I love Chinese New Year.
To me, celebrating Chinese New Year means celebrating my Singaporean (and it is more than just Chinese) heritage.
Reunion dinner with my family, exchanging blessings and kan during house visits, raucous conversations over drinks, pineapple tarts and bak kwa – these are traditions I grew up with. Regardless of race, age, creed, religion or political opinion, everyone gets together and just get into the highest spirits. In a way, that’s the best that life has to offer.
Thus, I’m always saddened that few bars take the time and effort to create a Chinese New Year experience; after all, many of them have offer Christmas specials, put up a Christmas tree and do a countdown, so why not celebrate life and heritage with more than just sweet words?
Fortunately, the folks at Nutmeg and Clove share this view.
The spice of life
We have not done a full review of Nutmeg and Clove before (an egregious omission), but here a quick recounting of its history seems appropriate. Located in the Ann Siang Hill heritage enclave on the borders of Chinatown. This is of course, no accident. Founder Colin Chia explains the confluence of factors that led to the opening of the bar.
“I always wanted a bar that celebrates the history and heritage of Singapore and our neighbouring countries. We are so blessed to be living in this part of the world, surrounded by beautiful ingredients and spices bartenders and chefs from other countries can only dream of. I named it Nutmeg and Clove because Ann Siang Hill used to be a Clove and Nutmeg Plantation and was named after one of our forefathers, Chia Ann Siang.”
More than simply looking at tradition from a distance, Colin found inspiration in something much more personal- and very traditional.
“Since young, I have always been surrounded by spices as my grandfather (who came to Singapore from Swatow) used to run a spice trading company from Boat Quay. So in a way, it’s also me paying homage to what my grandfather did early in his career. I am someone who values my family roots and I intend to keep it running in the family with my two girls.”
Previously housed in a former hui kuan, the bar now occupies the second level of a refurbished shophouse. According to Colin, the move was motivated by a desire to extend the operating hours from midnight, till 1 or 2 am. It is far more spacious than before and even boasts a private area on the third floor.
The decor is unmistakably Chinese influenced. From the large signboard hanging above the entrance, to the old Mandarin style wooden fixtures and furniture, it exudes an exotic old world charm. Yet, this is blended with a recognisable modernity. Bare floors, exposed soft orange lighting and metallic grating exudes industrial chic. This blending of old and new seems quite intentional; one glance at the menu reveals the fruits of this union.
Service there is also brisk and efficient, and the bar staff crisply professional. While there are no celebrity bartenders or superstars, the house mixologists are no slouches and focus on the essentials. Colin explains, “Making our consumers happy is the most important, if not the only thing that matters in running a bar.”
The establishment might only be celebrating its third birthday in March, but has already turned heads worldwide; it was number 72 in the 2016 World’s 50 Best Bars Bars to Watch List (which actually goes to 100). Colin is modest about the newfound fame, “My partners and close friends knows that awards are my least of my priorities for anything I do but being mentioned at 72 was a real shocker and it really did feel super duper good!”
The road to success hasn’t been an easy one, but he is sanguine about the bar’s prospects, “I will be lying if I told you that it has been a smooth ride and everything is great! We have had so many problems from licensing time to staffing issues but I always focus on the positives. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger right?”
Welcoming the year of the cock(tail)
With a bar that’s so in tune with local culture and history, it seems natural that Nutmeg and Clove would have something special planned for Chinese New Year- and they do indeed! A special menu has been created to mark the occasion, and will be available till the fifteenth day of the New Year. The bar still makes its drinks the old-fashioned way- homemade, from scratch, and with the flavours coming first!
Prosperity Flip ($18++) – the flip was originally created to use all the precious egg yolks bartenders were discarding when thickening drinks with the whites. Here it gets a Singaporean update. The drink follows a classic flip template; Bacardi Carta Blanca, almond flavoured Amaretto, egg yolk. Oh, and a special ingredient supplied by Colin himself: a spiced reduction of juice from the pineapples used in his mother’s homemade tarts. The drink is garnished with a sliced of dehydrated pineapple and a dusting of cinnamon.
I rather enjoyed the Prosperity Flip; the experience is best described as drinking a liquefied pineapple tart. The classic pairing of pineapple and rum are complemented by the yolk and almond from the Amaretto, which gives it a pastry-like aroma and flavour. The egg yolk in particular gives it a luxurious, creamy texture that is satisfying without being cloying. Thoroughly enjoyable.
