Northstar

16 | www.travelweekly-asia.com DESTINATION: SINGAPORE By Natalie Chen Singapore is a food connoisseurs' paradise with tourists drawn to the local multi ethnic cuisine. They have made their way faithfully to Maxwell Market, Newton Hawker Centre and Lau Pa Sat. But the local food scene has started to change with the emergence of several celebrity chef restaurants. From Joel Robuchon, Tetsuya Wakuda to Cat Cora, they have set up shop at Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands. The two most recently launched celebrity chef restaurants are, `Syun' and "Long Chim'. The renowned Japanese chef Hal Yamashita partners RWS and opened 'Syun', adding to its existing line-up of celebrity chef restaurants. The name 'Syun', signifies a season of new beginnings. CELEBRITY CHEF RESTAURANTS TAKE OFF IN SINGAPORE His restaurant focuses on modern Japanese contemporary cuisine, embodying 'Jap-Jap' fusion, a term coined by chef Yamashita. It is used to express the union of everyday ingredients with premium produce imported from Japan. Guests can anticipate a menu featuring several of chef Yamashita's iconic dishes like the perfectly grilled cod with saikyo miso yuzu miso sauce and dried mullet powder that requires a preparation time of close to a week. To cater to local taste buds, chef Yamashita has also added some local flavours into a few of his dishes. The wagyu- beef shabu-shabu with spicy ponzu and yuzu sesame sauce taps on Singaporeans' love for anything spicy. Another new celebrity chef restaurant recently launched is `Long Chim' at Marina Bay Sands. Opened by David Thompson, Long Chim features the full-flavoured street foods of Thailand. Favourites include aromatic beef skewers with cumin, grilled lamb curry, prawns roasted with vermicelli, noodles of all kinds, in soup or stir fried, and duck roasted in a wood- fired oven. "I am so glad we opened our first Long Chim here in Singapore. People have been so welcoming. I hope we can return the favour by producing food that everyone likes - street food, Thai food: Long Chim's food," said Thompson. Long Chim's bar programme, crafted by Proof & Company, features Thai inspired cocktails such as Long Chim's Sticky Rice Sour, made with aged rum, rice wine, fresh mango juice and pandanus and coconut foam. Faced with a dip in tourist arrivals, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is embarking on intensive marketing efforts to draw in tourists from the region. For key markets such as China, Indonesia and India, STB will intensify efforts in both major cities and Tier 2 cities. STB will also increase marketing efforts in growth markets that have strong potential, as well as pipeline markets for longer-term growth - Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan are some examples. SINGAPORE MARKS JUBILEE YEAR WITH DEALS FOR TOURISTS Singapore saw a dip of 3% in tourist arrivals for 2014 while tourism receipts stayed flat at S$23.6 billion (US$17 million). The country expects its challenges to persist in the near-term. The first two months of 2015 registered a decline of around 5%, compared to the same period in 2014. For 2015 as a whole, STB expects tourism numbers to grow modestly between zero and 3% for visitor arrivals, and between zero and 2% for tourism receipts. STB chief executive Lionel Yeo said, "For STB's 2014 integrated marketing campaigns, it invested in big campaign ideas, turned them into entertaining stories in ways that connect with its target audience and strategically reached them through different media channels." STB said it would build on this approach in 2015. Recently STB announced its collaboration with Changi Airport Group to invest a combined S$35 million, to jointly market Singapore and Changi Airport globally in key markets over the next two years. STB's marketing efforts across the Asia-Pacific region will also be augmented by collaborations with trade partners to curate attractive packages and itineraries for visitors. To mark Singapore's Golden Jubilee year, STB and industry partners will invest an estimated S$20 million on a new global marketing campaign with exclusive deals and experiences to drive conversion and spend. Tourists will see offers across five sectors - Fly, Stay, Shop, Eat and Play. There will be attractive flight rates with airline partners across markets. Hotel partners will offer a "Stay 2 nights third night free" promotion. About 20 hotels have signed up for this deal. In partnership with a payment gateway, there will be special deals to entice shoppers. Retailers will also offer deals. F&B players will offer special menus & dining experiences. There will be special SG50 itineraries (special tours with itineraries that highlight key milestones in Singapore's history), pedestrian nights and other precinct and in-mall activities. The campaign will be launched in May to coincide with the Great Singapore Sale and will be promoted in key markets of Indonesia, China, India, Philippines, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Celebrity Chef David Thompson whips up authentic Thai food.

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