FIVE Square - Going Into The Secret Recess

FIVE Square
Great Eastern Centre
Pickering Street

The Recess is a premium whisky bar that brings the ultra-secretive speakeasy experience to the masses. The name is a play on words literally meaning going into a hole in the wall, and to take a break from the hustle and bustle of life in the city. 

Can you spot the "door"?

A dark interior with antler-like lamps makes for an extremely Gothic feel to the deco...

A choice of finger food from the outside outlets are available with you having to step out...

Some of the fascinating props in the room... 

It's really dark in here - the perfect place to have a private session over casual or business conversations...

Gleaming glasses available to be filled with your choice in private comfort...

The Recess features a wide selection of premium and rare whiskies in an elegant setting without the exorbitant prices of a premium private bar, e.g.:

• Nikka Whisky by Masataka Taketsuru, the first Japanese ever to study the art of whisky making
• Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon, made in small batches and aged 9 years, big on oak, caramel and fruit, and with expansive notes of maple sugar and toasted nuts
• Bowmore, the Islay malt, widely acknowledged to be among the finest and most perfectly balanced single malts in the world
• Triple-distilled Auchentoshan with the highest distillate of any single malt distillery in Scotland and strong notes of fruit and citrus

The selection of premium and rare whiskies from all over the world...

 

There is even a ladder to access to the bottles located on a higher rack...

 The privacy of your chill time here is guaranteed with the two-way mirror windows...

... More on FIVE Square ...

|  4 Concepts  |  The Bar  |  Artisan Market  |

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FIVE Square - 4 Concepts, 1 Artisan Market

FIVE Square
Great Eastern Centre
Pickering Street

FIVE Square, the new flagship outlet of the FIVE Bar Group is now operating the full 13,000 square feet space at street level of the Great Eastern with 4 uniquely-tailored concepts, each signifying a corner that makes up the wholesome dining and chillout place that is FIVE Square.

• The Bar is the raison d'être for FIVE - synonymous with the renowned $5 food and drink specials offered all-day, every-day;
     
• The Wine Cellar, a charming little corner overlooking the busy cross junction into the CBD with over a hundred labels of quality wines;
    
• The Recess is a premium whisky bar in a "secret" room; and
    
• The Bazaar is a novel concept that serves as a gourmet food hall with five gourmet stalls offering a variety of cuisine.

A centralized easy-to-order system near the drinks stall. All you have to do is to select from the online menu and pay with cash or credit card...

GogiBox offers quick-serve Korean food, priced affordably from $8.50 a plate...

The menu from Grub Noodle Bar with their awesome dry pork noodles...

For the more "atas", there's always Foie Gras and Seafood Paella from Cingo Tapas, a spin-off from the popular Five Tapas Bar at Cuppage Terrace...

Or try out their very affordable Seafood Pizza at just $15...

Teppei from Tanjong Pagar is here at FIVE Square. Manned by his Japanese chefs with their passionate culinary expertise, the outlet here offers don and Izakaya snacks for the dining and after-work drink crowd...

A healthy concept from The Soup Spoon team - Omnivore offers hearty salads for the

Herbivores ($6.80), perfectly grilled meat platters for the Carnivores ($16.80) and a combination of

both for the Omnivores ($12.80). There is a whole selection of sausages, pork cutlets,

chicken breast, steaks, sauces and salad dressings to choose from to create your own perfect

plate of healthy goodness or go for the Carnivore sample platter ($24.80) to try everything...

Comfortable spacious interior for dining and drinks...

On Saturdays, an Artisan Market beckons. Hosting up to 30 stalls featuring a mix of artisans and lifestyle vendors selling an extensive blend of products and services ranging from hand-made accessories, arts & crafts, fashion apparels, decor, home-ware items and more, the Market brings a wonderfully fresh alternative to the retail mix in your typical city mall.

... More on FIVE Square ...

|  The Bar  |  The Recess  |  Artisan Market  |
  

  

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FIVE Square - Weekend Fun At The Artisan Market

FIVE Square

Great Eastern Centre

Pickering Street

Happening every Saturday at FIVE Square, The Artisan Market hosts up to 30 stalls featuring a mix of artisans and lifestyle vendors selling an extensive blend of products and services ranging from hand-made accessories, arts & crafts, fashion apparels, interior decor, homeware items and more, bringing a wonderfully vibrant alternative to the nearby office buildings.

