WHAT YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT SINGAPORE
Person of the Year: Paris Hilton 30%
2nd: Lee Hsien Loong 22%
3rd: Kumar 13%
Neighborhood with the Most Buzz: Clarke Quay 44%
2nd: Toa Payoh 19%
3rd: Dempsey 15%
Best Thing About Singapore: Cheap street food 43%
2nd: Public transportation 24%
3rd: The new and improved Sentosa 9%
Movie of the Year: Spiderman 3 39%
2nd: Transformers 16%
3rd: Dreamgirls 8%
Best Festival in Singapore: Singapore Arts Festival 33%
2nd: Zouk Out 25%
3rd: WOMAD 19%
We asked you to pick the Person of the Year, and gave you three people to choose from: the gorgeous Kumar, our spiffy Prime Minister, and blond princess Paris Hilton, and you choose the one non-Singaporean in the group! Why did you prefer a rich American spoiled brat over our nation’s dear leader and our iconic drag queen? Perhaps because she’s in the news more, especially with her recent prison saga, or because she has an album to her name, or maybe it’s just because she dresses better.
For “Neighborhood with the Most Buzz”, we thrilled that Clarke Quay won. With its profusion of new bars and clubs, and it’s great ceiling canopy that allows you to hang outside even when its raining, it has come a long way.
However, we’re flabbergasted that our readers chose humble Toa Payoh over trendy Dempsey for second place, but that’s what you said! Perhaps at the end of the day the gargantuan Toa Payoh hub does have more going on than the stylish but sprawling Dempsey. Or maybe Toa Payoh is closer to our hearts.
The fact that you chose street food as the “Best Thing About Singapore” came as no surprise—that’s probably what keeps us from leaving at the end of the day! Although we were a bit surprised that Spiderman 3 beat our personal favorite Dreamgirls by a long shot for movie of the year. But it’s fantastic that the Singapore Arts Festival won Festival of the Year; it shows what an intelligent, cultured lot we are.
STYLE
Hottest Women’s Fashion Brand: Mango and Zara tie 15% each
2nd: Topshop 4%
3rd: Gucci and Louis Vuitton tie 2% each
Hottest Men’s Fashion Brand: Topman 18%
2nd: Zara 17%
3rd: Hugo Boss 10%
Best New Boutique: River Island 10%
2nd: Gap 9%
3rd: Banana Republic 4%
Best Watch: Tag Heuer 13%
2nd: Swatch 7%
3rd: Rolex and Cartier tie 3% each
In women’s and men’s fashion, high street brands rule. It’s a toss up between Spanish super chains Mango and Zara, and British street chic stores Topshop and Topman—each one bagging top spots in Hottest Women’s and Men’s Fashion Brands—with highfalutin designer brands trailing in third. And with Kate Moss now designing for Topshop, the British brand just got a new edge of cool.
For “Best New Boutique”, the funky and glamorous British River Island piped American Gap and Banana Republic at the post, winning you over with its stores that are like fashion factories of glam, glitter and color.
DINING
Best New Restaurant: Waraku 15%
2nd: Hog’s Breath and New York New York tie 10% each
3rd: Fabbrica 5%
All Time Favorite Restaurant: Crystal Jade 24%
2nd: Swensen’s 12%
3rd: Din Tai Fung 10%
Best Café: Starbucks 10%
2nd: TCC 7%
3rd: Coffee Bean 5%
Best Sunday Brunch: Greenhouse 12%
2nd: Oscar’s 10%
3rd: The Line 8%
Best Hotel for Wining and Dining: The Fullerton 10%
2nd: Ritz Carlton Millennia 6%
3rd: Shangri-La 4%
No huge surprises in the dining stakes, although we wondered about the absence of fine dining restaurants in the “Best New Restaurant” votes. That chain of Japanese restaurants Waraku won that award, and that deli New York New York and Aussie steakhouse Hog’s Breath took second and third place, respectively, shows how much Singaporeans love their food down to earth. The ubiquitous Starbucks was voted “Best Café”, and The Fullerton won “Best Hotel for Wining and Dining”. With San Marco, Town for its Sunday Brunch and the high-powered Post Bar, The Fullerton certainly has a winning combo of bars and restaurants.
There are several repeat winners: Crystal Jade claimed the title of “All Time Favorite Restaurant” again by a long shot, and Ritz Carlton Millennia’s Greenhouse Sunday Brunch was again voted Best Sunday Brunch. Congratulations!
