Southeast Asia’s leading international media event the Singapore Media Festival (SMF) announced that its fourth edition will be held from November 23 to December 3. Hosted by the Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore, the festival is a platform to showcase notable regional creative talent, and provide opportunities to discover and connect with the global media community.

Building upon the festival’s theme of “Celebrating Asian Storytelling”, this edition will see the introduction of the country-of-focus programme – a concerted spotlight on one Asian country, recognising its rich stories, talents and achievements. 2017’s country of focus will be Indonesia.

Robert Gilby, chairman of the Singapore Media Festival Advisory Board and managing director of The Walt Disney Company (SEA), said: “Introducing a country-of-focus programme is all about creating a bold platform to showcase the quality and variety of creativity originating from that country, and affirming its strong community of creators who continue to push boundaries and explore more collaborations between the country, Singapore and the rest of the world.

“Southeast Asia is a region rich in potential for great storytellers, and we see the importance of amplifying these voices on the global stage. Singapore and Indonesia commemorate 50 years of bilateral and diplomatic relations in 2017, and in recent years Indonesia has proven to be a vibrant source of great content, talent and stories. It is timely that [the] SMF marks its first Country-of-Focus with Indonesia.”

This spotlight on Indonesia will thread across all SMF constituent events – the Asian Television Awards (ATA), Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF), ScreenSingapore, Singapore International Film Festival, and SMF Ignite. Award-winning Indonesian singer and actor, Afgan (Afgansyah Reza), will be headlining ATA’s awards ceremony, and ATF is also expecting stronger participation from Indonesian talent and media businesses this year including Surya Citra Televisi, Metro TV and Media Nusantara Citra, Indonesia’s largest media group and a long-time supporter of the event

Like any big metropolis in the world, Bangkok has witnessed an increasing demand in food delivery services in the last couple of decades. With street hawkers no longer allowed to crowd the sidewalks in many parts of town, and reluctant to battle the city’s heavily congested traffic, hungry Bangkokians today need do nothing more than pick up their smartphone when they fancy a meal. They simply tap on an app to access restaurants and eateries across genres and price ranges and have their favourite dishes delivered to their door in no time at all.

While for a long time food deliveries were limited to Western fast foods like pizza and burgers, the menus improved with the launch of phone-ordering and online services like Food By Phone and ChefsXP, both of which promised to deliver “real food from real restaurants”. Now with user-friendly and speedy smartphone apps, a wide range of menu options is available for delivery to office and home.

In 2012, Bangkok welcomed the first and probably most comprehensive food delivery application, Foodpanda. With less than 60-minutes delivery time, you can browse through more than 1,000 food and beverage outlets, from local noodle shops to hip cafes and proper restaurants. The app, which is available for all smartphone platforms, works on a proximity basis. Once you’ve set up an account, you enter your location and the app lists nearby restaurants that can deliver food to you. It works very well, especially if you reside in central Bangkok, for example along Sukhumvit as well as Silom and Sathorn roads. Confirmation and tracking information can be reviewed through your smartphone screen.

Another convenient feature is that you can pay with either cash or credit card, and the delivery fee is only Bt40 to all locations, with no minimum order.

You can also order via Foodpanda’s website, and the service has now expanded to include Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin.

Line, Thailand’s most popular instant communication app, also delivers food. Launched in May last year, Line Man is the first localised O2O (Online to Offline) service in Thailand. It currently offers three main services: “Messenger” in partnership with Lalamove that quickly delivers and picks up your packages, “Convenience Goods” that sees goodies from 7-Eleven delivered to your door, and “Food Delivery”, which brings food from more than 20,000 eateries to your doorstep in a very short time.

“Online to Offline service (O2O) is one of the next big trends given the mobile internet user growth and the transformation of user behaviour in Thailand,” says Ariya Banomyong, managing director of Line Thailand.

“Line Man is the latest feature of this O2O service platform that helps connect service providers to end-users.

“Line Man is the first service that is fully implemented by our local team for Thai consumers. The team is very proud, and I would like to thank our partners Lalamove, and Wongnai for their support. Line Man will be adding new services, and expanding its service area in the future.” he adds.

For the food delivery service, Line Man has partnered with Wongnai, the popular restaurant review app and portal in Thailand, to offer a food purchase service from a wide range restaurants and street food hawkers around Bangkok. Users can choose from the app’s recommended restaurants sorted by distance or popularity, based on Wongnai’s database, or search by typing in the restaurant name. After placing an order, Line Man, which is actually a guy on a motorcycle, will drive to the restaurant to pre-purchase the food and deliver it to you. In addition to the price of the food, there is a delivery fee calculated on distance, starting from Bt55 with no additional charges or minimum order.

