Kaya toast and cocktails together at last: Bitters and Love’s signature drink is our cocktail of the week
By day, it’s a Honeycombers haunt on Telok Ayer for damn good coffee and toasties – and goes by the name Free the Robot. After six, it re-opens as Bitters and Love, and it’s where we head for rounds of after-work drinks… and several hours later, impromptu karaoke thanks to the B&L team’s excellent taste in music. (Apologies to everyone who’s encountered us there after midnight, and to the infinitely patient staff.) Can you tell this is one of our fave bars in Singapore?
What do we always order? Bitters and Love’s signature tipple: the Kaya Toast cocktail. And yes it comes with a piece of toast with a dollop of kaya jam on top. (Bar snack, right there!) Head bartender Naz Arjuna (who’s been voted one of the Top 25 Bartenders in Singapore, FYI) tells us the drink was shaken up for some customers who wanted something interesting and off-menu. Five years later, it’s been joined by the similarly patriotic craft cocktail Nonya Confessions, which references pandan and gula Melaka in its mix, but the Kaya Toast remains the bar’s most popular drink. And yes, there have been imitators.
Naz admits he’s got a sweet tooth – hence the peach liqueur and honey stirred in with the kaya – it hits the spot without being OTT. What else is in it? Rum, English breakfast tea, citrus and egg white – served in a custom jam jar. It’s quirky; we love the kitsch factor. Don’t ever take it off the menu, Bitters & Love.
Bitters and Love, 118 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068587
Opening hours:
Monday to Thursday, 6pm – 12am
Friday to Saturday 6pm – 2am
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