Beyond raising awareness of such ingredients, Asian bars are also increasingly leading the conversation surrounding sustainability. Notable among these are Singapore’s Native, Bangkok’s Mahaniyom, and Seoul’s Zest, all zero-waste bars that focus on sourcing locally and using every part of an ingredient—from leaves and flowers to peels and stems.
This shift towards thoughtful drinking experiences is happening across the continent, with relatively newer cocktail markets in East and Southeast Asia like Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, and Ho Chi Minh City earning international attention in recent years—including on the separate Asia’s 50 Best list. And perhaps the most exciting aspect of World’s 50 Best Bar’s first outing in Singapore is that it foreshadows recognition for even more bars, cities, and countries nearby.
“I’ve been to the World’s 50 Best a few times in other countries, and I never imagined it would be in Asia because our scene was so small back then,” said Shelley Tai, general manager at Nutmeg & Clove and The Last Word. “But now there are so many—I’ve seen bars in Thailand, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam are all very strong—and they all have their own style. In Asia, each country has such a long history, and its own story to tell.”
5 exciting bars to check out in Asia
Zest, Seoul
This zero-waste cocktail bar launched in 2020 by the bartender quartet of Demie Kim, Sean Woo, Jisu Park, and Noah Kwon likewise takes an all-around approach to ingredients. A signature drink, the Jeju Garibaldi breaks down local hallabong tangerines, redistilling the citrus peels into the house gin, and turning spent pulp into a cordial. Other earth-friendly measures include sourcing honey from local beekeepers, and banning aluminum: All sodas and tonic water are crafted and carbonated in-house. Zest joined the World’s 50 Best Bars list for the first time at number 18, earning the Highest New Entry Award sponsored by Disaronno.
Coa, Hong Kong
As much as Asian ingredients have proliferated global bar menus, so have Asian bars embraced international flavors. Ranked at number 20 on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, Coa may perhaps be credited for turning Hong Kong into a tequila-loving town. Opened in 2017 by bartender Jay Khan, the Oaxacan-inspired bar serves tequila and mezcal cocktails under an expansive mural of the agave goddess Mayahuel. At 20-some pages, Coa’s spirits list offers Hong Kong’s most comprehensive collection of agave spirits.
Hope & Sesame, Guangzhou
Opened in 2016 behind a traditional Cantonese shop in old-town Guangzhou, this ambitious, cocktail bar features a visually dynamic, regularly rotating menu that fuses modern, scientific techniques—like centrifugal clarification and sous vide infusions—with global flavors including traditional Asian ingredients like pandan leaves, coconuts, and Korean gochujang. Located through a secret door, a jazz bar offers live entertainment. It came in at number 74 on the top 100 list this year.
Stay Gold Flamingo, Singapore
As a testament to the longstanding cocktail culture of Singapore, many homegrown talents who cut their chops at iconic first-generation establishments are now moving on to open their own independent projects. Among these are star-tender Jerrold Khoo, a one-time Jigger & Pony apprentice who rose up the ranks to bar manager. In 2021, Khoo joined forces with fellow bartender Bai JiaWei, formerly of Employees Only Singapore, to open Stay Gold Flamingo, a two-part venue: Flamingo pours daytime coffee and low-ABV cocktails, while Stay Gold serves timeless classic cocktails juxtaposed against updated “alter egos.” Most recently, it landed the number 32 spot on the list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars.
Hybrid, Ho Chi Minh City
A pioneer of molecular mixology in Vietnam’s sprawling commercial capital, Hybrid serves cocktails that look deceptively simple while packing complexity in every sip. Created by owner Liam Duong and bartender Phil Tran, the bar’s ever-changing cocktail list is a love letter to Southeast Asian ingredients and specifically Vietnamese culinary flavor profiles—with recent menus making use of local varieties of mango, bitter melon, calamansi, anchovy, and a distillate of Vietnamese jungle pepper. Hybrid opened in 2022 in Saigon, but an earlier location in the central coast city of Nha Trang debuted in 2019, and cracked the Asia’s 100 Best list at number 96.