Participating artisans and lifestyle vendors showcase a plethora of handmade and custom-designed craft - from clay miniatures to crochet bears to bottle lamps.

Clay miniatures as earrings or decorative displays...

They come in all shapes and sizes too...

Nothing is more endearing than handmade patchwork toys...

Exquisite wire-crafted animals...

Leading the green initiative? 

Go for these homemade candles with no preservatives and harsh chemicals...

Or consider a self-sustaining terrarium...

Christmas comes early with these alcohol bottle lamps...

There are even things for The Little Ones - 

Go on a ride in a sleek convertible, or get an adorable helium-filled doggy...

And after buying everything that is cool, unique or adorable...

For more information, go to www.artisanmarket.sg or fivebar.sg.

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District 10 - Ambience To Chill

District 10
Suntec City Mall
Central, Singapore
September 2015

The countertop in District 10 is a showcase of all things butchery. And seems like a movie set straight out of the movie Saw. Its bespoke butcher's block is cleaver-ready for any hungry customer's specific request.

Watch out! The saw with its sharp edges longer than your arm's length hangs by the side...

You could really imagine these lights fizzling out any time!

That looks like one nasty cleaver! Careful with the neck...


Bad reviewers will be quartered and weighed...

Well... that is until you realize that the owners and staff here are really fun people!

Here's resident chef, Luca Pezzera, with a huge smile, and owner, Serena there with the rest of us enjoying the light-hearted atmosphere...

Wines

To perfectly balance its dry-aged meat concept, District 10 brings in a wide selection of the finest reds and whites, including Zonin Wines hailing from vineyards in north-east Italy. Founded almost 200 years ago, the Zonin family vineyard has its roots in Gambellara, a wine growing region in the heart of Veneto. The house produces a wide range of wines, many of them from varieties native to the regions in which the grapes are grown.

A welcome to the event by Francesco, with his baby pink suit...

To start off the evening, the Zonin Prosecco, a sparkling white was served. Deriving its name forom a little hillside town near Trieste, the must is split into two batches - half of which undergoes an initial fermentation, while the remaining half stored as unfermented must. Unlike the traditional fermentation, whereby the second fermentation happens in bottle, the house uses the Charmat Method where the second fermentation takes place in a large closed pressure tank.

The result is a pale, straw yellow sparkling wine with subtle green hues. Merlion Wayfarer especially likes the pleasing fruity notes with an aromatic citrus finish.

While sampling the reds, the fascinating story about the origin of the Black Rooster for the Chianti wines was shared.

In Medieval times, Florence and Siena went through many bloody battles over who should rule the hills of Chianti. In fact, so much blood was shed that they finally decided to settle this once and for all, and came up with a rather unique way of doing it. They decided that two horsemen should depart at the same time from Siena and Florence and travel towards each other. Where the horsemen met the borders would be drawn. As it was a challenge to synchronize the start off times, unlike in modern days, they decided that the crow of a rooster would define the departure time in each city. 

The Sienesi chose a white rooster and fed him well the night before, hoping that a well-fed rooster would crow with more determination and strength. The Florentines, instead, chose a black rooster and kept the poor bird hungry - hoping that a hungry rooster would get up and crow earlier. Indeed, the Florentines were right. Their rooster was up well before dawn crowing desperately in demand of food and their horseman started riding much before Siena's horseman.

The Florentine horseman made it to almost 12 kilometres outside the Siena walls before he was met by his counterpart. This claimed, practically, all of Chianti for Florence and established the black rooster as symbol of Chianti up to this day.

Fermentation is allowed to progress until the wine has obtained 7% alcohol. To preserve the grape's natural sugar content, refrigeration is used to give the wine its unique sweet and fragrant characteristics. A golden wine results, with intense scents of peaches and exotic fruits.

Top off the evening with a Cafe Latte - 

Served with full-bodied beans and a double-shot espresso base...

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