When I was a kid, my dad used to say that birds are actually fairies with tails. Since then, I grew up looking at birds as majestic magical flying creatures. Naturally I grew up with a lot of birds at home. My dad was an avid bird collector and we had all types of birds - pigeons, sparrows, doves, parrots, etc. However, his most prized possession was the ‘merbok’ a singing dove - which to this day, still exist in our home. 

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Bird-keeping is a century old tradition in Singapore. Back in the day, we would frequent bird singing arenas where songbird aficionados would gather to let their birds sing all morning, with people interacting over tea while listening to the melodic tunes of the birds in their ornate cages perched on top of poles. One particular place that stuck with me was in Tiong Bahru. Called the Tiong Bahru bird corner, people would gather and talk about their songbirds, cages and everything else under the sun. Tiong Bahru Bird Corner located at the end of Block 53 was Singapore’s oldest bird corner which quickly attracted many bird lovers even those from overseas.

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Fast forward today, bird-keeping is almost a long lost tradition and hobby only taken up predominantly by the senior citizens who have experienced the Kampong days of Singapore - when the skyline was not defined by skyscrapers. Fairytail represents the days of Singapore’s bird-keeping past. Perched at the rooftop and located in Tiong Bahru itself, come enter the world of these flying creatures and have a bird’s eye view of Singapore's formidable skyline, while sipping a non-alcoholic craft cocktail and immersing in the time when the birds sang their songs of togetherness.