With revenge tourism at its peak and local businesses reopening, Singapore is set to become the host with the most with six new bars that will keep your spirits high.
Singapore expects to greet between four – six million tourists in 2022. The city-state’s local crowd movement has gained momentum too as the government lifts the mask rule and ends a long-reigning limit on public gatherings. People are traveling and partying with a vengeance, so it comes as no surprise that Singapore’s bar scene is growing livelier by the day.
Image: Shutterstock/Asia Images Group.
Singapore has always rocked in terms of its food scene and watering holes because of the presence of a massive expat population, the diversity of establishments, tough working hours, and a high-flying economy that enables access to big money. Additionally, it has an eager public — including tourists — and businesses that cater to the adventurous and ever-changing whims of consumers in search of novel styles and happy hours.
From new attractions and revamped airport terminals to modernised menus, refurbished locations, and fresh establishments, change is the name of the game in Singapore.
Here are six new bars that have caught the eye of night owls on this little island.
Flows of the Indus
With kebabs and cutlets on their menu, Flows of the Indus aims to instil the best of India into the drinking vocabulary of Singapore. The selection of wines includes the Nashik-born Sula Shiraz Cabernet while the Neidhal Single Malt, sourced from the Indian coast, dominates their Whisky collection.
Yadhaven Santheran, who works at the bar, tells me that their bestsellers are Gin and Tea — a blend of gin, cucumber, mint, and tea, Masala Hot Toddy, and Highlands.
He adds that what sets the bar apart is its ability to give its customers an unforgettable experience of the “richness of expressions from the Indus — from heritage to new age — affordable to exquisite, in the setting of an identity that completes the experience”.
Full menu and price list: www.flowsoftheindus.com/
Sugarhall
After closing its doors to the public several years ago, this cocktail place has re-emerged as a rum-focused pub. Located in a 1920s heritage building in the heart of Singapore, it hopes to offer customers a chilled-out place to relax and unwind in. Happy hour lasts an hour and half every evening.
Sugarhall is back with its classic Dark & Stormy, which is based on aged fruity Jamaican rum. It gets its zing from fresh lime, and ginger beer made of fermented young, old, and galangal ginger with lager yeast and a secret blend of spices.
Other delights include a variety of refreshing cocktails, such as the Fish House Punch with rum, cognac, peach brandy, lime, and Angostura bitters, or the Mango Colada with rum, Chalong Bay Thai Sweet Basil, mango sorbet, and coconut water.
Sugarhall offers interesting sides as well — bacon-wrapped dates, sweet-sour cauliflower, and chicken schnitzel plus a variety of pork specialties and rich desserts.
Full menu and price list: www.sugarhall.sg/
Night Hawk
Of course, it’s Edward Hopper’s 1942 painting (Nighthawks) that comes to mind. Nighthawks captured the desolation of city life in America as Night Hawk — one of the newest pubs in Singapore — has captured the look and feel of the famous oil painting by raising retro vibes with the right use of interiors.
Owner Peter Chua tells me that Night Hawk plays on the idea of convergence of time. “We blend the past, present, and future into our space, from the decor to cocktails,” he says.
The bar serves cocktails based on classics but using techniques that are modern, and ingredients that create a new colour, texture, or flavour.
The menus are loosely inspired by those followed in American diners. The concept of time is further endorsed in the manner in which the menus — which resemble matchbooks — house QR codes that link to digital menus and a flip board that is controlled by an app.
Chua adds that in a market as competitive as Singapore’s, it was necessary to stand out. “We emphasized heavily on the aesthetics of the bar and the hospitality our team delivers.”
Night Hawk has carved a space that aims to carry their guests into a different era so they have a place to escape from their busy lives.
The bestsellers here include a signature drink called Nighthawks, which is a hot and cold espresso martini inspired by the coffee served at American diners. The drink uses a blend of temperatures and textures, and carries flavours as diverse as coconut, maple syrup, vanilla (heated) with rum, vodka, amaro, cold brew concentrate, and an MSG tincture (cold).
