COCONUTS HOT SPOT — Club 39 is a chi-chi members-only club in a gorgeous Duxton Hill shophouse, upper floors outfitted with a gym, lounge and workspace for those who can shell out the $2,000-a-year membership and get the nod of the six-person interview panel.
But if you can’t be bothered with that, the bar on the ground floor, Tapas 39, is open to the public. Local cocktail guru Mark Graham Thomas imagines Tapas 39 as a friendly bar where everyone knows your name. Well, the staff may remember, but don’t be surprised if you forget yours after downing glass after glass of innocuous-sounding drinks like Bacon & Pancakes ($25; salted butter bacon bourbon, homemade blueberry and maple syrup) and Teapot ($24; earl grey- and lavender-infused geranium gin, Indian rose water drops).
For the lightweights, the $10 Mood Switchers use home-made tonics and are named after their intended effect: Lethargic, to boost your energy; Hangover, to hydrate and refresh you; Nervous, to calm you down.
The kitchen, helmed by a Chilean chef, gives a serious (and sometimes unneccesary) sous-vide spin on tapas perennials like grilled octopus drizzled with chorizo oil and topped with ikura ($30), and the Iberian pork burger ($18) that was on the dry side.
There’s also sea urchin topped with Champagne ($20) overpowered by the gratin, and grilled lamb skewers served with mint couscous and muhamarra sauce ($20) with an offal aftertaste.
But the dish that will give you the most (guilty) pleasure is the squid-ink risotto that uses Aquarello rice (it has been called the Rolls-Royce of rice) and a barely-cooked red prawn ($18) imported from Sicily. The carbon footprint, unfortunately, is worth it.
39 Duxton Hill; www.facebook.com/club39tapasbar, +65 6221 4235. Daily 11.30am-midnight.
Grilled octopus, chorizo oil and ikura on a bed of mashed potatoes ($30).
Sea urchin au gratin topped with champagne ($20).
Squid ink Aquarello rice with Sicilian red prawn ($18).
