First Sandakan Food Festival
SANDAKAN: The first Sandakan Food Festival (SFF), themed Oceans, Land and Forests, will serve a culinary selection that is uniquely Sandakan and Sabahan; gathering traditions from Chinese, Malay, Kadazan-Dusun and more ethnic styles of cooking.
The festival will be held over eight days from August 26 to September 2 over the Merdeka holidays, and is set to attract both local visitors from throughout Sabah as well as international food experts.
It is organised by the Sandakan Tourism Association (STAN) with the support of the Sandakan Good Food Club as a communitydriven, not-for-profit effort to promote the town of Sandakan. Also involved are the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Sabah Tourism Board, Sandakan Municipal Council and district community leaders.
The festival village location will be at Bandar Kim Fung at the open carpark next to Yu Yuan Secondary School. SFF is now calling for all Sandakan (first priority) and Sabah (wider priority) food industry people producing uniquely local cuisine and creations, to participate and make this a culinary showcase for Sandakan.
SFF will be seeking F&B industry vendors from full restaurants to street food stalls, with relevant licences.
The registration process will be by personal application via forms, followed by committee selection, as there is limited space and already strong demand. The SFF committee reserve the right to select based on the key criteria of authenticity/uniqeness of the cuisine, reputation of F&B outlet and other points.
Rental of the spaces will be split into Block A – four days (Aug 26 - 29) and Block B - three days (Aug 31 - Sept 2), with the option of renting for the full eight days also available. August 30 will be the change over day. Prices start from RM120 for a5’ x 10’ space.
SFF is projecting audience numbers of over 500 on weekdays and 1,000 to 1,500 people on weekends and public holiday.
SFF engagement and registration sessions for interested F&B participants are as follows: May 27 and 31, June 3, 7, 10 and 14 from 9 am to 11 am at the Tourist Information Centre at San Da Gen Kopitiam under NAK hotel.
More information on rental and vendor matters can be obtained from the organisers by e-mail at sandakan.foodfest@gmail.com, on Facebook - Sandakan foodfest or call Anton Ngui at + 6 012 20701044 or CK Teo at +6 014 3575908.