Besides super-fast delivery, Line Man’s best feature is that it gives you access to street food stalls that are not likely to be listed on other applications. You can also contact the Line Man driver directly and give specific requests – less sugar, more spice, no peanuts – or just add anything you might have forgotten to the list before he makes the purchase for you. You do need to have a Line account, though, to receive push notifications about your order.

“I love Line Man,” enthuses Wanicha “Ying” Yodsukhon, an analyst who works in an office on Sathorn Road. “The delivery fee is a little higher than other apps, but you can get food from any restaurant. I use it a lot for lunch to avoid the lunch crowd. About an hour before my break, I start looking for food I want, order and just wait for my lunch to be delivered. I really hope they expand the service area to cover outskirts of Bangkok, where I live.”

The latest app to arrive on the scene is UberEATS, which made its Thai debut in January. Similar to Line Man, you punch in the restaurant you want from the list of nearly 150 eateries, place an order and wait for your delivery. In Bangkok, UberEATS is currently available in Sathorn, Silom, Pathumwan, Ploenchit, Nana, Asoke, Phrompong, Thonglor, Ekamai, Chinatown, Rama 9, Ratchada, Ari, and Din Daeng. The delivery fee is Bt50 and payment is by credit card only/

Does the success of the apps mean fewer customers eating out? Can the delivery service overtake restaurants? One Bangkok-based restaurateur, who prefers to remain anonymous, says delivery service is both good and bad for business.

“It’s great in the sense that it gives us wider access to customers,” the entrepreneur and owner of three mid-range restaurants, told us.

“For example in the rainy season when people don’t want to go out and table reservations are low, we can still do good business because they can now have our food at home.

“But there again, the dining experience is not just about food. It’s a combination of atmosphere, vibe and table service that defines a restaurant’s character. Maybe that’s not so true of a street eatery, but for an establishment that aims to offer the eating-out experience as a whole, food alone is not the complete package. Equally, from the quality point of view, it’s risky in maintaining standards. Once the food leaves the restaurant and travels on the road for a while, quality gets compromised, and we lose personal touch with customers. Some foods you need to eat it right after they are cooked, fresh. While these apps try to offer a wide selection, they overlook this fact and exploit the people’s impatience, laziness and “I want it right now” attitude without paying much heed to quality.”

Chow’s up

>> Get Foodpanda at http://www.Foodpanda.co.th

>> Get Line Man at http://OneLink.to/LineMan

>> Get UberEATS at http://www.UberEats.com/Bangkok/

It’s a feminine play on the classic tennis shoe. The ruffle detail made from a strip of tape of the kind traditionally used on track pants and cheerleaders’ skirts adds a certain boy-meets-girl charm. Crafted from soft and sturdy leather, the show has a rubber sole for traction and comfort.

The Ruffle Sneaker is available in three classic tones – Vineyard, Navy Sea and Nantucket Red – at the Tory Burch boutiques in Siam Paragon and Central Chidlom.

Priced at Bt14,990, this new model gives users a fun photography experience with Sony IMX398 sensor and an extra-wide F1.7 aperture that can capture 40 per cent more light than previous generation phones

Its rear camera offers phenomenal focusing speed, noise reduction and low-light performance thanks to the Dual phase detection auto-focus technology, which makes for 40-per-cent faster focus speeds even in low light and creates crystal-clear images. Screen Flash technology helps enhance night shots.

With the new design, the R9s has a body fashioned from 98.9-per-cent metal with a screen-to-body ratio of 72.9 per cent. Its visual impact is subtle, refined and distinguished, with superb signal reception to match.

Super thin, the phone is only 6.58mm thick and weighs only 147 grams. It’s available in gold and rose gold, equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 screen which protects the phone against damage even when dropped from a height.

The OPPO R9s also sports a Qualcomm octa-core processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM, and cruises seamlessly on ColorOS 3.0 (based on Android 6.0). The 64 GB of onboard storage can be expanded by an additional 128 GB, ensuring users will have plenty of room to store the crystal-clear shots they take with new Dual PDAF. Meanwhile, the R9s’ fingerprint reader gives users exceptionally fast 0.2s touch access, and intelligently refines its image of the user’s fingerprint over time.

Find out more details at http://www.Oppo.com.

