Madam Karen Lee, a subscriber of The Straits Times for the last 30 years, reads the food section in The Sunday Times religiously.
The names of food writers Wong Ah Yoke and Tan Hsueh Yun roll off her tongue easily.
The 58-year-old retiree's devotion to the food section was rewarded yesterday when she won a one-night stay for two people at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore. She was presented with a hotel voucher at the Singapore Press Holdings News Centre.
The hotel staycation is just one of the prizes in a series of contests and giveaways that celebrated the launch of ST's new food website, straitstimesfood.com
The new site, which is known as ST Food, showcases restaurant and hawker food reviews as well as recipes and features.
There are also videos and stories from ST's sister publications The Business Times and The New Paper, as well as from other international publications.
Madam Lee plans to spend her stay at the hotel with her retiree husband, Mr Henry Chan, 67, for whom the heritage building holds fond memories - it is where he started his first job in 1967 as a clerical officer at the Government's then Imports and Exports Department. He has not been back to his former workplace, which was converted into a hotel in 2001, for the last 40 years.
He said: "It was quite rundown then. I never expected it would be turned into a hotel."
Investment analyst Low Pei Han, 31, won ST Food's other staycation contest, a one-night stay at the Philippe Starck-designed M Social Singapore in Robertson Quay.
Ms Low will be giving her prize to her retired parents as a thank-you gift for caring for her three-year-old daughter.
Her husband runs a physics tuition centre.
She said: "My parents have not travelled overseas in a few months. It would be a good break for them."
Five readers also each won a dinner for two at two-Michelin- starred restaurant Shisen Hanten at Mandarin Orchard hotel. The winners and dining companions enjoyed a seven-course meal last night.
ST received more than 9,000 entries for the contests.
Last week, there were also five days of foodie giveaways at various locations for those who liked @StraitsTimesFood on Facebook.
More giveaways have been lined up for later this month. Stay tuned to straitstimesfood.com
Twitter @STrebeccatan
