Armed with a new bar manager at the helm, Japanese-inspired cocktail speakeasy The House Bar steals the show with a revamped cocktail programme encompassing Asian influences.
A slight confession. I’ve not been to The House Bar since it opened in 2022, at least until very recently. If I’m ever at the recently-renovated Conrad Singapore Orchard it’s almost always for its pioneering cocktail lounge Manhattan, or to pick up some hazelnut bombolone from Dolcetto, the hotel’s gourmet pasticceria, at the behest of the wife.
But a freshly-inducted resident bar manager and a new cocktail programme meant that it finally warranted an exclusive visit.
And I was not disappointed.
For the uninitiated, The House Bar is a Japanese-inspired cocktail hideout that’s carefully hidden – behind a massive wall mural, no less – on the lobby floor of cavernous Conrad Singapore Orchard.
As with most speakeasies, it’s dark and broody within. An eye-catching backlit back bar forms the centrepiece of the space, which branches off to various cosy nooks and crannies where those who desire even more privacy can melt away into to conduct their clandestine affairs.
It has all the trappings of a Ginza-style bar, the kind you get a sticker shock fro after a couple of drinks because everything’s off-menu. Thankfully it isn’t.
Mark Ng, The House Bar’s recently-appointed bar manager, doesn’t have the look of a stoic, expressionless face of a Ginza bartender in any case, even if he comes more experienced than most. Mark has served stints behind the bar at Tippling Club, Junior The Pocket Bar, and most recently, Tanglin Distillery, and here he effortlessly pumps his shaker with muscular, tattooed arms of a seasoned ‘tender who’ve made as many classic cocktails as the countless horrifically bad pickup lines he’s heard over the course of his career.
Well, he’s likely to hear a lot more at The House Bar. Because the drinks here are clearly designed for the cocktail bon vivant and come more potent than most.
The new cocktail programme continues The House Bar’s Japanese penchant, but now draws more inspiration from the rest of Asia. His LHG Sour, for example, employs monkfruit – luo han guo in Mandarin – for sweetness in the classic whiskey sour, while the Longantini leans on another signature Chinese fruit, the longan, that combined with candied wintermelon-infused vermouth is his cocktail interpretation of the local dessert chng tng in martini form.
More rooted in its original Japanese theme is the Kiku Yume. This is a fruity highball with flavours of elderflower, chrysanthemum and honey, garnished with crunchy white fungus. It is absolutely smashable.
And don’t be thrown off by the description of Shiso Spice; shiso-infused rum, miso syrup and wasabi together in a cocktail may sound off-putting, but this is fabulously balanced and bursts with spice, sour, savoury and sweet in equal measure.
The classic Old Fashioned here also dons Japanese garb. The Hojicha Old Fashioned, which offers roasted tea notes that’s rounded off with honey in lieu of the usual sugar while charred orange zest provides a welcome smoky note.
The food menu at The House Bar is surprisingly well fleshed out for a bar. You can come for some simple bar bites or even a proper meal; the Bluefin Tuna Tartare comes as delicate monaka sandwiches, while a number of substantial sushi rolls offer sufficient sustenance for those with modest appetites.
Even heartier are the House Poke Don for those who love their seafood-laden donburi, the slurp-worthy Salmon Hotate Truffle Somen, as well as an incredibly indolent Tonkotsu Unagi Risotto, a thick porridge of rice cooked down in a rich pork broth and flourished with grilled sea eel for a massive savoury punch.
The House Bar may not yet be on the lips of those who frequent cocktail circles, but I reckon it soon will.
The House Bar
Address 1 Cuscaden Rd, #01-02 Conrad Singapore Orchard, Singapore 249715 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 5pm to 12am Mondays to Thursdays, 5pm to 1am Fridays and Saturdays; closed on Sundays
Tel (65) 8031 2697
Web thehousebar.com.sg
Instagram @thehousebar.sg
Reservations book here
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