With sizzling grills, neon hawker signs, and the scent of spice in the air, InterContinental Zhuhai has turned up the heat this summer.
The hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, Commune, has transformed into a lively Southeast Asian food theatre for its Singapore Food Festival, now running through August 31.
The opening night saw Sarong Kebaya–clad servers weaving through the crowd with Singapore Slings and tropical cocktails, while a live Nanyang band played breezy island tunes.
The entrance featured an Insta-worthy wall decked out with Old Bugis Street–style signage and Cantonese cultural motifs, a visual nod to the 'New-Zhuhai Meets Singapore' theme that defines the month-long event.
Guest chef Han Yu, a Singaporean culinary veteran, teams up with the hotel’s local kitchen crew to reinterpret hawker classics through a new lens.
Dishes like Hainanese chicken rice and pepper crab get a regional twist, marrying bold island spices with refined Cantonese technique.
'Great food doesn’t live in white tablecloths — it lives in the bustle of street stalls,' said Sun Lijing, General Manager of Yanlord Land Hospitality, at the launch.
'We’re here to serve stories, not just plates.'
The buffet layout channels a bustling night market vibe: there’s a Bak Kut Teh station slow-simmering herbs and ribs; a Chili Crab Challenge counter daring spice lovers; and a rojak salad bar offering a sweet-sour-crunchy overload in bamboo baskets.
Plumes of sizzling smoke rise from the grill; the scent of pandan and coconut fills the air.
The effect is transportive, a multisensory slice of the Lion City’s makan culture, right in the heart of the Pearl River Delta.
This a genuine cultural crossover.
The festival taps into the Gen Z love of ‘check-in moments,’ with photogenic hawker setups, street-style plating, and regional mash-ups turning every table into a social media post.
The goal?
To shift the perception of hotel dining from passive add-on to immersive showpiece.
Whether you come for the spicy seafood or the heritage charm, the Singapore Food Festival at InterContinental Zhuhai promises a feast of flavor, nostalgia, and surprise, every evening, all the way through summer.
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