The Huat Ah! ($18++, pictured in featured image) is a low ABV cocktail that bears a passing resemblance to the Italian soda. Campari, dry vermouth, mandarin orange juice, oleo saccurum (mandarin orange sugar), Fever Tree tonic and Singha sparkling water are used in this highball.
This reminds me an awful lot of an Aperol Spritz in the best ways possible. The cocktail releases an initial burst of mandarin orange sweetness that subtly transitions into the bitter orange flavour characteristic of Campari. The orange flavours then yield to a mild herbal taste that prevents the drink from becoming a saccharine mess. Like its Italian relatives, the Huat Ah! is a refreshing pick me up, perfect for our balmy tropical nights.
牛车水-Chinatown ($18++). In contrast to the lighter drinks on the list, this tipple is a spirit-forward ode to the the classic Manhattan. Kim Joo Guan bak kwa is infused in Bulleit Bourbon. The infusion is stirred with sweet vermouth, aperol, orange creame citrate, and shao xing (rice) wine, then served in a Chinese tea cup, garnished with a haw flake and a slice of bak kwa.
The nose retains the vanilla from the bourbon, with the rice wine adding a whiff of fermented acridity. The drink inherits the savoury flavours of the bak kwa, but is well balanced by the sweet flavours of bourbon and a mild sourness. The Aperol also surfaces briefly to add a very slight bitterness. The resulting beverage has layered flavours that give it a good depth, contrast and complexity, with a generous helping of quirkiness.
The Singapore Story
If Chinese New Year cocktails are not to your fancy, do take a gander at the regular menu. Unlike a typical bar menu, the menu is sectioned by themes closer to home; the eras of Singapore history- Trading Post, Crown Colony, Banana Republic, Sovereign State and Metropolis. The cocktails featured in each era are either local twists on a contemporaneous classic or highlight a flavour associated with the period.
Colin explains the somewhat unusual menu choice.
“Firstly, I am a really proud Singaporean like you and all other Singaporeans! Maybe it’s a little more special for me as I was born on 9th August! Although we are still a fairly young nation, we actually do have a rich history and how we got to where we are today is extremely remarkable! I always believe that a menu is very important to a cocktail bar as it’s the identity of the venue so I wanted the menu to tell a brief history of Singapore.”
Some of the cocktails are fascinating. The Good ‘Ole’ Fashion Revolution ($22++) is described as a local take on the Old Fashioned, and while not the first variant on the classic, there’s a story behind it.
“Created by our first bar team of Kae Yin and Alvin Auyong, it’s a twist on the Old Fashioned and we named it to represent the difficult days in our history when there were countless revolutions. We all know that the Old Fashioned is basically American Whisky, Sugar and Bitters. We still have that same proportion but we added a local twist to it. Here, we married the Pandan Infused Bulleit Bourbon with a homemade toasted coconut syrup and finished with our own delicious Chilli Bitters. It’s still whisky + sugar + bitters but in our own unique Singapore Way. The result is a beautiful spirit forward cocktail with nice aromas and flavours of coconut and pandan with a little kick from the chilli bitters. Customers started telling us that it really tasted like Nasi Lemak and it has since gone on to be nicknamed the Nasi Lemak Old Fashioned, not that we mind.”
However, not all drinks are Singapore themed. The Banana Republic drinks reference the courage of Singaporeans during the Occupation and brings Japanese flavours to the forefront.
I also tried the Tsukiji Fizz ($22++) ; there’s no actual fish in it, but the addition of squid ink gives this twist on the Ramos Gin Fizz a startling charcoal grey colour. It adds an umami note to the midpalate that also brings out the sour and accentuates the sweet in the Ramos. The seaweed garnish is a stroke of genius; its scent of sea spray whisks me away to the ocean, which is neatly captured by the foamy soufflé- esque preparation.
Summing it all up
While nostalgia does give one the proverbial rose-tinted glasses, we are unabashed fans of both the CNY and regular menu. The drinks are both innovative and evocative, immersing one in the rich history of our home while at the same time pleasuring the tastebuds. They are well worth a try. The bar and its staff are pleasant and offer a welcome escape from the teeming crowds.
At $18++ per drink on the festive menu, the price is also quite tantalising, so there is really no excuse not to drop by!
Nutmeg & Clove
10A Ann Siang Hill
Singapore 069878
Monday to Thursday (6pm to 1am )
Fridays and Saturdays (6pm to 2am).
