Entertainment in Singapore
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Zouk
Nineteen going on one, Ibiza-inspired Zouk is still Singapore’s hottest club. It features five bars, with the capacity to hold 2000, and a roomy dance floor with plenty of space to cut the rug – it’s a world-class contender and a regular destination for globe-trotting DJs. You’ll also find the alfresco Zouk Wine Bar, avant-garde Phuture and the Moroccan-inspired Velvet Underground hung with Keith Haring and Andy Warhol originals. Be prepared to queue.
reviewed
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Golden Village
For the ultimate pampered cinematic experience, $25 gets you a ticket to this ‘gold class’ cinema on the 3rd floor of the Great World City mall. There are seats that can be reclined and adjusted with little levers, little tables for your food and drinks, and waiters who take your order. It also has regular theatres (some with huge screens) with normal-priced tickets.
reviewed
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Orgo
This one has the added bonus of Japanese mixologist Tomoyuki Kitazoe crafting crazy drinks such as soursop calamansi martinis in addition to panoramic views of Marina Bay. Air-conditioned glass enclosures available for wilting patrons. Let’s orgo to Orgo!
reviewed
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Beaujolais Wine Bar
A très cute shophouse bar with chequered Montmarte tablecloths, bentwood chairs, slate floors and low-key jazz. It’s a welcome relief from the raft of très chic industrial-looking bars now dotting the city.
reviewed
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Harry’s Bar
Harry’s has spawned an empire of bars across the island but the original is still the best. This financial-district hang-out gained infamy as the haunt of Barings-buster Nick Leeson. Grab a pint and toast his misdeeds.
reviewed
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Alley Bar
Sky-high ceilings, dark timbers, candlelight and slick stylings paint this alleyway bar with restrained melodrama. Yuppies and expats converse in shadowy, cushioned nooks, quaffing wine and on-tap Belgian beers.
reviewed
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Archipelago Brewery
Asia Pacific Breweries (makers of Tiger) decided to jump on the microbrewery bandwagon with their line of yummy Asian-accented beers. This is their flagship pub on a Y-junction on mildly seedy Circular Rd.
reviewed
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Oosters Brasserie
Grab a seat at one of the booths or on a bar stool and order from an extensive list of Belgian beers (Leffe on tap!) and trappist ales (expect Orval and Chimay). Get some mussels cooked any way you like.
reviewed
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Brauhaus Restaurant & Pub
The brick walls and dark wooden furniture in this basement pub, a hidden favourite for over 20 years, give it a distinctly Teutonic vibe. But what really makes the Brauhaus a slice of basement Bavaria is the vast selection of beers from all over the world, 150-plus including obscure names like Old Peculiar Stout, König Ludwig and Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale. Easily the most well-stocked beer house in the area, Brauhaus also boasts live bands from Monday to Saturday from about 8pm until 2am. It also boasts an outdoor pool table and a good menu featuring continental fare.
reviewed
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Wine Network
Tucked away in the Dempsey Rd furniture and antiques ghetto, this is a real find. A small, intimate bar with rough wooden floors and crumbling brick walls lined with wine bottles, where the wine is as cheap or expensive as you like (bottles start at $18, or it’s $7 a glass). Sit inside, or enjoy the sight of the semiderelict colonial barracks and the sound of twittering birds on the deck. Pizzas, German sausages and cheese platters fight off hunger. Get off the bus at stop B03 on Holland Rd; from here it’s a 10-minute walk.
reviewed
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St James Power Station
The latest and greatest posterboy of Singapore's night scene, St James Power Sta-tion is a 1920s coal-fired power station ingeniously converted into an entertainment complex. All the bars and clubs are interconnected, so one cover charge (men/women S$12/10, Wednesday men S$30) gets access to all of them. Some bars - Gallery Bar, Lobby Bar and Peppermint Park - have no cover charge at all. Minimum age is 18 for women and 23 for men at all except Pow-erhouse, where the age is 18 for both.
reviewed
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Cafe Domus
This fantastic chill-out space is located on a seldom-traversed (by tourists) street just around the corner from Little India’s ‘curry belt’. Bare wooden ceilings, peony-painted walls and an opulent Tiffany chandelier are just some of the quirkier decorations of this café-bar frequented by artists, architects and other young professionals in creative industries. The backyard bamboo garden (complete with a narrow platform perch, accessible by spiral staircase) is a particularly intimate touch.
reviewed
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Artoholic
It would have been all too easy for the proprietors of Artoholic to have opened up in an already-happening neighbourhood, but they chose instead the more challenging route of the pioneer. As well as being a showcase for local artists, this cool happening space on Joo Chiat Rd also hosts small-space music performances, open-mic nights, and even the occasional comedy performance starring Singapore-based comic Jonathan Atherton. Beer, wine and cocktails flow freely (but not for free) all night.
