Singapore casino resort Marina Bay Sands (MBS) has announced a “strategic partnership” with China’s Black Pearl Restaurant Guide.
The property, controlled by Las Vegas Sands Corp, said the “long-term collaboration” would make possible “co-hosted events and activities to foster deeper engagement within the food and beverage community and elevate dining experiences” at the resort.
China is one of the biggest markets for Singapore’s tourism industry, show monthly data from the Singapore Tourism Board.
According to Marina Bay Sands’ announcement, it is Black Pearl’s first collaboration in the Singapore hotel and resort market.
In the Macau casino resort market, the dining guide collaborates with a number of properties.
The annual guide is said to evaluate restaurants based on culinary skills, innovation, legacy, and customer experience, through anonymous voting by a panel of judges described as having expertise in China’s dining sector.
Based on this rating system, restaurants recognised by the guide are awarded one, two, or three “diamonds”.
The 2024 edition of Black Pearl Restaurant Guide covers 30 cities in total, including Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore.
Marina Bay Sands said its agreement with the guide would make possible “co-branded events, including seminars and workshops focused on the culinary arts and led by thought leaders, restaurateurs, wine makers and distinguished chefs within the food and beverage industry, from Asia and beyond”.
A ceremony to mark the partnership was held at Marina Bay Sands’ Hybrid Broadcast Studio.
It included Patrick Lang (pictured left), vice president of global restaurant and nightlife development for Las Vegas Sands; Paul Town (centre), chief operating officer at Marina Bay Sands; and Zhang Chuan (right), senior vice president of Meituan, the Chinese online retail group that controls the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide.
Mr Zhang was cited as saying the tie-up would mean Black Pearl could “promote its evaluation standards to a wider international audience and, at the same time, bring the rich heritage and diversity of Chinese cuisine to Singapore.”
He added: “We hope that this collaboration will promote the exchange of Chinese and Singaporean culinary culture, and better showcase Singapore restaurants to Chinese diners.”
The collaboration’s first event was on June 30, with a ‘Singapore-China Culinary and Cultural Summit’, bringing together “12 distinguished chefs, restaurateurs and a wine-maker and tea master from the Greater China region”.
