Bukit Pasoh has always been Keong Saik's sleepier neighbour, but three new openings by the team behind the raucously fun Sugarhall and Jigger & Pony might change that.
Indra Kantono and Gan Guoyi, the husband-and-wife team behind the two Amoy Street bars, have tapped into their holiday memories for their new 40-seater seafood restaurant, Humpback, which opens on August 6. Having shucked live oysters off the Washington coast, they’re channelling their newfound love for fresh seafood into a raw bar, with shells culled from coasts around the world.
The tight menu of fresh raw oysters is complemented by executive chef Polo Seah's dishes of sea life like calamari, mussels and black cod, as well as refreshing plates of beetroot with citrus and pine nuts.
Manning the bar is Sugarhall drinks maker Long Yishu. He serves white spirit cocktails created by the group's bar programme director, Aki Eguchi, while other drinks like white wines and bubblies are also on hand to lift palates in between forkfuls of seafood.
On the second floor of the shophouse, Gibson translates the pair's international bar crawl adventures into a playground for Eguchi's creativity. The 60-strong list of cocktails, said to be served in vintage glassware, is split into categories like: 'Finding Comfort' for familiar flavours; 'Forging Friendship' for cocktails that challenge conventions; and 'Sharing Happiness' for fun beverages that spit flames, bubble with smoke and, in the oyster shooter, cut alcohol with oyster and caviar orbs.
The space is moody, with a palette of brown, gold and greens, but the bar is gunning for a friendly vibe, piping upbeat tunes and dressing its bartenders in berms and bow ties to disarm punters. The grub here echoes Humpback's offerings, with raw seafood platters, cured carpaccios and ceviches, and oyster plates.
But if all that sounds too frou-frou for you, look forward to the opening of The Flagship, Kantono and Gan’s ironically named dive bar on the ground floor. Flagship also opens on August 6 with a list of 100 whiskies, entry-level to rare. The selection is set to grow to over 200 as time goes on, with packed snacks and chicken wings to cut the burn.
Humpback and The Flagship open on Aug 6 at 18/20 Bukit Pasoh Rd. Gibson is set to open in the middle of Sep.