Wednesday Shenanigans at The Exchange, Asia Square Tower

Wednesday nights is a god’s gift to women who love a good drink. That’s because it’s Ladies Night in Singapore!!! Well, in most Raffles Place-area bars at least. However some like the Vault have theirs on Thursdays. The Exchange at Asia Square Tower was one of the first bars to supply a FREE flow of Martinis just for ladies on Wednesday Nights. They didn’t just supply, they brought out the works. There are always three different flavours of Martinis and one could always be assured of them ready to refill your plastic glasses from 6 to 9pm. Always. I first went in 2012 and it was this exact bar that honed my drinking skills. After a while, I could drink six Martinis and still walk straight. I can assure you those Martinis alcohol were not weak.

For such a good deal, it did not take long for smart girls to catch on for the Bar is is now jam packed every Wednesday. And surprisingly a lot of men. A lot. More men than women. Even Boys Night Out at The Exchange doesn’t draw these boys out as much as Wednesdays.

The concept here is simple. Go to a small outdoor table near the huge entrance and grab a martini glass with a stamp X on your left wrist. Then make your way to the opposite bar to queue up and choose from three flavours.

Martinis here are weirdly and sometimes scarily coloured but they taste surprisingly good. This evening’s selection was Cosmopolitan (the bright pink) and Melon (yellow), there was a bright blue drink that was lime-flavoured. It tasted better than it looked.

By the way, The Exchange is also a restaurant and food served here is surprisingly good! I celebrated my birthday here last year and my friends and I were so satisfied with our steak. But these days, I’m always too full up with the drinks to eat any of the Truffle Parmesan Fries or the deep-fried Chicken Wings with a nice healthy batter surrounding it.

This evening, I hit up the Bar with my girl, Wid. I called her out for drinks in the late afternoon and she quickly agreed; spontaneous – my type of good friend! It was a good night for us girls 🙂

The Past Weekend

A new weekend is upon us but before a quick update of my last weekend. It was epic, mad tiring and so unforgettable!

I started off the weekend with a new manicure.

On Friday after work, first I hung out with my colleagues. We had declicious food at Mad Men Atiic Bar.

Walked over to Overeasy to find some friends and chanced upon the biggest Fried Onion Ring ever at Overeasy.

Went to Butter Factory for a bit. Then hitched a cab to The Wine Bar next to Zouk to meet up my friend Ester, and caught the Germany vs France game. When the game ended, we went to look for supper.

We tried to get some Henderson Yong Tau Foo but the queue was too long and slow so we moved on.

Chanced upon a Hainanese Curry Rice stall at Block 22A Havelock Road.

Massive amount of food that cost only $20 for 4 people.

Stuffed up and filled with energy, we decided to catch the Brazil vs Columbia match at Robertson Quay at 4am. Surrounded by passionate Brazilian fans, it was an experience of a lifetime!

On Saturday evening, we celebrated my nephew’s 2nd birthday party! Cute ballons were present.

My sister and brother fed us silly with their Hot Dog Bar

Who doesn’t love Johnsonville sausages?

Some delicious tacos salad to lighten up the sausage-heavy dinner

There was the most delicious ice-cream cake from Swensons for dessert. My nephew was unbelievably well-behaved and was stuffed with chips.

It was an awesome birthday party.

Then Monday quickly came along and I started on my second juice cleanse.

Today is Friday again, cheers to fun-filled weekend everyone!

A Revelation In Maison Ikkoku

Last night saw my girl friend, Kim, and I make a spontaneous trip to Maison Ikkuko on 20 Kandahr Street for some bespoke cocktails. We had two cocktails but one of them turned out to be revelation for both of us. Our initial plan was to attend a Brazilian Music party but it was so quiet, we bolted without even walking onto the dancefloor. Luckily we were in Arab Street and in recent years the area has become so exciting. There were many many al fresco bars and a few more pricey bespoke cocktails bars. Kim and I walked up and down Haji Lane which was filled with the alfresco bars but none tickled our fancies. My first choice was Bar Stories on Haji Lane but on the second level. It was full so we decided to try our luck with Maison and we were very lucky. Not only did we secure counter seats within minutes, we also had the most deceivingly potent cocktails ever! Sitting at the counter was great too as it was stocked with the widest array of spirits, blends, and fruits in every form. I spotted mason jars labelled “Truffle Whiskey” and Truffle Cognac”. It took me a while to take everything in.

