Your favourite bar’s favourite bar: Native’s Vijay Mudaliar on where you can get the best Negronis in town

SINGAPORE – Bar industry veteran Vijay Mudaliar has made a name for himself by spearheading two of Singapore’s most acclaimed and unusual bar concepts: Native and Analogue Initiative.

“When we started, there wasn’t really a bar that wanted to highlight locality and regionality – things that are familiar to us,” the 35-year-old says of Native and the story behind it. 

“Even now, it’s always about imported produce and ideas. We wanted to be a bit more raw and authentic, representing this time and place, where we’re from and who we are.”

Native, located in Amoy Street and launched in 2016, stands out in the local nightlife scene with its focus on ingredients and flavours from South-east Asia.

Mr Mudaliar’s other venture, Analogue Initiative, founded in 2021, specialises in sustainably sourced decor and ingredients.

His journey was not without challenges. “In the beginning, we had a lot of pushback, especially in the first two years of running Native,” says the industry veteran of over 17 years. 

“Sometimes our ideas might have jump-started too early. It took a while for people to get used to it. After a lot of international bartenders came and really liked it, word spread, and we started to get a bit of recognition.”

That recognition is now evident. Native was ranked 67th on the World’s 50 Best Bars list for 2024, climbing 16 spots from its position in 2023.

Meanwhile, Analogue Initiative took 35th place in the list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars for 2024. However, it is closing in November as it seeks a new location following the expiration of its lease at Chijmes.

Signature drinks at Native include the Peranakan ($28), a kueh salat-inspired cocktail which features a blend of clarified milk punch made with local goat’s milk, along with jackfruit rum, laksa leaves and gula melaka. Jackfruit seed is grated over the drink as a finishing touch.

Another standout is the Pineapple Arrack ($28), which uses pineapple skins, coconut, Sri Lankan spices and Ceylon Arrack, a Sri Lankan spirit made from distilled coconut palm sap.

A guiding principle behind Mr Mudaliar’s endeavours is having clients walk away with new knowledge or lingering questions, be it from learning about regional spirits or seeing how plastic waste can be repurposed into decor at Analogue Initiative.

Native itself features a sprawling, hand-sculpted concrete-and-copper one-piece bar top that resembles the hull of a ship, and harkens back to the Amoy Street area’s seafaring roots.

After eight years of helming Native, Mr Mudaliar is focused on elevating regional ingredients in new and surprising ways. He is creating a durian cocktail that appeals even to those who are not fans of the spiky green fruit.

“A lot of people go into bars with personal expectations, but I always feel like you should try to see what the bar is doing,” he says. “If a bar is focusing on classics, go for classics. If it’s more experimental, you should be open to experimenting.”

With that, The Straits Times asks Mr Mudaliar about his favourite spots and hidden gems in Singapore’s bar scene.

What is a hidden gem in the bar scene that most do not know about?

If you want some really solid classics, go to Shin Gi Tai in Telok Ayer Street. You have to ring the bell to get in, and Anthony Zhong (the proprietor) serves only the people he wants to serve.

He has been doing this for a long time. He’s really picky about his customer profile, and you should make reservations.

Not everybody is allowed in – that place really is his own speakeasy and private space.

I love what Anthony does, and his joint is where you can get the best negronis in town.

What is your favourite bar in Singapore, other than your own?

RPM in Duxton Road. It’s a Japanese shochu vinyl cocktail bar that’s my go-to date night spot with my wife. It has a warm and cosy feeling, and my wife loves its cocktails.

We have many memories there because after a long day, it’s a great place to unwind in an ambience that really takes the stress away.

It’s not too fast-paced, and the cocktails – which are all shochu-based – are great. I feel like I’m learning something new each time. And the music is great because of its vinyl collection.

What is the most novel bar concept that you have encountered here?

Fura in Amoy Street is something to watch. Sasha Wijidessa (one of the co-founders) and I used to work together, and I think a lot of our ideas overlap.

Fura looks at future foods and uses substitutes for farmed ingredients. Overall, it has a really nice drinks programme.

Is there a go-to spot for unwinding after work?

There’s a selection of late-night bars here like 28 HongKong Street, Deadfall Cantina and Barbary Coast, but a new place that all the bartenders are going to is Bae’s Cocktail Club in Tanjong Pagar Road.

We’re part of the beverage programme there, so we make a point of going down to check in. I think it’s the first place that is going for high-volume sales and catering to cocktail drinkers – which are things you do not typically associate with each other.

We handle the cocktails, but it runs the service with really high energy, and that’s what makes our relationship work.