Fridae

In the first ever pan-Asian poll of gay establishments, Fridae members nominated and voted for their favourite dance clubs, bars, lesbian venues, saunas, businesses, bookstores, activists, DJs as well as LGBT-themed web sites, plays, films, books, magazines and events.

Fridae, Asia's largest gay and lesbian web site, attracts over 400,000 unique browsers every month, as audited by Nielsen//Netratings.

The inaugural Fridae æ (pronounced like the letter 'a') List aims to recognise the efforts of establishments and businesses that serve the LGBT community. While some of these establishments are located in gay-friendly cities, others are seen to be pushing the envelope by simply existing to meet the needs of and/or providing a safe space for LGBT individuals to socialise. The awards also seek to acknowledge the efforts of individuals who have tirelessly championed the rights of LGBT people; and inspire others to affect change wherever they are.

Based solely on votes which were limited to 1 per member per category, Bangkok's DJ Station, a favourite among gay travellers for years, unsurprisingly came up tops in the Favourite Dance Club category for the city. The other renowned Bangkok institution, Babylon Bangkok Sauna & Spa, claimed the top spot in its respective category.

In Hong Kong, Propaganda and now-defunct Mei Lang Fang won the Favourite Dance Club and Gay Bar categories respectively while Les Peches was voted the territory's Favourite Lesbian Venue.

La Queen Club, where Prince World parties are held, beat old favourite Liquid to be Kuala Lumpur's Favourite Dance Club. Malaysia's veteran DJ Princess Ann garnered the most number of votes in the keenly contested category to be named Favourite Asia DJ.

The Favourite LGBT Activist Singapore award goes to not one but a group of activists including George Hwang, Tan Joo Hymm, (Fridae CEO) Dr Stuart Koe, Alan Seah, Pamela Oei. Prior to the country's parliamentary debate on its Penal Code revisions in October 2007, the group organised a landmark parliamentary petition and publicity campaign to protest the retention of Section 377A which criminalises gay sex in the city state.

In Beijing, Mix and Destination won the Favourite Dance Club and Gay Bar categories respectively while in Shanghai, Club Deep and Eddy's were named the city's favourite Dance Club and Gay Bar respectively.

Fridae would like to congratulate all the winners and in particular, the top five establishments that have received the largest number of votes. Babylon (Bangkok), Jump (Taipei), Kinokuniya (Singapore), Mox (Singapore) and Propaganda (Hong Kong) will each receive an advertising and promotion package on Fridae worth US$10,000.

Here is the complete list of winners.

Favourite Dance Club
Bangkok: DJ Station
Beijing: Mix
Hong Kong: Propaganda
Jakarta: Blowfish
Kuala Lumpur: La Queen
Manila: Bed
Osaka: Explosion
Seoul: Reball
Shanghai: Club Deep (closed)
Singapore: Fabulous Sundays@ Power House
Taipei: Jump
Tokyo: ageHa

Favourite Gay Bar
Bangkok: Telephone Bar
Beijing: Destination
Hong Kong: Mei Lang Fang (closed)
Jakarta: Heaven
Kuala Lumpur: Blue Boy
Osaka: Physique Pride Osaka
Phuket: Boat Bar
Seoul: Queen Bar
Shanghai: Eddy's
Singapore: Mox
Taipei: G Paradise
Tokyo: Artty Fartty

Favourite Lesbian Venue
Bangkok: Lesla @ Chit Chat Pub
Beijing: West Wing Bar (Xixiangfang)
Hong Kong: Les Peches
Kuala Lumpur: 69 Bistro
Shanghai: Red
Singapore: Twoqueens@ Play
Taipei: Gingin Bookstore
Tokyo: Goldfinger

Favourite Sauna
Bangkok: Babylon
Beijing: Club Oasis
Hong Kong: Towel Club Hong Kong
Kuala Lumpur: Mandi Manda
Manila: Club Bath
Osaka: Hakuoukan
Shanghai: Vista M
Singapore: Towel Club (closed)
Taipei: Rainbow
Tokyo: 24 Kaikan Shinjuku

Favourite LGBT Biz Retailer
Bangkok: Bug and Bee
Beijing: Bronze Bodies Tanning
Hong Kong: Toot Concept Shop
Kuala Lumpur: Philosophy
Osaka: Normal North
Phuket: Club One Seven
Shanghai: Manifesto
Singapore: New Urban Male
Taipei: Gingin bookstore
Tokyo: BIG GYM

Favourite Bookstore
Bangkok: Kinokuniya
Hong Kong: Kotetsu Bookshop
Kuala Lumpur: Kinokuniya
Shanghai: Jifeng Shuyuan
Singapore: Kinokuniya
Taipei: Eslite

Favourite Party
China: i-Candy
Hong Kong: cocktails Production
Japan: Shangri-la@ Ageha
Malaysia: Prince World
Taiwan: Follow me
Thailand: Midsummer's Dream

Favourite LGBT Activist
China: Li Yinhe
Hong Kong: Man Ho Fung
Indonesia: John Badalu
Japan: Kanako Otsuji
Malaysia: Oyoung Wenfeng
Singapore: Repeal 377A team (George Hwang, Tan Joo Hymm, Stuart Koe, Alan Seah, Pamela Oei, et al)
Taiwan: Chang Huei-Mei also known as A-Mei
Thailand: Viroj Tangvanich

Favourite LGBT Play
Hong Kong: Once in a Lifetime
Singapore: Asian Boys Vol. 3: Happy Endings

Favourite Local Website
China: aibai.cn
Hong Kong: Gayhk.com
Japan: Mixi.jp
Malaysia: Axcest.com
Singapore: Trevvy.com
Taiwan: club1069.com

Open
Favourite LGBT Film: Eternal Summer (Taiwan)
Favourite LGBT Magazine/Periodical: DNA (Australia)
Favourite LGBT-related Book: SQ 21 - Singapore Queers in the 21st Century (Singapore)
Favourite LGBT Festival/Event: Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
Favourite Asia DJ: Princess Ann (Malaysia)
Favourite International DJ: Tony Moran (US)

Click on the link below for more details of each winner.