Zui Hong Lou
To kick off the first post of our publication, we shall review the restaurant and bar Zui Hong Lou (醉红楼) at Club St. How we found this place was completely by chance, we passed by and decided to pop in. We were only there for drinks although it seems like this place serves some really great food too.
We made it for the happy hour (yay) so the signature cocktails and highballs were only $8 each (before 9PM).
J: My favourite drink of the night was definitely the Apple Whisky Highball because I’ll love anything sweet and it reminded me of a warm and hearty apple pie. I also had the Nanhai margarita, which was supposedly their specialty. It was enjoyable and truly had a very local taste to it, I suppose, as a result of the smoked plum and lime in it. It also came with Szechuan salt on the rim which was…prickly.
K: Chutney Mojito was pretty normal. There weren’t any hints of Chutney in the drink; all the spices must have been overshadowed by the lime and soda. On the other hand, the Chrissy Highball was an interesting mix! The slight bitterness of tonic and the floral taste of chrysanthemum paired really well together.
Because we hung around so long, the kind bartender made us a drink on the house. I have to say that this peanut infused gin and tea cocktail was surely interesting. It reminds me of satay sauce, but not as savory.
On the whole, while the local touch on the drinks made it an interesting experience, there wasn’t a particular drink that left a deep impression on me. The prices were reasonable (even without happy hour), but if I were to come back to Zui Hong Lou, it would be because of the atmosphere. Unlike most bars blaring with loud music, the comfortable bar seats and dim lighting provided a cosy environment for chatting, while sipping slowly at our drinks.
We rate this place:
Drinks: 3/5
Ambience: 5/5
