SINGAPORE

The city-state's roster of award-winning drinking dens includes stellar hotel bars, sleek speakeasies and reimagined Chinatown shophouses. For a real taste of Singapore's spirit, there's no better introduction than its cocktail scene

- DELLE CHAN

It's almost dinnertime in Singapore and I'm about to polish off an Oyster Omelette. I'm not at one of the city's celebrated open-air hawker centres tucking into the beloved local dish - a glorious mass of crispy, gooey eggs studded with succulent bivalves - but I'm sitting in a bar, enjoying a cocktail of the same name.

The bright yellow concoction is creamy and delightfully rich in umami - startlingly reminiscent of the dish it pays homage to. As bartender Josh reveals, the cocktail's base is a distillate of oysters harvested from the waters off Pulau Ubin, a small island northeast of Singapore's mainland. The drink is topped with miso-cured egg foam, coriander shoots, a smattering of Kampot pepper and a dash of Shaoxing rice wine. And it's served in a cup made from oyster shells, no less.

The oyster omelette is one of many inventive tipples at Native, a laid-back, two-storey bar in Singapore's Chinatown, where colourful heritage shophouses sit in the shadow of the city's soaring skyscrapers. Opened in 2016, the bar celebrates local and regional spirits, ingredients and flavours, while producing as little waste as possible (which explains the creative barware). To this end, many of its ingredients are cured, pickled or fermented to extend their shelf life. "In a small place like Singapore, sourcing can be a challenge," says owner Vijay Mudaliar. "Sometimes we get great produce, so I'm always thinking of ways to extract and lengthen those flavours. And other times we get produce that isn't as fresh, but can be fermented," he adds, gesturing to the rows of pickling jars lining the shelves.