Enter the Gamma-ray Holiday which is a bright green melon cocktail with a hint of bitter gourd juice. Garnished with a compressed pineapple and maraschino cherry, this drink promises to be a refreshing ride. Night Hawk’s Kick Artist Fix honours the American maple pancake breakfast by blending rum, rye whiskey, amontillado sherry, fortified wine, and maple syrup that has been fat-washed using brown butter. The drink comes garnished with a house- made mini pancake topped with smoked maple mousse!
Full menu and price list: www.nighthawk.sg/
Ginger.Lily
Hilton Singapore Orchard’s new bar honours the beauty of the ginger lily plant by adopting its name and offering botanically inspired craft cocktails with floral tinctures and unique infusions.
Examine the ingredients that go into the Blossom: A fizzy mix of elderflower, honey, lemongrass, and butterfly pea gin, the Blossom boasts of St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Brass Lion Butterfly Gin, Butterfly Pea & Gumamela Honey, Lemongrass Syrup, Gumamela Kombucha, Edible Flowers, and Cress.
Or take a look at the Seashell, which salutes Singapore’s fascination with lemongrass by blending Hendricks Gin, Cucumber, Lychee Lemongrass Acid, London Essence, and Bitter Orange Elderflower Tonic.
In Full Bloom is one other beautiful signature cocktail that mixes Rinquinquin Aperitif, London Essence Bitter Orange Elderflower Tonic, and selected fresh fruit and herbs.
Ginger.Lily offers a good selection of beer, wines and non-alcoholic drinks too along with snacks such as Hot Baby Shrimps, Sakura Chicken Skewers, Kurobuta Pork Tacos, and Truffle Fries.
Full menu and price list: www.hilton.com/en/
Ce La Vi
A rooftop bar on the 57th floor of Marina Bay Sands, Ce La Vi is fast gaining popularity because of its amazing ambience — with one of the best views in the city — along with a dance floor that has a view of Singapore at your feet!
Its Bartender’s Handshake blends lemon with nannari roots to create a cocktail that resembles the non-alcoholic summer coolant of southern India — Nannari Sarbat.
The Sharbath Basil Bliss uses nannari infused gin with rum, yuzu, and basil seed.
One of Ce La VI’s signature cocktails, Guavarita, is inspired by a local peddler’s food cart with a mixture of pickled guava and chili that brings out flavours reminiscent of Jambu Asam (a traditional dish).
Made with salted caramel, palm sugar, and toasted banana peels, the Rum-a-Laka is a nod to the traditional Pisang Salai (smoked banana), while Ce La VI’s Summer Love is a refreshing mix of thyme-infused gin, Peruvian pisco, fresh peach, and Prosecco.
The place serves contemporary Asian cuisine that includes seafood, steak, and vegetarian options. It also has an After Dark menu with lobster rolls, truffle fries, and a Japanese fruit platter.
Full menu and price list: www.celavi.com/
Offtrack
Offtrack is a music-centric bar and restaurant with pan-Asian food and classic cocktails. Meant to cater to the creative community in Singapore, it holds a space that is immersed in eclectic musical forms with a curation of art by different artistes and collectives.
Offtrack aims to provide a memorable listening experience through much focus on sound system in a place that is acoustically receptive. The bar boasts of restored Kilpsch La Scala Speakers used by the legendary David Mansuco for his Loft Parties in New York City, and offers its walls to local artistes and designers to promote home-based talent.
Offtrack offers snacks — such as smashed cucumber with crispy chili, or oyster mushrooms — that can be shared, and mains like noodles or salad. Their wines, beers, and classic cocktails, especially the Grasshopper with mint liqueur or the gin-based Saturn, promise a refreshing night filled with fun and melody.
Full menu and price list: offtrack.sg/
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