manhattan bar, regent singapore

just how gorgeous is that bar? a stark contrast to jigger & pony just a post before, this place is all darkly-lit elegance and chichiness, filled with beautiful, dressed up people. it’s firmly adult, which is to say that there’s a calm about here that’s very beguiling to this old soul.

an upmarket whisky bar in the regent singapore, there’s also a wide menu for your choice of inebriation. there’s also quite a bit of intriguing-sounding food on the menu, though we didn’t have the stomach space for any of it. we did nibble a little on that complimentary bowl of popcorn, but it was a little stale from having sat out too long.

but everything sounded delicious – both drinks and food – and can I just say, this place knows details. my minty cocktail came with the cutest striped paper straw (so retro), and my partner’s more sophisticated glass held some crazy-fancy ice. LOOK AT THAT FANCY ICE.

it’s not cheap, but there’s a price to pay for such exclusivity and gorgeousness. the regent is a pretty old hotel, which doesn’t raise expectations, but you get to the bar, and it is this sleek, elegant box (you’ll know what I mean when you get there) lined with a cellar on the exterior, and tall black doors opening up to the perfectly-lit bar.

one of my favorite bars, for sure.

The Manhattan
Level 2, Regent Singapore
1 Cuscaden Rd
Singapore 249715
tel +65 6720 8000
$$$: 30-60 per person

jigger & pony, amoy street

noisy, boisterous, darker-than-the-photo-appears hip cocktail bar in amoy street. depending on your age (mental or biological), you’ll either love this place or hate it.

I used to love it – I came here when cocktail bars were still a fresh and new thing, and it was one of the first few places I visited when I started to appreciate drinks (so to speak, given that my taste still runs to the scoffed-at sweet side) – and it introduced me to the spumoni, a grapefruit-based cocktail that was imminently drinkable. it was loud-buzzy, which is to say that you could still lean over for conversation, and there was opportunity to speak to the person actually making your drinks.

flash three years or so ahead to my latest visit about a month ago – and boy, are things different. I admit to feeling quite a bit older, to preferring a more loungey, relaxing place I can indulge in a glass of muscato – but the noise level is exponentially magnified, the place is filled with younger (I say younger, but I’m really still in my mid-twenties) ladies dressed rather minimally (by which I mean amount of cloth rather than aesthetic style), and it’s almost impossible to get service.

in its defense, it’s still buzzy (though in an almost clubby, out to have a GREAT time sort of way), and the place is nice if you’re out for a loud night out. but if you don’t want to shout over to your friends (and still not be able to make yourself heard), and you’re into something a little less manic, I’d choose somewhere else.

p.s. I already know I’m grumpy.

Jigger & Pony
101 Amoy Street
Singapore 069921
tel +65 6223 9101
$$: 20-40 per person