This FamilyMart Lookalike In PJ With A Controversial Name Was Actually A Hidden Bar
For now, it is unclear if a convenience store will actually be replacing the bar.
By Alyssa Pong — 28 Jul 2020, 06:23 PM
Last week, photos of a new 'convenience store', sporting FamilyMart's signature font and blue and green stripes, went viral on Facebook
The photo of WholeFamily first circulated on social media sites after one confused netizen posted it to his Facebook page with the caption "nani??" ('what' in Japanese).
Netizens not only took issue with WholeFamily's unoriginal look, but with its controversial name as well
Seemingly unsuspecting in English, WholeFamily in Chinese, 冚家, is one character short of forming a derogatory Cantonese saying.
"冚家铲" (ham6 gaa1 caan2) is essentially a curse that roughly translates to "death upon your whole family".
While several Facebook commenters remarked that the store would no longer have good feng shui, others jokingly asked, "Do they sell shovels there?" as the third character 铲 means 'shovel'.
The name sparked so much discussion that even Hong Kong-based news outlets such as LikeJapan, ULifestyle, and HK01 picked up the story.
Located in Tropicana Avenue, WholeFamily was previously home to a hidden bar
A quick check by SAYS confirmed that Unknownz Hype Bar occupied the same lot where WholeFamily now sits.
For now, it is uncertain whether the bar is still in operation or if it has relocated. The store's interior has remained unchanged despite the switch in names.
We have reached out to Unknownz Hype Bar for comment but have not heard back at the time of writing this.
Additionally, reporters from China Press found WholeFamily to be closed when they visited the store at 2pm last week.
In the past, visitors could enter the bar via the 'refrigerator door' on the far left of the store
This would have led them into a larger room equipped with arcade games, a DJ turntable, and strobe lights.
Looking through their Instagram, we discovered that Unknownz Hype Bar had been closed for the month of March in light of the movement control order (MCO).
Since then, however, they have not mentioned anything about reopening.
