19 November 2019 – The ASEAN Missions in Singapore, led by the Royal Thai Embassy, successfully held the ASEAN Gala Night on 18 November 2019 at the Orchard Hotel.
The ASEAN Gala Night has been a tradition among the ASEAN resident missions in Singapore to cap off the ASEAN Chairmanship, which was held by Thailand this year.
The guest of honor was Mr. Chee Wee Kiong, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore.
Other guests included representatives from the embassies of dialogue partners (Australia, Canada, China, EU, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia and Republic of Korea, and the US), sectoral dialogue partners (Norway, Pakistan, and Turkey), and development partner (Germany) of ASEAN.
Officers and staff of the various ASEAN Embassies in Singapore who were garbed in their respective national dresses, private guests and sponsors attended the ASEAN Gala Night.
Each ASEAN embassy uniquely designed its country booth and showcased two main dishes and two desserts for the buffet. Songs and dances highlighted the richness and diversity of the region’s culture.
For the Philippines, beef salpicao with sherry (Filipino dish of Spanish origin consisting of beef tenderloin cut into small pieces or strips and marinated in olive oil and sautéed with garlic) and chop suey (stir fried vegetables with meat, poultry, or fish and seafood of Chinese origin) were served courtesy of El Mesa, a bar and restaurant in Clarke Quay, Singapore that specializes in Filipino cuisine. For dessert, the Philippines had turon (deep-fried banana lumpia) and cheese puto (Filipino steamed cake) in rainbow colors. San Miguel beer completed the Filipino buffet table.
Mr. Mark Anthony Canios, a Singapore-based Filipino tenor, provided the cultural presentation by singing two kundiman, “Buhat” and “Ikaw”, and one Original Pilipino Music (OPM), “When I Met You” by the Apo Hiking Society. END
