Treat yourself to a tipple whether you’re a sake lover or rum connoisseur
Love winding down your day with a drink? These two newly opened bars are here for your drinking pleasure.
The first Dassai Sake Bar outside of Japan is now at the newly opened Japan Food Town in Wisma Atria. (Photo: Dassai Bar)
Dassai Bar
If you love sake, you’re in luck. Dassai, one of the most renowned premium sake labels, has unveiled its first Dassai Sake Bar outside of Japan, at the newly opened Japan Food Town in Wisma Atria.
The mouth-watering food paradise — with tenants that hail straight from the Land of the Rising Sun — makes the perfect setting for the six-month-long bar pop up.
Modelled after the only other Dassai Bar (Bar 23), located in Tokyo, Japan, its wooden counter beckons with rows of premium sake. Its cosy seating capacity of 25 ensures that diners get ample attention from mixologists.
Try the famed Dassai sake, said to have been enjoyed by President Barack Obama. (Photo: Dassai Bar)
Here, they will be able to taste the famed Dassai sake that has been enjoyed by dignitaries. For instance, President Barack Obama, who received Dassai 23 as a gift from Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, famously used it as a toast for a state dinner.
Not to be missed is the exclusive Dassai Beyond ($170 for 90ml), a sake more than a decade-in-the-making. Like its name suggests, this rare sake surpasses the quality of Dassai 23 ($25 for 90ml), which had been lauded by critics as the ”perfect” sake.
As the label’s finest expression, Beyond has a rice polishing ratio of more than 23%, resulting in an incredibly balanced acidity and a smooth, clean finish.
For dessert, indulge in the light and fluffy Dassai Sake Cake ($9), a melt-in-your-mouth cheesecake made with the rice malt of Dassai 50.
Dassai Bar, Japan Food Town, Wisma Atria Shopping Centre, 435 Orchard Road.
At Bago, an authentic Caribbean experience awaits. (Photo: Bago)
Bago At Lime House
Looking for an authentic Caribbean experience? You’ll find it at Bago (pronounced “bay-go”) at Lime House, complete with the best rum and food from the tropical islands.
Situated at the hip Keong Saik enclave, the laid back lounge is primed for “liming” — a Caribbean pastime of doing nothing but sharing good food, drinks and conversations.
Their extensive list of more than 150 rums makes for a great education on the intricacies of rum appreciation. The collection is categorised and named according to the Caribbean’s three major types of rums: Rum, Ron and Rhum, each influenced by the European countries that colonised the region.
One of Bago’s Signature Cocktail “Cocoa Estate” (Photo: Bago)
For the uninitiated, Rum is typically British, ‘heavier’ and mostly made with molasses. Ron, on the other hand, is Spanish rum produced in countries such as the Dominican Republic.
French Rhum is created by fermentation and distillation of fresh, pure sugar cane juice from the French Indies and Martinique, among other regions.
For the best experience, go for Caribbean-Inspired Cocktails such as Bushfire ($22), a Mount Gay Black Barrel rum-based cocktail from Barbados, which blooms with a complex bouquet of herbs and burnt lavender.
Bago at Lime House, 2 Jiak Chuan Road.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of Weekender, Issue 160, September 2 – September 15, 2016, with the headline ‘Double Fun: Dassai Bar & Bago at Lime House’.
ADVERTISEMENTS