Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2009

Congee simpang (mixed) SG$3.00

Welcome to Singapore.

We step off our Singapore Airlines jumbo from Sydney to Singapore only to be hit by a wall of tropical 30C heat and 75% humidity.

Suze and I waste no time in looking for food once we check into our hotel. We explore the surrounding streets and end up at a corner cafe/eating house which will become our regular haunt over the coming days.


Hong Kong Jin Tian Roast Meat Eating House

A steaming bowl of congee may not be the first thing you'd think of when faced with tropical heat, but after four hours of sleep to catch the early flight, I find the soupy rice concoction is simple, soothing and reviving. Strangely, I do find myself cooling down with the hot meal, something my grandma had always told us to do ("drink hot soup to cool down!" she'd lecture) which we'd always dismissed as crazytalk.


Wonton mee SG$2.50

Suze has the wonton mee, a generous muddle of fresh egg noodles served with pork and prawn wontons and slices of charsiu barbecue pork. She's delirious with pleasure at being reunited with her favourite drink Sarsi, a sarsparilla drink which she will pursue with dogged determination at each and every meal in Singapore.

The price of food is staggeringly cheap. All manner of roast meats with rice are SG$2.50. Kaya coconut jam on toast is SG$0.60 per slice. We promise each other we will return in the morning for a kaya toast breakfast. In the meantime, we have to rush off to get ready for the evening's spectacle, the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards.



Suze's ingenious bathtub of Pringles had won her flights, accommodation and tickets to the Awards ceremony in Singapore for two, and joy of joys, she chose me to accompany her (thanks Suze!). We arrive at the Pan Pacific Hotel to find a red carpet entrance, a glammed up ballroom and 400 bloggers and guests dressed to the nines and going crazy with photos. Facing a tidal wave of SLR-wielding bloggers was both surreal and kinda cool at the same time!


Ballroom floorplan


Table set-up


Pacific Ballroom


I love blogging sweets

We loved the jars of sweets set at each place, complete with custom messages commemorating the blog awards as well as the common sentiment "I love blogging".


Bread rolls

Our Master of Ceremonies for the night was Allan Wu, a Chinese-American actor based in Singapore who hosts the Asian version of The Amazing Race. Whilst award ceremonies can often be long and drawn out, the summary videos highlighting the blog finalists in each category were punchy and entertaning.

And of course the food kept us entertained both with photography and eventual consumption.


Starter:
Light cream of asparagus and green peas topped with a chive mousseline


Entree:
Marinated smoked tuna with feta, herb salad and balsamic olive oil


Mains:
Rosemary marinated chicken breast
with saffron cheesy mash, potato and balsamic reduction
and Mediterranean vegetable in mango coriander salsa sauce


Dessert: Praline hazelnut gateau with raspberry jelly

My favourites of the evening included the smoked tuna and the dessert. The praline hazelnut gateau had a light and fluffy texture with a sweet biscuit base. A fine chocolate spear on top was visually impressive too.



And the winners? Here they are:

• Best Blogshop: bonitochico.livejournal.com
• Best Fashion Blog: ladymelbourne.blogspot.com
  (Aust)
• Best Food Blog: I Eat I Shoot I Post
  
• Best Parenting Blog: Childhood101 (Aust)
• Best Travel Blog: Ironwulf.net: En Route
  
• Best Celebrity Blog: Joanne Peh
• Best Entertainment Blog: Kenny Sia
• Best Geek Blog: Mr Gadget (Aust)
• Best Hidden Gem: dedoodleblog
• Best Original Blog Design: Xiaxue
• Most Influential Blog: Xiaxue
• Region’s Best Blog: Xiaxue

Special mention also goes out to the Australian finalists who did so well out of 13,000 nominated blogs across the Asia Pacific region:

• Best Fashion Blog Finalist: Super Kawaii Mama (Aust)
• Best Food Blog Finalist: Eat Show & Tell (Aust)
• Best Parenting Blog Finalist: Planning With Kids (Aust)
• Best Geek Blog Finalist: Michael Aulia (Aust)
• Best Entertainment Blog Finalist: Girl With a Satchel (Aust)
• Most Influential Blog Finalist: Down to Earth (Aust)
• Best Hidden Gem Finalist: Looby Lu (Aust)

Congratulations everyone!


MC Allan Wu with Xiaxue (in pink)


Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Award Finalists crowd the stage

Thanks Nuffnang for an amazing start to my first taste of Singapore. Stay tuned for more Singapore eats and treats...

Grab Your Fork travelled to Singapore as a guest of Nuffnang Australia for the Asia-Pacific Blog Awards.


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Hong Kong Jin Tian Roast Meat
Blk 58 Eng Hoon Street, Singapore
Tel: +65 9383 1318 or +65 9733 0673

Open 7 days 7am-8.30pm