By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, May 30: Stand to win exciting prizes by expressing your creativity on TikTok and recommending the best place to eat in Kuching in conjunction with the city’s designation as a Unesco Creative City of Gastronomy.
According to Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng, MBKS and Kuching’s Unesco Creative Cities Network (UCCN) team are asking residents to send a 30-second TikTok taken in their favourite eatery in Kuching, describing why their choice tops their list and why Kuching deserves the title of Creative City of Gastronomy.
“With generous cash prizes for the top three winners and 10 more honourable mentions, there has never been a better time to celebrate the city’s great food,” he said today at a press conference held in the MBKS committee room here.
Wee, who is also the head of the Kuching UCCN team, stated that the iconic Kuching Festival Food Fair is returning after a two-year hiatus.
“Planning the return of our longest-running food festival and this new designation under Unesco, the team was thinking about the elements of tradition and innovation in Kuching’s food.
“We want to engage the public, and we decided that the best way to do so would be to combine the current social media trend with personal recommendations of the best food Kuching has to offer.
“The best way to learn about Kuching’s food is from a local, so we created this competition,” he explained.
Wee clarified that the ‘Tik Tok Kuching Gastronomy Video Competition’ is open to all Kuching residents. The video should explain why the recommended place is the best place to eat in Kuching and why Kuching is a City of Gastronomy in any language spoken in Sarawak.
“Participants can speak Hakka, Mandarin, Hokkien, or Bahasa Sarawak, as long as it is a language spoken in Sarawak.
“They can also add subtitles to the video, if they know how,” he noted.
He added that the video must be less than 30 seconds in length, following TikTok’s format, and a vertical video with a resolution of 1080×1920 pixels in size, usually with a 9:16 ratio, and no larger than 287.6MB.
TikTok also accepts various video formats, including MP4, MOV, AVI, and GIF, said Wee.
Meanwhile, Kuching UCCN strategic director Karen Shepherd stated that the competition would showcase the amazing Kuching food and Kuching’s most creative people.
“Our team is eager to see what Kuching residents come up with.
“Our shortlisted favourites will be posted on our TikTok channel for the public to vote.
“We are looking for the most interesting recommendations and innovative presenting style. With the chance to win and share your favourite eatery, this will be the easiest 30 seconds of your time,” she pointed out.
The prizes include cash prizes of RM500 for first place, RM300 for second place, RM200 for third place, and 20 consolation prizes of RM100 each. Each winner will also receive a certificate of participation.
All entries must be sent to mbksgastronomytiktok@gmail.com on or by June 24, 2022 (Friday), and participants must include their name, age, contact number, and email address.
For further enquiries, contact MBKS via phone call at 082-354200 or email request@mbks.gov.my. — DayakDaily
