JWM Magazine - Spring 2017

At National Kitchen, amid an atmosphere of ornate mirrored ceilings, tiled flooring and plush leather banquettes, Oon showcases her nuanced Peranakan cuisine, a style that draws on Malaysian, Chinese and Indian ingredients and cooking techniques. Standout dishes include beef rendang, dry laksa and udang goreng chili.

“Our goal is to preserve the traditional flavors
and methods of cooking, and not take any short-
cuts,” says Yiming Tay, Oon’s son and a partner
in the restaurant. “Everything you taste comes
from spices that were painstakingly processed and
treated. We try to source the best ingredients from
the local wet markets and to provide our guests
with an authentic dining experience.”
o cap off a busy day of sightseeing (and
eating), come nightfall, visitors should delve
into Singapore’s nascent craft beer scene.

A wave of new taproom and brewery openings has swept over the island in recent years, leaving behind a slew of unique venues pouring exceptional selections of imported and locally brewed beers.

Smith Street Taps and its adjacent sister operation The Good Beer Company should be the starting point for any Singapore craft beer crawl.

Hidden in a corner area on the second floor of the Chinatown Complex food center, sandwiched between the food vendors, Smith Street is the no-frills “bar” of choice for local beer enthusiasts.

Here there are 12 beers on tap, with a particular focus on rare and experimental imports—and that’s it. The simple concept works well, although those seeking further choice can plunder the nearby refrigerators at The Good Beer Company, which stocks upward of 50 different beers.

A short walk away is Freehouse, a hip taproom discreetly located on the second floor of a renovated shophouse. The staff pairs around 16 draft and 40 bottled beers with a bar-friendly menu of Asian-fusion dishes including a Korean-style kimchi bulgogi hot dog, bacon tempura and nacho dumplings. On tap, expect an emphasis on craft breweries from New Zealand and the West Coast of the United States.

Back across Marina Bay at the glitzy South Beach entertainment complex, home of the new 634-room JW Marriott Singapore South Beach, award-winning craft brewery Little Island Brewing Company (LIBC) recently spun off its high-concept tap bar, Alchemist Beer Lab. The contemporary bar has 16 taps to accommodate LIBC brews, including the Black Magic Dry Irish Stout, which scored a gold medal at the 2016 Asia Beer Awards.

It’s what’s packed into half the taps—or, specifically, the beer towers—that makes things even more interesting, however. “We have these infusion towers where we put all kinds of ingredients—fruits, herbs, spices, hops—and then the beer comes through underneath, the ingredient flavors are stripped and the beer goes straight into the glass,” says LIBC founder Francis Khoo.

In other words, similar to when brewers dry-hop a beer—that is, add fresh hops to a beer after its primary fermentation to enhance flavors and aromas—the beers are freshly infused with ingredients complementary to their specific profiles.