Green Spot, Red Lion: Once Chinese New Year staples, now history

Into the Snake Year and I’m still in a nostalgic mood. I think it’s one of the moments in history when a number of pivotal events seem to be taking place. The familiar things – places, people and products even – will disappear. Often too fast for us to realise.

So bear with me as I attempt an off-the-head list of brand names which have become history. Some of them were part of our growing-up years. Here goes:

SBC (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation)

Siera tv

Bluespot (Blaupunkt)

Rotax pen

Budget Terminal

Tiger Air

MSA

Cinemas: Galaxy, Roxy, Jade, Prince, Palace, Alhambra, Odeon, Zenith, Paramount, Mercury, Golden, Yangtze, Rex, Bright among others

Framroz soft drink

Seletaris

Green Spot

Red Lion

National electrical products (remember the gigantic neon signboard in the then carpark of Capitol cinema?)

Nightclubs: Rumours, Spark, Fire, Scandals, Xanadu, Fireplace, Rainbow Lounge, Pink Panther, Barbarella, Boiler Room, Golden Venus, Zouk, Kasbah, all the Europa group nightclubs, Fountain, West Point, Kelong, Lost Horizon, Ladyhill, Marco Polo, among others

Magnolia milkbars

Balmoral restaurant l

Donald Moore gallery

Batik Inn

Wonderland

Troika Room

NTUC Welcome

Borders

Jack Chia MPH

Newspapers: Eastern Sun, Singapore Herald, Singapore Monitor, Nanyang Siang Pau, Sin Chew Jit Poh, Streats, among others

Temasek Review

The Real Singapore

Public House

Online Offline

The Online Citizen

The Middle Ground

Breakfast Network

Fanfare magazine

Himalaya store

John Little

Robinson

Silver Spoon coffee house

Sam’s Hoagies

Wendy’s

Dynasty hotel

Ming Court hotel

Daichi hotel

Glass hotel

Morris Minor

Lee Wah Bank

Chung Khiaw Bank

OUB

Fitzpatrick’s

Yaohan

Yokoso

Think of it. These are no longer with us. Years from now, what would the new list be? Which would disappear?

Tan Bah Bah is a former senior leader writer with The Straits Times. He was also managing editor of a magazine publishing company