Valentine’s Day is coming up and if that means nothing to you but a painful reminder of your singleton status, don’t hide at home with a bottle of wine and tub of ice-cream.
This Valentine’s is especially auspicious because it is also Chinese Valentine’s Day, so why not spruce yourself up and head out for some fun? Even if you don’t meet your soul mate, you would at least enjoy yourself or maybe even launch into a spring fling. Here’s our round-up of what to do:
Speed-dating
Research shows that we can make accurate judgements of whether we’d be attracted to someone within seconds of meeting them for the first time. If going through the getting-to-know-you wine and dine motions sounds tedious (not to mention expensive), give speed-dating a go.
Hong Kong Speed Dating, a long-standing institution in Hong Kong, will organise a Valentine’s Day Matching Dinner on Feb. 14 for up to 24 ladies and 24 gentleman in Central. Coffee Matching is another speed-dating events company that will have a Valentine’s Day group matching party — drinks only so you can escape the awkward silences of a drawn-out dinner. For a younger and more local crowd, try the Valentine’s Day party 214 dating will throw on the day, which will feature lots of games and prizes.
Just for fun, go check out what promises to be Hong Kong’s largest speed-dating event — the HK Love Hub at Ocean Park, the first-ever large scale multicultural speed dating that will feature 288 people over a period of three days. Registration is now closed, but it will still be entertaining to watch participants complete challenges at various romantic spots inside Ocean Park to win prizes.
Girl’s night out
Not into dating? Happy to be single cuddling your cat or just tired of the dating scene? There are many fun things to do in town too that won’t involve watching couples mooning over each other nauseatingly.
Have a good laugh with the girls at the TakeOut Comedy Club for their Valentine’s Day Special live stand-up comedy in Central or enjoy free champagne and canapés at the Polkadot Boutique, where they will host a ladies’ night on Valentine’s Day with plenty of goodies in a giveaway, including jewellery and shopping vouchers. You can also opt for some R&R with a spa party at the Sense of Touch with your girlfriends, which has a beautiful location at the colonial Repulse Bay Hotel. For dinner, Mexican joint Brickhouse is celebrating both love and friendship with a special seafood menu and Canadian artist Danny the G(r)eek to draw pop-art of your friends.
Party
Search for your true love on a thumping dance floor, emboldened by the haze of alcohol and dim lights. This Valentine’s, parties for singletons in the city abound, starting with the “Unlock your heart” Valentine’s Masquerade Party at W’s Hotel Woobar. Ladies will get a lock and the gentleman will get a key, and those who find the compatible key and lock get a complimentary drink.
Room One at The Mira will throw a chic Valentine’s party with cabin crew, cocktail, and bar snacks — the party’s HK$200 for the gentleman but free for the ladies. Female airline crew even get two standard drinks free with staff ID.
Meet people online
Prefer to meet people behind the anonymity of your computer screen? Meetup.com hosts all kinds of real-life meet up groups for people including language meet ups, hiking meet ups, art meet ups, singles meet ups, and more. No matter your interest, you will be able to find like-minded people on the site. Also check out Lovestruck.com and OKCupid.com, both of which have a large base of Hong Kong users.
Happy Valentine’s Day! <3
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