In celebration of BTS member Kim Taehyung's birthday (30 Dec 1995), we visited various Korean fan events held in Singapore during the month of December. Check out the various fan cafes in Singapore we visited: Gather The Misfits, PlusEightTwo +82 and Jewel Coffee (Orchard Xchange).
Gather The Misfits
Branded as a café-retail-event space, Gather The Misfits is a unique space for meet ups over artisanal drinks and light bites, a place to shop from local and overseas Indie designers and an event space for rent for the purpose of fancafe events, exhibitions and even private functions.
Organised by fan support admin group @vjntage95s, we made our way down to the café at Rangoon Road in celebration of BTS Taehyung's birthday in the month of December.
The café is located near to Farrer Park MRT Station (you can take the bus number 131 or 141 outside the train station and alight at the next stop or take a short 9 mins walk).
Loved the Vmin filmroll which the admin prepared.
The café was spacious and warmly lit and the admin decorated the place prettily with Vmin's photo frames, cute paintings, BT21 plushies and also some artwork of 'Christmas Love' and 'Snow Flower' which Vmin released on the eve of Christmas in 2020. Give them a listen, they are perfect for the rainy festive season and it would have been even better if one could listen to them on a snowy winter day in Korea. They feel like a warm hug on a cold day :)
Snow Flower by BTS Kim Taehyung V:
Christmas Love by BTS Park Jimin:
This was the admin's table which fans could purchase the Donation Fan pack. It's pretty value for money. The area was also flanked by a gallery of Vmin's photo frames.
Usually at fan cafes, if you were to purchase a drink/ tea set (drink + small some bites), you will be entitled to a cup sleeve as well as some photocards. We ordered a Matcha Latte and Genmaicha Latte ($6 each) which tasted pretty good and were pleased with the freebies that came along with our drinks.
There were also other fan groups who had generously provided their fan support for free at the cashier counter (you are free to collect them if you follow them on socials/ retweet their posts). It is really fun going to such events and go around collecting your favorite artistes' photocards and tokens.
Was super stoked that we managed to grab a good seat in the café which is located right in front of the event's feature wall. Spot the difference between the photo of the empty table and one after we were done decorating it.
We had a lovely time time stacking the cup sleeves so that it looks like a mini tree, laying out the photocards and stickers and putting in place the BT21 characters. Loved the moon light as a backdrop too. We got curious looks from other ARMYs (BTS's official fandom name which stands for "Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth") at our elaborate table set-up. A couple of them asked if we were selling our merchandise and even came over to our side to take photos. They were lovely :)
Gather The Misfits has this little room selling unique and beautiful things ranging from stationery, homeware to accessories and fashion items from local & international indie designers. The space is run by the team behind xhundredfold.
Gather the Misfits is nestled in a hidden spot off the main café hopping area of Rangoon street. I liked that it is in a quiet space with its cozy vibes. Overall the experience of the fan event here was great: it allows one to enjoy the fan event at a leisurely pace, there's plenty of photo opportunities and the queues for the drinks were fast and orderly. The place was also not as packed at the other fan cafés I've been to. Would definitely check out other fan events held at this café :)
PS: Such an apt quote from the neon signboard on Vmin's friendship
Gather The Misfits
Address: 217 Rangoon Road, Singapore 218457
Opening Hours: 10:00 - 18:00 (Mon-Sun), closed on Tues
Website: https://gatherthemisfits.com/
PlusEightTwo +82
PlusEightTwo (opened by co-founder BTOB’s Seo Eunkwang) is a minimalist Korean dessert café located at the heart of town near Plaza Sing. As we were there mainly for Taehyung's birthday event, we did not have an opportunity to try their popular Snowflake Bingu and Palette Toasts (Toast with Strawberry, Matcha and Cookie cream spreads which are super popular amongst youngsters in Korea).
When we visited, there were various fan groups sitting in a row giving out free fan support and selling BTS related merchandise. The café's dining area was super packed to take any photos. For more photos on the café's interior, check out this site:
Organised by @fkthfmty, the feature area was nicely adorned with paintings of Taehyung, past BTS CD Albums as well as photo printouts from the latest Weverse interviews, Esquire Magazine, WSJ and vcut. You can tell from the set of printed photos that they are highly popular amongst ARMYs. Though there was a queue to take a shot at the feature area, the line moved pretty quickly.
It's a snug space at PlusEightTwo. Grab yourself a seat or perch at one of its long tables to enjoy the buzzing atmosphere especially during fan events.
Do check out PlusEightTwo's Twitter or Instagram account for the latest updates on the fan events held at their space.
PlusEightTwo +82
Address: 9, #01-02 Bras Basah Rd, Rendezvous Gallery, Singapore 189559
Opening Hours: 10:00 - 22:00 (Mon-Sun)
Jewel Coffee (Orchard Xchange)
Chanced upon a fan event for Taehyung's birthday at Jewel Coffee (Orchard Xchange) while I was in the Orchard area during the weekends. Jewel Coffee is a common franchise coffee chain with their drinks being on the pricier side. Good thing is you are able to opt for a plant-based beverage by switching to their Otis Oat Milk option.
I ordered the Iced Taro Latte ($7.70) and was entitled to a free cup sleeve and a mini fan pack which consist of photocards printed with Taehyung's song names and some stickers.
The admin also sold rolls of film of photos that Taehyung took when he was on overseas trips. Loved the vintage look of the film.
Photo-wall of prints (in Sepia) taken by Taehyung. It is nice to take some time to admire the mood of the photos. Isn't it quite wonderful that something beautiful such as a captured moment in time can take you to another place?
Even though Jewel Coffee was more packed due to its close table seating arrangements and felt a little more bare compared to the other cafes (as it is a coffee chain), there are still nice photo corners to take shots of.
The feature wall was made up of photos (again) from the highly popular Esquire magazine photoshoot as well as from vcut. I personally adore this set of photos too.
Fans were also given postcards to write their birthday greetings and they are able to take a nice shot of their cards against the photo backdrop. I also liked how they incorporated signature verses from Taehyung's songs (like Winter Bear, Sweet Night, Snow Flower) and printed them into little photo frames.
Jewel Coffee (Orchard Xchange)
Address: 437 Orchard Rd, #B1-05 Orchard Xchange Singapore 238878
Opening Hours: 10:00 - 20:00 (Sun-Thurs) | 10:00 - 22:00 (Fri-Sat)
Fan Cafes, Singapore