With a new and revitalized heritage center, an arts and crafts market and spending Valentine’s Day with your bae on a rooftop, this bustling stretch has more to offer than just Chinese New Year festivities.
Chinatown Heritage Centre
Chinatown Heritage Centre gets a revamp
Pagoda Street just got a little more exciting with the reopening of the Chinatown Heritage Centre. It’s still a tourist spot, but the newly renovated galleries are worth a trip down. Following the precinct’s evolution from its past as a Chinese migrant settlement to a modern heritage attraction, the space features multi-sensorial exhibits and is currently hosting a showcase about local dialects. For a crash course on the history of Chinatown, go on an interactive guided tour with actors channeling characters like a samsui woman and a trishaw rider.
An exciting art market is happening soon
From Feb 19-20, the Local People and Chinatown Business Association is organizing The Local People X Chinatown Business Association Huat Art Market. The event will feature arts and crafts stalls and food vendors but details are under wraps at the moment. What we do know is that organizers are planning an outdoor movie screening along Pagoda Street complete with airmocks, and art installations too.
Angeleno
There are new restaurants at Gemmill Lane and Keong Saik
Back-alley hideout Gemmill Lane isn’t done with just the launch Mediterranean restaurant Maggie Jones last year—Californian-Italian restaurant Angeleno and the eponymously-named Gemmills, a bottle shop, cafe and bar-in one, are giving diners more places to hit than just Keong Saik. And speaking of Chinatown’s coolest enclave, another restaurant has set up shop among its bevy of fancy fun-dining establishments. 999.99 (Five Nines) bills itself as an affordable, modern European spot serving up Western-Japanese plates with premium ingredients.
Lepark
There’s yet another poetry reading at Lepark
On Feb 13, Loh Guan Liang is launching his second collection of poetry, Bitter Punch, a tribute to what it means to live and love in the city. Get foggy-eyed with nostalgia as he gets all feel-ly about the school of hard knocks, or cast your eye around the crowd for a date on V-Day.
Singapore Cocktail Week
Singapore Cocktail Week spills over
The boozy event is back on Mar 12-19 and this year’s edition features over 50 pop-up bars, workshops, parties and other fringe events, with new sponsoring booze companies like Absolut Elyx showcasing at the event. Besides cocktails, one major highlight will be a focus on food, with brunches, supper clubs and other fun activities for foodies.