reviewed
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Night & Day
Art-school cool meets techno-groove chic at this three-storey bar, gallery and happening space located in a 1950s art deco building, smack in the centre of Singapore’s burgeoning art-student district. The space has a 2nd-floor bar featuring drinks and live music (from grunge and heavy metal to more esoteric stuff), and the 3rd floor has an art-space where local students show their latest work. The second storey is taken up by the architecture studio of co-owner Randy Chan.
reviewed
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Thumper Bar
Taking up a fair chunk of the 1st floor of the beautiful and très elegant Goodwood hotel, Thumper is as high-class a joint as you’d expect – collared shirts, no shorts, and for god’s sake, if you’re wearing Crocs, don’t even think about it. Thumper offers live bands five nights a week (Wednesday is quiet night, and Sundays it’s closed), and has a lovely dance-floor attracting a hip twenty-something crowd.
reviewed
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Eski
The name is derived from the word ‘Eskimo’, and with good reason; Eski is Singapore’s first sub-zero bar, complete with a solid ice bar for downing frozen shots of – what else – vodka. Singapore visitors foolish enough to have forgotten to pack ski parkas needn’t worry, though; loaner winter clothing is available, and a good thing too, as temperatures here plummet to a testicle-shrinking -10°C.
reviewed
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3-Monkeys
Tiger on Tap, cocktails, and yes, Kumar too. 3-Monkeys is the playground of Singapore’s famed transvestite comic, whose riotous review is featured from 11pm until 1am every Friday and Saturday evening. Decor is an eclectic mix of Americana and Asian, and if you get bored waiting for Kumar, you can always stroll upstairs through the famed ‘four floors of whores’, where plenty of other (though probably not as humorous) transvestites loiter.
reviewed
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Dempsey’s Hut
This jovial open-air bar is deep in the thickly forested former British army barracks around Dempsey Rd. Like its nearby wine-bar rivals, it’s worth a visit as one of the few places near the city where you can enjoy a spot of unbridled nature – at a reasonable price too. The tables are laid out under the trees (bring repellent) and the beer costs a meagre $5 per mug, or $20 a jug. There’s also a decent menu.
reviewed
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Singapore Turf Club
The website claims ‘It’s more exciting with horses!’ We’re not sure what ‘it’ entails, but the races sure are rousing. Seats range from grandstand (S$3) up to Hibiscus Room (S$20). Dress code is collared shirt and pants for men; closed shoes for women. Betting is government controlled; check the website for race schedules (usually Friday nights and all day weekends); Kranji MRT station is right outside. Giddy-up.
reviewed
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2am: Dessert Bar
Hip, sweet and chic are the three words that best describe this concept bar and restaurant that pairs the finest wines with some of the best desserts you’ll find in Singapore. The menu itself is fantastic, offering suggestions for what combinations work best, be it tiramisu and Shiraz or caramel mousse and Pinot Noir. Comfortable couches ensure you’ll want to hang around for seconds.
reviewed
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Yixing Yuan Teahouse
Taking time out in a Chinatown teahouse is a great way to relax and to learn about local teas and customs. Start at Yixing Yuan Teahouse, where reformed corporate banker Vincent Low explains everything you need to know about sampling different types of tea. Demonstrations with tastings last around 45 minutes to two hours (S$20 to S$40). The dim sum lunch is popular.
reviewed
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Cake
Singapore's more dynamic and contemporary theatre groups produce both edgy and more accessible works at various venues around town. They often struggle for audiences and funds, but their undoubted passion keeps them alive. Banners advertising shows are usually plastered around town, or check listings in local magazines and newspapers. Cake is a cutting-edge improvisational group.
reviewed
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Singapore Symphony Orchestra
The 1800-seater state-of-the-art concert hall at the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay is home to this respected orchestra, which also graces the Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall. It plays at least once weekly; check the website for details and book in advance. Half-price student and senior (60-plus) discounts are available; kids under six years old are unceremoniously banned.
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The Rooftop
This diminutive and lovely rooftop bar in the pink triangle district offers a secluded respite from the thumping music and crowds of the surrounding area. The bar itself, which barely seats six, serves fine, reasonably priced wine, beer and cocktails. And the outdoor patio, with just enough room for an additional dozen, offers panoramic views of Singapore’s night sky.
reviewed
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California Jam
A little rock 'n' roll bar in Changi Village. Jimi Hendrix posters, beer on tap and the occasional transvestite sex worker gives this place a 'Walk on the Wild Side' vibe. California Jam is part of the strip of bars on Changi Village Rd that's somewhat popular with locals and expats looking to escape the trendy crush of central Singapore.
reviewed