Draft Land Review: Famous Taiwanese Bar Opens In SG With Iberico Dan Bing And 20 Cocktails On Tap

Draft Land is a famous Taiwanese bar with cocktails on tap

When the 45th best bar in Asia comes to town, you can be sure that it won’t go unnoticed. The accolade may be from 2019, but it hasn’t stopped Draft Land from making waves here when they opened not too long ago. What’s more, they were brought here in collaboration with famed bar Nutmeg & Clove, AKA the current number seven in Asia.

What sets Draft Land apart from other bars in Asia is the 20 taps that you’ll find once you enter the bar—instead of draught beer like you may expect, these taps dispense cocktails. And if you’ve ever had to finish an entire cocktail you didn’t like, Draft Land is here to change that, because here, you can sample every one of the 20 cocktails on offer before you decide which to pick.

A signature drink that’s also on the Taiwan menu is Green Negroni ($15++), which combines pandan, chrysanthemum, ginger, gine, and wine. There’s also a  refreshing Afternoon Tea Punch ($20), starring rum, earl grey, and lime, as well as the Oolong Tea Collins ($15++), a limited-time exclusive comprising osmanthus and plum.

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Food at Draft Land

Something to note is that the selection of food and cocktails at Draft Land SG is different from the other four outposts across Taiwan and Hong Kong. In a nod to their Taiwanese roots, there’s a Braised Pork Arancini ($14+), filled with moreish and tender chunks of the meat.

While we loved the slightly fatty, fall-apart meat, the rice balls were slightly hard, though this could perhaps be due to us not digging in immediately.

The food at Draft Land SG comes in nibble-friendly serves, since they’re meant to accompany the cocktails. I really enjoyed their take on 蛋餅 (dàn bǐng), AKA Egg Pancake (from $14+), which saw non-traditional inclusions such as dill, aged cheddar, and jamon Iberico.

I liked how the egg pancake was quite thin, and not too floury or stodgy. The addition of dill to the pancake filling was a nice flavour contrast to the salty jamon too.

Another interesting take on a Taiwanese street snack is Fried Oysters ($15+): an elevated version of orh ah jian.

Huge, hand-sized fresh oysters are fried in a fluffy, crisp egg batter, dressed with a tart-spicy sauce, and finished with ikura.

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Even my colleague, who doesn’t eat oysters, found this a treat.

Thanks to the IG-sphere, we’d been looking forward to Wagyu Cold Noodles ($16+), with its enticing slice of A4 Wagyu and soy-cured egg yolk.

What we didn’t expect was the nutty soba it came with, whose slighty gritty finish was a little jarring, in our opinions, against the fatty meat.

Tying it all together is toasted goma sauce, while slivers of fresh cucumber and scallion cut through the heavier flavours. I personally would have preferred a finer somen or similar to go with this dish, but that’s just me.

If there’s just one thing you can order, pick Heart Attack Fried Rice ($15+).

It’s just nice for one, and comes with a whole halved and roasted bone marrow, which you could either dig straight into, or scoop out and mix in with the rice.

Then, you have crisp morsels of fried pork lard, and sweetish Taiwanese sausages.

This checks all the boxes: smoky, tasty, and extra indulgent. Your heart will thank you if you can stop at one bowl.

While the cocktails are regularly switched up, the Alishan Bubble Tea ($14+) is one dessert that will stick around. This dessert, as its name suggests, is prepared with Alishan milk tea, churned into a gelato.

As can be expected in any BBT, this dessert comes with pearls—gula melaka pearls—but what sets this apart is the shavings of pecorino cheese that add a savoury touch to the gelato.

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Ambience at Draft Land

As Draft Land is after all, a bar, you won’t find large, sit-down tables in the space. Rather, the walls inside the air-conditioned space are lined with high, cushioned seats, and tall, small bar tables—the eye is not distracted from the long bar counter or the row of taps on the wall.

If you should choose to sit outside, you can pick from a standing counter, and a low, concrete bench. There’s also a DJ console, so you can expect someone spinning there on weekends. Draft Land is an 11-minute walk from Bras Basah MRT Station, seven minutes from Bugis MRT Station, or nine minutes on foot from City Hall MRT Station.

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The verdict

Come if you love cocktails and Taiwanese street snacks. Granted, these are zhnged-up versions of the street food, but they aren’t shabby iterations. We tried Oolong Tea Collins (from $15+)and a Mimosa (from $15+) on our visit, but these might no longer be on the menu when you go. If you are one of those who can never pick the right cocktail based on names and descriptions, you should most definitely give Draft Land a shot.

Right across from Draft Land, you’ll find Chin Chin Eating House, one of the oldest restaurants in Singapore with a history dating back to 1934! Bar hoppers, we’ve got you covered with some of the best bars in town!

Address: 24 Purvis Street, Singapore 188601
Opening hours: Tue-Fri 4pm to 12am, Sat-Sun 2pm to 12am
Tel: 9657 8774
Website
Draft Land is not a halal-certified eatery

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Photos taken by Kaedynce Chew.
This was a media tasting at Draft Land.