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That's one cocktail each from a menu of "starters", "main courses", and "desserts", and they're not food, but all culinary cocktails from a derivative mix of comfort Cantonese and Singaporean dishes.
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I've tried nearly the whole menu of cocktails there, and these are my recommendations:
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Under the "Drinks" category:
* Longevity Spitzer ($16), an adaptation of the highball with chrysanthemum infused gin, Suze and tonic for a delicate and refreshing sipper.
* Yuen Yeung ($20), is a White Russian take of its namesake with Oolong infused rum, Kahlua and milk foam to convey freshly stirred cups served at coffee houses along the streets.
* Homemade Soup ($22), served in a teacup with a cube of Osmanthus jelly, an oriental expression of Dry Martini with pours of Chrysanthemum gin, Lillet Blanc, Benedictine Dom, wolfberries and dried tangerine.
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Under the "Mains" category:
* My Favourite Roast ($22) made with Remy Martin VSOP, homemade char siu syrup, calamansi, cucumber and chili padi. It's an encapsulation of Char Siu Rice, complete with its staple chili sauce.
* Supper Sipper ($22), a teapot of Bak Kut Teh broth with Bulleit Rye, balanced with Oolong syrup and You Tiao.
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From the "Desserts" category:
* Herbal Remedy ($22), a medicinal soup of Whisky, Campari, Lillet Blanc, Osmanthus honey and Gui Ling Gao for bittersweet, spirit-forward scoops.
* Narcissus ($18), featuring stirs of Earl Grey Gin, lychee liqueur, St. Germaine and pink grapefruit;
* Sweet Soup ($20), a Cheng Teng-inspired knock-out of Whisky, longan vermouth and pandan syrup.
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Mona Lounge’s latest menu is a derivative mix of comfort Cantonese and Singaporean dishes. The cocktails are sectioned into courses of Drinks, Mains and Desserts, playing to Head Bartender Edwin’s forte in crafting culinary cocktails.
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This drink belongs to the category of Mains, and is an encapsulation of Char Siu Rice, complete with a slice of roasted pork and the staple chili sauce. It tastes a lot like the sauce used poured over your char siew rice, with Remy Martin VSOP, with calamansi juice to cut through its weight. While most flavours of char siew and it's sauce can be recreated in the drink, the fats was deliberately left out, and served separately as the roast pork. It can then can paired with the drink to add that dimension.
This isn't tea, nor soup. It's a cocktail, and it's inspired by bak kut teh. It has bak kut teh broth with Bulleit Rye, balanced with Oolong syrup and served with You Tiao. For two different tasting experience, first drink the bak kut teh cocktail on its own, before soaking the you tiao in it.
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This can be found at Mona Lounge, which has started serving cocktails from a menu of "starters", "main courses", and "desserts", and they're all cocktails. They also have a three course cocktail menu, which I'll be sharing about later.
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Mona Lounge is located on the second floor of a preserved shophouse along Boon Tat Street, and it's Sum Yi Tai’s back-room cocktail bar fashioned as a tribute to 80s Hong Kong. Refreshed to elevate senses of nostalgia, the lounge now welcomes a new menu of Cantonese food-inspired tipples and an ambiance amp with classic Cantonese vinyl.
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[Tasting]
"At that red teahouse, we finally exchange vows". This intimate space transports you to the glamourous period of 1980s Hong Kong with mahjong tables and cosy leather seats, but it's hidden from public view. Access can be requested at Sum Yi Tai, where you ask to see Mona and be presented with a unique code for a locked door that leads to Mona Lounge; or via reservations at drink@monalounge.com where the passcode will be provided upon confirmation.
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And this cocktail gives you a glimpse into Mona's past. The modernised Asian cocktail menu combines the expertise of Head Bartender Byron Tan and Group Chief Bartender Sam Wong. I started my cocktail journey here with this Mona’s Tea, a cognac-based cocktail made with oolong PX sherry and Fernet Branca, beautifully presented in a teacup. Served with salted egg chocolate made by Singapore’s own craft chocolatier Fossa Chocolate, the sweetness from the cognac is perfectly balanced with the bitterness of the Fernet Branca, elevated with a touch of oolong PX sherry.
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I've also tried 3 other cocktails here, as I had the lovely company of Mona Lounge owners Eu Yen and Sandra who wanted me to try a couple of their favorite drinks. I found that they are sufficiently complex yet very well balanced. This would be one of my favourite places to come for a drink after work. Moreover, the ambience here is perfect to have a drink by yourself, and it's chill enough to hold conversations with a friend.
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What a lovely place. And I wonder if I would see Mona here one day.
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[Tasting]
"My drink in the bitter cold. When there's much heartache and some bitterness" - Mona.
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This is Pi Pa Gao, but it aren't just Pi Pa Gao. This is the creation from the mixologists of Mona Lounge (@life_of_mona), which has Bulleit Rye and Angostura Bitters added to it as well.
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I've also tried 3 other cocktails here, as I had the lovely company of Mona Lounge owners @euyentay and @sandrasim who wanted me to try a couple of their favorite drinks. I found that they are sufficiently complex yet very well balanced. This would be one of my favourite places to come for a drink after work. Moreover, the ambience here is perfect to have a drink by yourself, and it's chill enough to hold conversations with a friend.
Spirit-forward herbal tea for the soul. Congrats guys. I’ll be back for those 50s Shanghai vibe.