Going gaga over Hello Kitty, Batman vs Superman, and the annual coupling of Kai Kai and Jia Jia—read on for a quick round-up of the city’s burgeoning (and dying) trends.
From left: Finders Keepers, Karen Neoh
Hot: Bottle shops
Not: Binge drinking
There have been a couple of bottle shops doubling up as cafes, bars or workshop spaces opening recently, like Gemmills at Gemmill Lane, Proof Flat at HongKong Street and Finders Keepers, a bar and retail space at Craig Road. Buying booze to go might be all the rage now, but a recent study by Heineken Singapore shows that 70 percent of millennials “moderate their drinking to avoid portraying a poor image of themselves” and “60 percent confided that they moderate their alcohol consumption out of fear of shaming on social media.” Nothing like technology to keep kids in check, eh?
Hot: Panda mating season
Not: Being single in Singapore
It’s that time of the year again—amorous action between Singapore’s famous panda couple Kai Kai and Jia Jia takes center stage at the River Safari. In the hope that we’ll have our very first panda offspring, the bears will be brought together for the giant panda mating season, which lasts from February to May. Alas, it seems like Singaporeans are seldom in the mood for love. A Mar 11 report by The Straits Times revealed that 70% of locals between 25-29 are single, with quotes from sociologists saying that “their decision to delay marriage has hurt the country’s fertility rates, and more needs to be done to get them to find partners earlier in life.”
Hot: Hello Kitty Cafe
Not: Irresponsible pet ownership
The world’s beloved mouthless feline is opening its first themed cafe at Changi Airport’s Terminal 3 come May, and the 24-hour space will feature orchid-inspired interiors with all-day breakfasts and desserts. While fans are all excited about its impending launch, our non-cartoon furkids need some loving, too. Eighteen pedigree dogs belonging to the owner of a pet grooming school were found abandoned at different locations here after being informed by authorities he could not keep 30 dogs in his shop due to complaints about noise from neighboring establishments. Still, it’s a pretty irresponsible move, given that 942 stray dogs and 888 stray cats were euthanized by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) in 2015.
Hot: Superhero fever
Not: Batman vs Superman
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it would have been pretty hard to miss the hype surrounding the new Batman vs Superman movie. First, there was the launch of the DC Comic Super Heroes cafe at Marina Bay Sands, then SingPost released a limited edition Batman vs Superman stamp collection. Amid reports of local couples dressing up as superheroes at their weddings in a Mar 27 Straits Times report, most of the movie’s reviews from critics worldwide have been nothing but disparaging, with review site Rotten Tomatoes counting a dismal 199 rotten ratings out of 278 reviews counted.
