Board
http://www.stb.gov.sg