Showing posts with label bars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bars. Show all posts
Origin Grill and Bar: a tribute to Singapore's heritage
Labels:
alcohol,
bar bites,
bars,
big groups,
cocktails,
comfortfoods,
must go,
shangri la hotel,
will return
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Nowadays, people want more than just a fancy cocktail whilst engulfed in a certain sexy darkness. They search for experiences, something to soothe the fatigued soul, something to transport them to another dimension.
Enter Origin Bar, a swanky hotel bar whose top-notch drinks and good looks are championed by an earnest intent to pay homage to Singapore's cultural heritage. Looking past the lures of the grilled specialities of the restaurant menu, the bar is a haven of nostalgic sophistication, a sanctuary like in the 1920s. Dressed with accents of peacock green in contrast to old-fashioned wood and distressed reflective surfaces. The interiors are inspired by the romance of voyage by train, and the room is cleverly divided into more intimate pockets of space by velvety drapes in the most gorgeous rich shades. Low lighting contributed by Hassel table lamps create a warm feel reminiscent of European carriages by night, where imbibers speak in hushed tones over the sound of rolling cocktail ice cubes. Some nights Origin is a cocktail hunter's best kept hideaway. Other night it teems with life and pulsates tunes rolled out by live DJs. It is an experiment in opposites and boy does it please the extremists.
Saturday night picks - Chikin for feisty Szechuan yakitori and Asian inspired tipples
Labels:
bars,
bukit pasoh,
cocktails,
date night,
fried chicken,
fusion,
japanese,
large groups,
szechuan,
will return,
yakitori
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Spice devils! Step right up! Chikin, a new fusion joint to join the throngs of half-blood variants in the precinct offers something a little different. Western influences find no place here as the kitchen combines the founders' love for Japanese yakitori and Szechuan Shao Kao (BBQ meats). An extremely underrated marriage resulting from the co-founder's Ms Tay Eu-Ten frequent visits to Chengdu.
Much to my amusement, there is no overt restaurant plagiarism here, the kooky result making me feel at home instantly. Red and purple hues wash the surfaces of the shop-length bar counter. Barely a few steps in and I swiftly relegated myself to bar-fly status - plopping myself down and perusing the cocktails list with enthusiasm.
Operation Dagger: #6 in Asia's 50 Best Bar launches new seasonal menu
Labels:
barfood,
bars,
cheese,
cocktails,
will return
·
Bone marrow, tomato beer, fermented red cabbage, cucumber skin and goats cheese? I threw a furtive uneasy glance at Luke Whearty as he hands me the new seasonal menu of 'dangerous drinking water' and 'natural' ferments, comfortably bubbling away underneath the staircase leading down to the tipple dungeon.
Recently awarded #6 in Asia's 50 Best Bars, Operation Dagger is in a world of its own, especially where speakeasies are slowly bed-ridden in a twist of fate, and Asian-themed libations to match Mod-Sin cuisine are superfluous. This strikingly raw bedecked bar has no identity problem. Drinks are cutting edge with the star power being it's holistic savoury approach. No need for solid sustenance here when you can get flavors as arresting as banana bread and fermented coconut wine translated into joy juices.
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