Article 1:
SINGAPORE: Christmas has started early in the island republic with major streets including Orchard Road and Marina Bay lit up and decorated with huge Christmas trees and ornaments with festive lights strung across the road.
Most of the malls have also started playing Christmas carols and jingles as part of Singa_pore’s efforts to “entertain” the 10,000-odd participants of the week-long Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit.
Singapore, known for its extravagance in organising international events, is playing host to a series of Apec meetings this year, the 20th anniversary of the 21-member grouping.
The bill for the week-long event is a whopping S$100mil (RM240mil).
While this has irked many Singaporeans, especially those from the medium and low in__come groups, Singapore authorities feel the event was a good way of promoting the country.
A Singapore Tourism Board (STB) official said the Christmas celebrations were the best way to attract tourists to Singapore.
“We need people to constantly come to Singapore as tourism has been badly affected since the outbreak of the H1N1 pandemic,” the official said.
With world leaders expected to stay on here until the weekend, Singapore is not taking any chances with security.
Thousands of armed policemen and armed Gurkhas have been deployed round the clock at Suntech City, one of the main venues for the summit.
Leaders who have confirmed their attendance include US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Najib is also expected to hold some bilateral meetings with several leaders including Chile, Australia, Vietnam and Russia.
Apec was formed in 1989 as an informal ministerial-level dialogue group with 12 members to cooperate on regional trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation.
Article 2
SINGAPORE - Soto ayam with scallop mousse, rendang baked lobster, braised beef short ribs in five-spice sauce, cold appetiser of chilli crab with mango chilli salsa.
These Singaporean dishes with a twist are what top local chefs have deemed fit for world leaders including Chinese President Hu Jintao and United States President Barack Obama.
The leaders of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies will be feasting on re-interpreted local favourites this weekend, including lunches at the Istana and a gala dinner cum buffet spread at the Esplanade on Saturday.
Unveiling the dishes yesterday, the chefs said they had to tackle the issue of how to make the feasts an authentic representation of local cuisine.
"It's not fusion or confusion," said Mr Wolfgang Ranner, executive chef of Conrad Centennial Singapore. "It's a stepping stone for the Singapore culinary team to look into the past, how we can (proceed) in the future, and how we can represent it to the world leaders."
Said Fairmont Singapore's director of kitchens Otto Weibel, who has lived in Singapore for 25 years: "The flavours have not changed, only the cooking technique. When you try the soto ayam and close your eyes, it's exactly the flavour (but with fewer calories)."
Others roped in by the Apec Singapore 2009 Organising Committee are the Mandarin Oriental's Eric Teo, Sats Catering's Anderson Ho and Unilever FoodSolutions' Yen Koh.
Keeping the 10,000 delegates at Apec Leaders Week fed on schedule at Suntec Singapore is its executive chef Jess Ong and 95 kitchen staff.
It was earlier reported that the delegates would be chowing down 63 tonnes of food, but with new meetings being arranged, chef Ong said the tally was likely to hit 100 tonnes. This includes about 5 tonnes of meat, 18,000 pieces of finger food for refreshments, and 12,000 pieces offruit.
With a largely middle-aged crowd, the meals are healthier, with less salt and sugar. And to ensure delegates attend meetings with fresh breath, "not too much onion or garlic" is used, Chef Ong said. Mints are also readily on hand.
SINGAPORE: Christmas has started early in the island republic with major streets including Orchard Road and Marina Bay lit up and decorated with huge Christmas trees and ornaments with festive lights strung across the road.
Most of the malls have also started playing Christmas carols and jingles as part of Singa_pore’s efforts to “entertain” the 10,000-odd participants of the week-long Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit.
Singapore, known for its extravagance in organising international events, is playing host to a series of Apec meetings this year, the 20th anniversary of the 21-member grouping.
The bill for the week-long event is a whopping S$100mil (RM240mil).
While this has irked many Singaporeans, especially those from the medium and low in__come groups, Singapore authorities feel the event was a good way of promoting the country.
A Singapore Tourism Board (STB) official said the Christmas celebrations were the best way to attract tourists to Singapore.
“We need people to constantly come to Singapore as tourism has been badly affected since the outbreak of the H1N1 pandemic,” the official said.
With world leaders expected to stay on here until the weekend, Singapore is not taking any chances with security.
Thousands of armed policemen and armed Gurkhas have been deployed round the clock at Suntech City, one of the main venues for the summit.
Leaders who have confirmed their attendance include US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Najib is also expected to hold some bilateral meetings with several leaders including Chile, Australia, Vietnam and Russia.
Apec was formed in 1989 as an informal ministerial-level dialogue group with 12 members to cooperate on regional trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation.
Article 2
SINGAPORE - Soto ayam with scallop mousse, rendang baked lobster, braised beef short ribs in five-spice sauce, cold appetiser of chilli crab with mango chilli salsa.
These Singaporean dishes with a twist are what top local chefs have deemed fit for world leaders including Chinese President Hu Jintao and United States President Barack Obama.
The leaders of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies will be feasting on re-interpreted local favourites this weekend, including lunches at the Istana and a gala dinner cum buffet spread at the Esplanade on Saturday.
Unveiling the dishes yesterday, the chefs said they had to tackle the issue of how to make the feasts an authentic representation of local cuisine.
"It's not fusion or confusion," said Mr Wolfgang Ranner, executive chef of Conrad Centennial Singapore. "It's a stepping stone for the Singapore culinary team to look into the past, how we can (proceed) in the future, and how we can represent it to the world leaders."
Said Fairmont Singapore's director of kitchens Otto Weibel, who has lived in Singapore for 25 years: "The flavours have not changed, only the cooking technique. When you try the soto ayam and close your eyes, it's exactly the flavour (but with fewer calories)."
Others roped in by the Apec Singapore 2009 Organising Committee are the Mandarin Oriental's Eric Teo, Sats Catering's Anderson Ho and Unilever FoodSolutions' Yen Koh.
Keeping the 10,000 delegates at Apec Leaders Week fed on schedule at Suntec Singapore is its executive chef Jess Ong and 95 kitchen staff.
It was earlier reported that the delegates would be chowing down 63 tonnes of food, but with new meetings being arranged, chef Ong said the tally was likely to hit 100 tonnes. This includes about 5 tonnes of meat, 18,000 pieces of finger food for refreshments, and 12,000 pieces offruit.
With a largely middle-aged crowd, the meals are healthier, with less salt and sugar. And to ensure delegates attend meetings with fresh breath, "not too much onion or garlic" is used, Chef Ong said. Mints are also readily on hand.
