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Best After-Work Bars in Asia:
Transform Your Look From Desk To Drinks
for the Happy Hours
After a long day of hard work in the office, it’s time to give yourself a pat and turn on the TGIF mode to unwind and bottoms up!
Whether it’s a glass of craft beer, cocktail, gin or wine, read on for our top picks for the happy hours and style tips on how to transform your look from desk to drinks while enjoying yourself at the best after-work bars in Asia.
Atlas Bar, Singapore
Photo: Bloomberg
Where: Parkview Square, 600 North Bridge Road, Singapore 188778
This one probably does not need further introduction. Be in awe with just the spectacular look of the interior – the grand Art Deco Lobby and Bar! For lovers of gins and champagnes, you are in for a treat! With over 1,000 gins and 250 champagnes available from the gilded bar, there’s bound to be something that agrees with your palate. Inspired by the roaring ‘30s, their gins are mixed into a collection of cocktails and a favourite would be the Café Royal Special concocted with London dry gin, pineapple, sloe berry gin, champagne and Italian sweet vermouth.
Featured style: B1711-53 Pleated Pointy Front Kitten Heel
What to wear:Fitting for the grande dame of fashion! For a luxe touch by pairing a velvet skirt with a basic top, a look suitable for the 9 to 5 look and transform come nightfall. Simply slip into a pair of pointy front kitten heels after work and you’re all set for your post-work relaxation session.
Speak Low, Shanghai, China
Photo: TK Hunt
Where: 579 Fuxing Zhong Road, Huangpu District, 200025 Shanghai, China
Awarded the 2018 Heering Legend of the List for the bar that has been consistent in the award for Asia’s 50 Best Bars, jet set to Tokyo-born bartender Shingo Gokan’s Shanghai-based Speak Low speakeasy bar. Discover the secret doorway in a cocktail shop, leading to this busy Japanese-style bar spanning four floors, each with its own unique style.
The ground floor serves well-wrought New York staples and signatures, and the second floor consists of more well-curated spirits with a touch of Japanese style while the third floor serves premium in-house styled drinks with a pricier tag. A must-try is the Speak Low cocktail that is mixed with Bacardi Superior, Bacardi 8, matcha and Pedro Ximenez sherry. If you are hoping to venture into the fourth floor, you must be one of the super exclusive 32 club members to enter which house rare Japanese whiskeys and Scotch that belongs to them. Expect the full house on the weekends, so make a reservation in advance!
Featured style: 1359-75 Embellished Slingback Flats
What to wear: Go effortlessly chic for a modern look to go all the way this season. Exude casual downtown girl vibes in an easy one-piece chambray dress and add a touch of classiness in a slingback pair of flats with a gleaming diamante for every minimalist.
Keepers, Seoul, South Korea
Photo: Time Out
Where: B1, 87-9 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, 06014 Seoul, Korea
Despite its seemingly deceiving name, nothing is for keepers at this innovative basement bar in Cheongdam – one that prides itself on novelty by introducing guest bartenders and refreshed cocktail menus regularly. The drinks list is refreshed frequently with themes from Scandinavian to Italian tipples, with new faces including cocktail shakers and movers welcomed for competitions and special events. Don’t miss out on head bartender Laki Koo’s signature tipple K. Blast, a mix of tequila, pineapple, rosso and kimchi!
Featured style: 7123-10 Bejewelled Sleek Heels
What to wear:Layer a vest over a basic top and neutral coloured skinny jeans and slip into a bejewelled pair of sleek heels for a boardroom-commanding yet ladylike look. Touch up your makeup after working hours, and you’re set to head straight from desk to drinks. Just be sure that you have great companions for a safe ride home after all the fun!
