Mr Lin Dashun, 32, was pleasantly surprised to find himself a winner in yesterday morning's The Straits Times Lucky Draw.

A regular reader of the paper, Mr Lin, an industrial relations officer, said: "I did not expect to win."

He was one of 10 winners of a pair of tickets to a cafe-hopping trail on June 5, and VIP tickets to the Singapore Coffee Festival on June 11.

Winners will experience different coffees and food at Royz et Vous, Hungry Heroes and Chye Seng Huat Hardware cafes. The Coffee Festival tickets entitle them to a curated food-and-drink pairing experience and a coffee-cupping workshop among other things.

The prizes are the first set in a five-week giveaway to reward print subscribers. Over 15,000 readers have taken part so far.

From now until May 30, readers who buy a print copy of The Straits Times can submit the passcodes printed in each paper for a chance to win one of the four remaining prizes. They include a Japanese dinner for nine at Shinji by Kanesaka at Raffles Hotel, and a four-month wine subscription from a three Michelin-starred sommelier.

Only copies of the paper from home subscriptions and retail news stands contain the passcode. Participants who do not win in the weekly draw automatically qualify for the subsequent week's draw.

Submissions must be made at www.readsph.com/straitstimes.

Multiple entries are allowed as each copy of the paper contains a unique code.

And while he has already bagged one reward, Mr Lin still has his eye on the grand prize: a trip for two to any destination in the world and a 10-night stay at a hotel of the winner's choice, capped at $250 a night. He said: "I'd like to catch the Northern Lights before they dim."