A SENSORY EXPLOSION AWAITS AT THE SINGAPORE FOOD FESTIVAL

Get ready for a sensory explosion with the opening of the Singapore Food Festival today. The theme of this year's festival is "Feast your senses" and you can be sure the month-long celebrations organised by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will do just that.

The festival's entre is FOOD Our Way of Life, a carnival of food, fun and entertainment at Suntec City. This will be the first time the Singapore Food Festival is held at Suntec City.

More than 35 food stalls will showcase a wide variety of local and international delicacies. The three-day food event will be complemented by an entertainment programme which includes cooking demonstrations by culinary personalities, food competitions, live band performances, strolling musicians, live broadcasts by deejays from Power 98 and Dongli 88.3, and guest appearances by media personalities.

This year will see many new events making their first appearance in the festival. These include a chance to experience The Great Wedding Feast by the Far East Square which will showcase wedding feasts of different nationalities including Egyptian and Korean, dine with the penguins at A Black and White Affair Dinner with Penguins at the Jurong Bird Park, dinner onboard the Gourmet Safari Express tram at the Night Safari, a pub crawl along Mohamed Sultan Road with Wong San,s Pub and Grub Walk, a Picnic in the Park at the Fort Canning Park where local bands and the premiere of Say it Isn't So, a romantic comedy, provide the entertainment.

As part of the festival, TalentX is running a "I Love Singapore Food!" photography competition. The prize pool for the competition stands at more than $12,000 in cash. Photographers were invited to submit pictures depicting Singapore's national pastime eating. All works will be displayed at Far East Square on 28 & 29 April. To get some tips on creating photographs good enough to eat, why not enroll in the Good Food to Good Looks photography course run by Charlie Lim

For those hungering for more, the festival has a smorgasbord of choices. Fancy a day sampling the many foods of Asia? Then head to Parco Bugis Junction for Street Foods of Asia. There you will find more than 30 stalls offering over 100 street foods from Beijing, Indonesia, Malaysia, Seoul, Shanghai, Taiwan, Thailand, Tokyo, and of course Singapore.

Also new this year is Citibank's involvement as the Presenter for Singapore Food Festival. Mr Bill Glickert, Country Marketing Director, Citibank Global Consumer Banking said, "Citibank is proud to present the Singapore Food Festival. We see this as an excellent opportunity to bring Singaporeans and Citibank cardmembers an exciting line-up of creative dining experiences. Citibank cardmembers can look forward to preferential offers and discounts."

He added, "The festival complements our continuing efforts to bring our cardmembers greater value in line with their preferred lifestyle. Citibank's current F&B programme already offers cardmembers exclusive benefits to an extensive choice of outlets from family restaurants to romantic fine dining."

Another debut is a street junction mural at Orchard Road (Hereen/Mandarin Hotel Junction). The mural is part of the STB's plan to make Orchard Road more attractive and at the same time provide publicity for upcoming events.

STB's Chief Executive, Mr Yeo Khee Leng said, "We are always on the lookout for new ideas to bring the SFF message to the masses. Last year we used the MRT trains, this year we have piloted the use of street junction murals which we believe will draw the attention of the public."

The success and following of the Singapore Food Festival has grown every year since it first began in 1994. Last year, more than 120,000 people participated in the Opening Celebrations. "Each year we have increased both the gastronomic pleasures on offer and the number of people that attend the Singapore Food Festival," Mr Yeo said. "Our success comes from a recipe of great food, fantastic venues, an ever-increasing and innovative range of events and whole-hearted industry support. &Singaporeans love their food and the Singapore Food Festival gives us all a chance to showcase the many styles and influences that make dining in Singapore an exquisite experience."