Tiger Beer Asian Reunion Banquet

For Immediate Release
14 March 2006

Tiger Beer Asian Reunion Banquet – a fusion of food, art and theatre

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Five lucky winners and their friends were treated to a night of pure indulgence on Saturday 11th March at the Tiger Beer Asian Reunion Banquet.

Earlier this year, Tiger Beer ran a competition in selected Progressive supermarkets around the country offering New Zealanders a chance to win a place for themselves and seven friends & family to experience a truly unique and innovative Asian Banquet experience.

Guests were flown in from around the country and from the moment they landed at Auckland Airport, their mystery journey began. Escorted by the assistants of the Master of the House, the winners along with their friends and family were whisked away to their accommodation.

During the drive to their hotel, guests received a mysterious greeting from the Master of the House. Once in their rooms they were delivered a message asking them to dress for dinner and assemble in the lobby to be taken to the banquet at a surprise location

As they arrived at the secret venue, a purpose-built Asian banquet hall, guests were ushered into a traditional oriental salon and presented with the finest of Asian brews – Tiger Beer and “Trays of Togetherness”, customary Chinese temptations including melon for good health, coconut for unity and lotus seeds for fertility.

Guests watched as dancers performed a piece called “The Pretty Women of Chu”, a dance traditionally performed as a welcome to the Emperor. Elegant dancers with two metre-high feather headdresses transfixed the audience as they strutted and swayed through the salon.

At the sounding of a gong, curtains parted to reveal a spectacular banquet hall. An opulent cacophony of colour, the effect was breath taking. In the centre of the room stood an impressive 55 seat banquet table hosted at one end by Zhang, the Master of the House.

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New Zealand’s top visual manipulator and set designer Mike Hodgson created breathtaking Asian-inspired images that were projected onto 22 metre long walls either side of the banquet table, creating an ever-changing backdrop of oriental mystique.

Pamela Mathews of Auckland was overwhelmed by her win, “The entire experience has been amazing”, she said. “From the moment we arrived today we have been kept in suspense – never knowing what is happening next. To walk in and see the banquet hall just blew me away. And the video projections on the walls were absolutely stunning. I have never seen anything like it.”

The main event of the evening was a five course Asian banquet, designed and prepared by world renowned chef and restaurateur David Williams and Opium head chef, Koji Kim.

The menu was designed specifically to include dishes that augur good fortune for the New Year. Guests were treated to dishes such as Wonton noodle soup with scallop, shitake mushroom and lotus root, followed by wok fried mandarin crayfish with coconut, cashews and black bean sauce.

As the evening progressed, entertainment included ancient Chinese Face Readings, Palmistry, Fortune Sticks, legends, music and dance.

“The Reunion Banquet is traditionally a time to get together with family. We wanted to reunite winners with close friends and family for a once-in-a-lifetime Asian banquet experience. We could have just given them a great meal however we wanted to provide them with a total experience; great food, theatre, stories, visual art and the magic that came with the whole Tiger Asian Reunion Banquet experience.” said Winston Seow, Tiger brand manager.

ENDS

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