NIGHTLIFE
Zouk and Ministry of Sound sweep the nightlife awards
Zouk
Best All Time Favorite Bar or Club 17%
Best Place to People Watch 10%
Best Theme Night (Mambo Jambo) 5%
Best Place to Dance 15%
2nd Best Ladies Night 7%
Ministry of Sound
Best Ladies Night 7%
2nd Best All Time Favorite Bar or Club 7%
2nd Best New Club 6%
2nd Best Place to People Watch 7%
2nd Best Theme Night (I’m Gorgeous) 3%
2nd Best Place to Dance 10%
Best New Bar or Club: St. James Power Station 10%
Best Beer: Tiger 12%
2nd: Hoegaarden 7%
3rd: Heineken 5%
Favorite Spirit: Absolut Vodka 10%
2nd: Bailey’s 7%
3rd: Chivas Regal 5%
Best Local DJ: Andrew Chow 25%
Best Local Band: Electrico 7%
Titans Zouk and Ministry of Sound clean up the nightlife category, winning or bagging second place in almost every award that had to do with bars and clubs. While MoS got more seconds than firsts, it is undoubtedly one of the strongest clubs in Singapore. Veteran Zouk edged MoS out at the end with more firsts, like “Best All Time Favorite Bar and Club”, and the 20-year old Mambo Jambo winning “Best Theme Night”—which just goes to show that Singaporeans are creatures of habit. We love what we already know.
St. James Power Station took “Best New Bar or Club”, and in the drinks stakes, homegrown Tiger Beer remains your favorite beer, while Absolut Vodka won “Best Spirit”. With Absolut’s now legendary branding and marketing campaign, they absolutely deserve to be number one in people’s minds.
Our local band and DJ scene remains small, and you picked clear winners with no one even coming closer enough to be second. DJ Andrew Chow reigns on the decks, while Electrico is (still) the local band on everyone’s lips.
HEALTH AND FITNESS
Best Spa: Spa Botanica 10%
2nd: Raffles Amrita 7%
3rd: True Spa and Andana Spa tie 5% each
Best Gym: California Fitness 15%
2nd: Fitness First 10%
3rd: Planet Fitness 8%
Favorite Yoga Studio: True Yoga 15%
2nd: Pure Yoga 5%
3rd: Absolute Yoga 3%
In the health and fitness stakes, Spa Botanica beat last year’s winner RafflesAmrita to bag this year’s “Best Spa” award, while for “Best Gym” the three big players battled it out with Jackie Chan-endorsed California Fitness emerging as the winner. Yoga is hot, hot, hot, and yoga chains Pure Yoga and Absolute Yoga both opened big shiny second studios this year. True Yoga beat both those contenders though, with its longer standing two studios, wide variety of classes and luxurious setting.
BEST IN ASIA
Travel
Asia’s Best Airline: Singapore Airlines 50%
2nd: Cathay Pacific 32%
3rd: Thai Airways 18%
Asia’s Best Overall Hotel: Four Seasons 16%
2nd: Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group 15%
3rd: Shangri-la 12%
Best Party City in Asia: Hong Kong 44%
2nd: Bangkok 30%
3rd: Singapore 18%
Best Shopping Destination in Asia: Bangkok 47%
2nd: Hong Kong 39%
3rd: Singapore 13%
We got our readers from Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Shanghai to tell us what you thought about travel in the region, and this is what you came back with. For airlines, you absolutely love Singapore Airlines—for its unbeatable service, abundant in-flight entertainment, and comfy seats; while in the hotel category, Four Seasons beat Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Shangri-la to win Asia’s “Best Overall Hotel”. Hong Kong was voted “Best Party City” (so the Hong Kong smoking ban hasn’t dampened the nightlife!), while Bangkok took “Best Shopping Destination” in Asia. With its plethora of shops, ranging from designer boutiques to funky stores selling everything from the latest runway items to unusual one-offs—all at competitive prices—it is well deserving of the award.
Tech
Gadget of the Year in Asia: iPod 39%
2nd: iPhone 35%
3rd: Nintendo Wii 13%
Favorite Mobile Phone Brand in Asia: Nokia 67%
2nd: Sony Ericsson 16%
3rd: Samsung 8%
Favorite Camera Brand in Asia: Canon 53%
2nd: Sony 26%
3rd: Nikkon 15%
As technology has no doubt pervaded our four Asian cities, we also asked you to vote regionally in the tech stakes. Apple should be patting themselves on the back for bagging both first and second place for the “Gadget of the Year” in Asia award, way ahead of Nintendo in third. The iPod took the award, with the iPhone coming in second—for a product that was not even out on the market yet that’s quite an achievement!
In the “Favorite Mobile Phone Brand” in Asia award, Nokia was the clear, clear winner. Obviously its cool designs, idiot proof usability and durability has won it many loyal users. Canon won by a long shot (ha, ha pun intended) in the camera category, its cool features and design that allow amateur photographers to feel like professionals put it ahead.