For the cocktails, we ordered two. First up, we requested for a sour and no sugar concoction. And what arrived was a dark purple blend with shards of ice cubes: Blackberry, Lemon, Italian Hazelnut, and Vodka. When sipped, there were lemon peels underneath the ice and every sip saw us chewing a lemon peel. Flavour wise, it was alright. Not particularly sour but it was still quite appetizing and did not taste very alcoholic so my friend and I had a good time drinking it. We decided to order another.

This time we wanted something very different and ordered a spicy, no sugar combination. When the drink arrived, it looked very inviting with it’s bright pink with a raspberry floating on top. It was a Raspberry, Italian Almond, Vodka and Jalepeno concoction! On first sip, the spiciness hit me like a slap on the cheeks. It shook me! I was not expecting the strong spiciness but I loved it. The almond flavour was discernible and subtle and there were hints of raspberry undertones. Kim and I had a good time with this drink. I wonder why spicy cocktails have never occurred to me before when I love spicy food?!

The Bartender was also very friendly.

The alcohol was not strong to us at first but after the two drinks, we were both very red and happy high!

I read on the internet some really interesting combination such as Banana Surprise and Jalepeno Sour. I shall go back one day and ask for a Peanut Butter and Jam combination. The best cocktail I ever had was a Peanut Butter concoction from Bar Stories. Still, Maison Ikkodu made for us a wonderful Friday evening.

7 Sins Cocktails at Jekyll & Hyde

It was my birthday last week and I went all out. On Sunday I had the big crustacean lunch with my family. On Wednesday I met up with some ex-Secondary School classmates for Korean BBQ and Buddae Jiggae stew followed by cocktails at Oxwell & Co. Two days later, on my actual birth date, my colleagues threw me a surprise birthday lunch at Peach Garden where we had good Dim Sum. In the evening, my law school classmates and I had dinner and Moscato at a friend’s cafe followed by cocktails at Jekyll & Hyde, and finally ended the night with dancing in Club Kyo until 3.30am. Then the very next day, a Korean Fried Chicken feast with my best friend. Phew! What a week. My gay friends were particularly concerned about my intense week and enquired about it. Hence for these two days, I am going low carb. So far it has been hard and I have never craved for an apple so much in my life. But with this guide, I feel less alone and ready.

But for now, a little rundown on some of the eateries I visited last week.

To start off with, cocktails at Jerykll & Hyde on 49 Tras Street in Tanjong Pagar. A couple of days before Friday, a good friend raved on IG how wonderful the drinks were so I promptly made a reservation. Thankfully a table for my party of six was still available and at 10pm we happily settled into the high chairs nearest to the entrance. We would have minded with the close proximity to the main doors but the doors opened and closed quietly so it did not bother us.

The one page menu was beautifully designed with only seven drinks. We were feeling adventurous so we decided to order all to share. This was a wonderful decision. There were a couple of hits and misses but the hits were enough to left us wanting for more. It will definitely not be my last trip to JH.

First up was the Miso After Eight with an Almond Pocky stuck into it. This, we all loved. The mint flavour was strong and there was a dark chocolate aftertaste. We were extremely pleased with the strong flavours.

Next up was the biggest hit of the evening, Mr Bean. It was served in the cutest vintage ceramic Chinese cup and inside, the drink strongly resembled tau huey. We were wondering if it was solid like beancurd at first but pure liquid upon dipping our straws. This tasted exactly like Lao Bao tau huey, or beancurd, with a kaya aftertaste. So amazing! I could drink jugs of this. We all collectively loved this drink the most.

Another hit for the evening was the Mangosteen Martini. It was a tad weak in alcohol which made us feel like we were just drinking Mangosteen juice. Still it was more palatable than the misses.

Even though not all the drinks were a stunner, the three aforementioned cocktails were enough for me to return. And next time, may be I will be so lucky as to sit by the bar and get customized drinks. Next time, when I am done with this detox.