Gastronomic Singapore
O Popular vlogger Mark Wiens heads a new HBO Asia series
FROM an illustrious career as a popular food and travel vlogger, Mark Wiens has found his years of contribution to the food and travel scene being recognised, as the Internet celebrity will be hosting the upcoming HBO Asia Originals’ Food Affair with Mark Wiens series.
Food Affair with Mark Wiens will kickstart a three-year partnership between the Singapore Tourism Board and Warner Bros. Discovery, which will see both parties collaborate on a suite of entertainment and lifestyle content, as well as joint marketing, to spotlight and inspire travel to destination Singapore.
During a recent media roundtable, Wiens was more than happy to talk about the brand new series.
“I kind of just showed up to eat and talk,” he claimed, drawing a distinction between the production of his content and working with a large production such as Food Affair.
The series is the first non-scripted food series hosted by Wiens, as he travels Singapore in search of the lesser known stories, personalities and history behind Singapore’s cuisine.
“I’ve been to Singapore a number of times, but I never really sat down with the owners of restaurants to learn about their stories. So to me, that was probably the biggest breakthrough; learning the stories, learning a bit more about the history and migration to Singapore.”
In order to convey the stories it wants to tell, Food Affair’s episodes will feature a wide array of guests that will join Wiens, as he – and the audience – learns more about the distinct and rich culinary heritage rooted in Singapore.
Best of both worlds
Based on the footage for Food Affair’s first two episodes seen by theSun, it’s safe to say the HBO Asia Original production is bound to make a splash in the food media scene.
In the first episode, Food Affair focuses largely on the rise of Singaporean fine dining that melds different cuisines present in Singapore’s cultural melting pot, with Wiens spending time with two fine dining chefs, before the episode ends in the host learning and trying nasi lemak from one of the island’s country’s most famous stalls.
For the second episode, Wiens learns about how Singapore’s Chinese fine dining was influenced by immigrants, once again balancing the gastronomic aspects of fine dining with regular cuisine in order to show how both sides of Singapore’s food world work and are influenced hand-in-hand by each other.
Questioned on how Food Affair chose the stories it wanted to tell, Wiens explained that it was sort of out of his hands, as the “chefs” of the series’ narrative were creator Eric Khoo and Zhao Wei Films.
“It was a process of choosing good people who are passionate about what they do, and who could fit with the overall story of Food Affair,” Wiens surmised.
Food Affair with Mark Wiens will premiere on HBO GO and HBO (Astro Ch 411) on Nov 18. It will debut at the same time on HBO Max in the US.