Where To Go This Chinese New Year & Valentine's Day Weekend If You're Not Doing House Visits

Pick up your phone to hunt down zodiac animals islandwide from Feb 10 at 10am until Feb 14 at 11.59pm in POSB’s Hunt Your Zodiac. This interactive mobile game is sort of like Pokemon Go, except you earn money in your DBS PayLah! account while you’re at it. What you’re looking for in this virtual hunt is 60 Chinese zodiac animals at over 34,000 locations in Singapore (known as Gates of Fortune), overcoming challenges along the way. Every animal you successfully catch comes with a Chinese horoscope prediction and perhaps an angpow worth $1.08 to $88. Collect all 60 animals and you could snag the grand prize of up to $8,888. Transacting via the DBS PayLah! App at merchants and stores will earn you in-game power-ups for advantages in the game, so you know what to do if you’re grabbing some grub during your hunt outside.

POSB Hunt Your Zodiac runs from Feb 10, 10am until Feb 14, 11.59pm. To register and get more info, go to https://posb.hyz.sqkii.com.

This is a bar that’s definitely red-y for CNY with its latest transformation for the Lunar New Year festivities. The CNY pop-up at Junior the Pocket Bar, which rotates its concepts regularly, is happening from Jan 27 to Feb 27, and is in collaboration with Rémy Martin. There’s a CNY-themed cocktail menu to go with the Niu year décor, of course. Huat about a Rolling for Prosperity ($25++), which is essentially a pineapple tart as a cocktail with Rémy Martin VSOP, pineapple, spiced brown butter rum and lemon, served with an actual pineapple tart on the side for good measure. Themed bites such as Junior’s tasty take on abacus seeds and kueh pie tee are also available.

The Chinese New Year pop-up is on from Jan 27 to Feb 27. Junior the Pocket Bar is at 6 Ann Siang Hill. Open Mon-Sat, 5.30-10.30pm. More info at http://juniorthepocketbar.com/.

Forgot all about Valentine’s Day amid all the CNY hustle and bustle? Here’s a date idea that your Valentine and wallet will both love. The Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s All Walks of Love exhibition is an Insta-worthy look at how love figures in Chinese Singaporean culture, and shines a spotlight on various familiar milestones by way of ’grammable photo spots. Tickets are $10 each but there’s a one-for-one ticket promo from Feb 3 to 28.

All Walks of Love is on until Feb 28, open daily from 10am to 8pm (per hour entry; last entry at 7pm). SCCC Creative Box, Level 6, 1 Straits Boulevard. Tix are $10 from Sistic (1-for-1 tickets from Feb 3-28). More info at https://www.singaporeccc.org.sg/.

Huay do you go for a bloomin’ good time? Dahlia Dreams at the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay remains open all weekend (pre-book ticketed time slots before you go). For the first time ever, it features a whopping 2,000 dahlias all grown in-house by GBTB’s own horticulturists. There’s also a colourful array of azaleas, chrysanthemums, cymbidiums on display. Photo spots are now spaced out throughout the venue and incorporated into the designs — not only can you enjoy a safely-distanced outing, but there are more angles for those snaps as well. Everybody wins.

Dahlia Dreams is on until Feb 21, 9am-9pm daily, at Gardens by the Bay. Tix from $20. More info at www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/dahlia.

So this year’s CNY and Valentine’s Day isn’t like the others — and we’re not just talking about Covid-19 restrictions. Spice things up by spending the day with this motley crew at Universal Studios Singapore’s Usher in the Fun at RWS. Expect to meet and greet Po from Kung Fu Panda, Woody and Winnie Woodpecker and the Minions. You may also bump into the gang from Sesame Street, Madagascar and Shrek and co decked out in their festive outfits.
Usher in the Fun is on until Feb 28 at Universal Studios Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa. Tix from $43 at https://www.rwsentosa.com/.

Photos: DBS, SCCC, Junior the Pocket Bar, Gardens by the Bay, Resorts World Sentosa