Tanjong Pagar – Singapore’s Gay Central

Tanjong Pajar, a district within the Central Business District in Singapore, Tanjong Pagar in Malay means "cape of stakes", a name which reflects its origins as a fishing village situated on a former promontory.

Since the 1990s, it has long been known as the un-official “gay capital” of Singapore.

There are lots of gay pubs and clubs in the area, especially along Tanjong Pagar Road, which are closed in the day. But come nightfall, and the area comes alive with neon lights, and gay men and lesbians can be seen openly holding and hands and kissing at night. The businesses don’t mind, and have gotten used to it.

Here are 3 of the gay venues you can find in Tanjong Pagar:

1. Play Club (picture below) at 1 Tanjong Pagar Road: Very young gay men come here, as well as the occasional questioning, or “confused”, guy. This is the biggest gay nightclub in Singapore, and massive parties are held here almost everyday. The girls who sometimes join the guys during these parties are sometimes called “fag hags” by members of the community. If the girls’ sole purpose is to assure the guys’ parents that it is a co-ed party, then these girls can be referred to as “beards”. On Thursdays, it becomes a lesbian bar, and only women are admitted.

 

2. Taboo (picture below) at 65/67 Neil Road (tel: 6225-6256): This pub-cum-disco is frequented by older men (in their 30s), bears, and muscular men. Hardly any women come here. Some celebrities come here occasionally, but they obviously would not like their identities to be revealed here.

It was opened in 1997, but closed in 2004 along Tanjong Pagar Road. It re-opened at its current location a year after.

 

3. Tantric (picture below) at 78 Neil Road: It’s an open-air bar mainly frequented by expat gay men, and is also frequented by some Asia men looking to meet the expats. Within the community, Asian men looking to hook up with white men are addressed as “potato queens.” Expat men looking to hook up with Asian men are address as “rice queens”.

It is gay-owned and gay-managed, and even has a rainbow flag in front of it.

In summary, here is where to go if you are looking for a certain type of gay man in Tanjong Pagar:

	Type	Age	Race
Play	Young guys	16-25	Asian
Taboo	Bears	25-35	Asian
Tantric	Potato queens Rice queens	Any age	Asian and White

And that’s why Tanjong Pagar is Singapore’s un-official “gay central”.