Singapore's embassy in Manila on Sunday (Dec 20) capped celebrations marking the Republic's 50th birthday with an open-air fair offering a slice of life in the city state.

"This is our capstone for the year. We wanted to have an open, inclusive event, bringing everybody together to enjoy the melange of tastes and sights and sounds that is Singapore," Singapore Ambassador Kok Li Peng told The Straits Times.

Dubbed "SG50 in Manila", the day-long fair held at Manila's swanky Bonifacio High Street district recreates a weekend scene in Lau Pa Sat, known as the "grand dame of Singapore markets".

Tables and benches were laid out under a sprawling tent, surrounded by booths that offer Singapore delicacies including chicken rice and kaya toast.

A large billboard displays a timeline that covers Singapore's 50 years of nationhood.

Ms Kok and Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario kicked off the fair, while participants included Mr Jaime August Zobel de Ayala, who heads the Ayala group of companies. The group is among the Philippines' biggest conglomerates and has worked with Singapore companies such as SingTel and the Raffles and Fairmonts hotel groups.

The embassy last week gave about 300 books on history, architecture and culture donated by the Singapore National Library to the Philippines' national library as part of the SG50 celebrations.