Urban shoppers can take advantage of bargains buys at the 11th Clutter Sale for Charity that will take place at the Grand Ballroom of Anantara Siam Bangkok on April 1 from 10am to 5pm. Organised by NewsMakers, the event features more than 70 booths selling primarily second-hand items but in almost new condition, donated and/or sold by VIP guests, celebrities and the expat community.

The NewsMakers is a group of charity-minded creative-thinking individuals, comprising Thailand Tatler editor Naphalai Areesorn, media veterans Netra Ruthaiyanont, MR Usnisa Sukhsvasti and Cora Sukhyanga; public relations professionals Annabelle Daokaew and Somsri Harnsrisawasdi, prominent landscape and interior architect ML Poomchai Chumbala, Naphaporn Burusratanaphan and Melanie Sukhyanga.

Dubbed a “flea market extraordinaire”, shoppers will find international designer goods, evening wear and fashion accessories, antique and vintage collectibles, gadgets, gizmos, sports paraphernalia, home decor, small appliances, novelty items, and gently-used treasures, as well as slightly-used catwalk outfits from prominent fashion houses and company overruns.

The Charity Corner offers goodies starting at Bt20 while the Designers’ Corner boasts a collection of donated designer items, ranging from bags, shoes, clothing to accessories donated in the name of cancer research, by free-spending jetsetters and socialites.

Event-goers will get a chance to win vouchers of air tickets, hotel stays, spa treatments, food and beverages. Proceeds will be donated to Chulalongkorn Hospital’s Genetic Cancer Research Centre under the auspices of the Thai Red Cross.

Find out more at the Clutter Sale page on Facebook.

     PS, meaning Post Scriptum, doesn’t focus on traditional Scandinavian design but echoes the needs of the fiercely independent. The collection offers 50 vibrant furniture designs and carefully selected functional items in colourful tones. Among the more unusual designs are a folding sofa that can hung on a wall, a pillow that becomes a quilt and a self-watering pot that helps keep unattended plants alive for two weeks. These items have been created to make the most of living and free you up instead of weighing you down. Every item still maintains the Ikea style, meaning it’s functional, affordable, flat-packed and easily assembled, but there’s plenty of attention paid to sustainable and renewable materials.

Among the highlights are a rocking-chair designed by Marcus Arvonen, a collapsible storage unit by Nike Karlsson, LED multi-use lighting by Matali Crasset that is inspired by old railway lights, a foldable coffee table by Jon Karlsson, comfortable cushion by Paulin Machado and that three-piece self-watering plant pot set by Iina Vuorivirta. For details, visit http://www.Ikea.co.th.

    Running until July 2, the exhibition is divided into eight zones. The Learning from Experience zone explains how the flotation of the baht caused foreign debts to double to $83 billion or around Bt2 trillion and the rate of exchange to plummet to Bt56 to the dollar, causing widespread unemployment and social problems. Yet despite the suffering, many Thais became stronger and learned to find a new way to survive. The Employment and Basic Livelihoods zone interviews seven figures whose childhood was affected by this crisis and reveals how their families coped with such tough situations.

Other subjects covered by the exhibition include “What were the causes of the financial crisis?”, “How did it affect Thai people?”, “What skills did Thai draw on to help us wade through the crisis?”, and “Have we really broken free of the debts and problems?”.

“Though the 1997 economic crisis was a major event in Thailand’s history and affected all sections of society, it taught Thais to find a way to survive and led to the emergence of freelance jobs and SMEs, green businesses and a knowledge-based economy,” says Museum Siam’s director Rames Promyen.

Admission is free. Museum Siam on Sanam Chai Road (near Tha Tien) and is open daily, except Monday, from 10am to 6pm. Call (02) 225 2777 or visit http://www.MuseumSiam.com.

Part of the launch for Sansiri’s latest property project Khun by Yoo, the party brought together many famous faces from various fields. The emcee for the night, Woody Milintachinda, welcomed everyone to the fun-filled party held in a specially designed copper box and featuring extraordinary neon colours as well as music by DJ Aopsher and DJ Moola.

Highlights included Khun’s Kaleidoscope delights with countless pieces of mirror creating a beautiful reflection and a Microbium gallery showcasing DNA.

The party was put together by Sam Bompas and Harry Parr, one of the most popular event creators at the moment. Celebrated for creations that are always creative beyond imagination, from the food to the decor, the team consists of designers, chefs, creatives and architects, all working seamlessly together.