Hopulist Issue 7

A NIGHT ON THE TILES
My hotel during my stay was located in the Little India district
of Singapore – which incidentally I cannot recommend enough
as somewhere to wander around in the day time for incredible
smells, sights and sounds – and as you would expect I’d studied
where the nearest craft beer oasis was. Just a brisk (but warm)
1km walk away from my hotel was probably one of Singapore’s
most individual and stylish craft beer bars: Druggists. Don’t
let the name fool you, it is so called because the building it
lies in used to be a Chinese Druggists Association (basically
a chemist), and the owners have kept many of the original
features – the most striking of which are its blue and white
patterned tiles on the floor. The tiles have become so locally
famous that Druggists uses them as its own branding, featuring
them on beer mats and the likes. The bar is small, humble
and welcoming and reminded me of the type of place you
would find in London – oozing cool and with knowledgable
and passionate staff who were keen to help you choose from
their fantastic array of international beers. Names upon the
chalkboard over the bar included Mikkeller, To Øl, Magic Rock,
Thornbridge and Amager. I enjoyed the farmhouse ale Nul from
To Øl and sat back and breathed in the relaxed and friendly
atmosphere. A group of young professionals spoke excitedly
in English on some kind of after work social, while a Chinesespeaking
family revelled in each other’s company over a board
game I couldn’t quite work out the rules to. This place definitely
had an ‘authentic’ craft bar feel and I spent the next few hours
before bed enjoying the atmosphere.
BUSINESS MEANS BUSINESS
Singapore has a thriving economy – in fact it’s a world
superpower – and at times you could be mistaken for thinking
you were in London’s Canary Wharf. The banking and
finance industry is huge here and there are plenty of affluent
professionals in suits wandering the streets at any time of day
MALAYSIA
• Kuala Lumpur
SINGAPORE
Singapore is an
island city-state
in Southeast Asia.
A global financial
center with a
tropical climate
and multicultural
population.