Quirky gastropub Ziggy Zaggy along Kallang Riverside Park offers craft beers and American diner-style favourites for a fun weekend respite.
Unless you’re a water sports fan or are jogging at Kallang Riverside Park, there’s very little reason for you to visit Singapore’s Kampong Bugis area. But Ziggy Zaggy aims to change that, particularly for Singapore’s growing legion of craft beer fans.
The gastropub, located in the environs of Kallang Riverside Condominium, was started by musician Ngak Ng in partnership with the founders behind casual waterfront bistro Kontiki at PAssion WaVe and another gastrobar, Handlebar in Gilman Barracks. It overlooks a wide open field largely used by drone enthusiasts, while to its back is Kallang Riverside Park, where residents in the surrounding condominiums regularly exercise.
Opened in mid 2021, Ziggy Zaggy was originally conceived as a combination of a serious craft beer taproom, rowdy American diner, and a rousing live music venue. But that wasn’t feasible in the midst of a pandemic. Indeed it struggled through its initial months, barely sustained through making food deliveries and the support of dogged craft beer enthusiasts who dropped in.
Thankfully, there’s now light at the end of the tunnel.
The decor at Ziggy Zaggy is rather oddball and schizophrenic. On one of its white-tiled walls is splashed with a huge mural of a toddler – a cute caricature of Ng’s own baby boy. Then there’s the bar, whose counter is lined with colourful 3-1/2 inch diskettes – certainly a throwback to a previous era. There’s also a slight motorcycle theme here, including some (not quite comfortable) chairs been put together with bike parts.
With 16 taps of craft beer that rotate frequently, Ziggy Zaggy’s beer offerings rival many of its city counterparts. You’ll find a good range of brews here. There are usually a couple of New England IPAs and sour ales on offer at any one time, catering to fans of those currently popular beer styles. But we like that they’re not wholly stuck on the concept of craft – you’ll see the likes of commercial beers such as Paulaner or Hacker-Pschoor alongside their trendier cousins catering to a more mass segment of beer drinkers.
As mentioned earlier, the grub is American diner, with most entries curated to go well with beer. There’s an entire host of deep-fried bar bites here – from Fries and Spam Fries, to Jalapeno Poppers and a Cod Fish Basket of rather yunmmy cod goujons.
There were rather basic pizza and pasta options, so we didn’t try those. But the ordinary-sounding Ziggy Zaggy Cheeseburger is delectable, especially when you add bacon to it. We enjoyed the Fish & Chips too, massive hunks of beer-battered Pacific dory whose crust remained crunchy even after sitting out for a while. The slow-cooked Short Ribs didn’t fare as well, some of it fork-tender while other parts tough and sinewy.
Their all-day breakfast menu surprised us. In particular, the Biscuits and Gravy. This Southern favourite is rare in our parts, so finding it at Ziggy Zaggy was a delight. The biscuit was perfectly crumbly, soaking up the savoury meat-based gravy for a delicious mess. Love it. It’s so good we’ve been back at least twice more for it, including for takeaway.
All-in-all Ziggy Zaggy is a fabulous craft beer respite in Kampong Bugis. With live music soon coming back, we suspect this place is going to rock. It is a lovely find in the midst of a suburban park, a great place to rest one’s legs after a stroll along the Kallang River. If you do have a dog, their pet-friendly alfresco section means you get to chug on craft beers while your furry friend ranges through that wide open field.
And that, is how we envision a most ideal weekend outing.
Ziggy Zaggy
Address 51 Kampong Bugis, #01-04, Singapore 338986 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 3pm to 12mn on Tuesdays to Fridays; 12pm to 12mn on Saturdays and Sundays; closed on Mondays
Tel (65) 8626 0775
Web ziggyzaggy.sg
Facebook ziggyzaggysg
Instagram @ziggyzaggysg
