Singapore Nightlife

From Track2Asia

Contents 1 Singapore nightlife means fun, fun, fun! 2 Venues in Singapore 2.1 Cool places 2.2 Boat Quay and Clarke Quay 2.3 Orchard Road:

Singapore nightlife means fun, fun, fun!

Whether you want a spot at the karaoke, a loud boisterous place where you can just groove and shake your booty or a cozy little place where you can just unwind as you listen to the music, Singapore has all these and much more.

These are some hotspots to take note of:

• Orchard Road
• The quayside (Clarke, Boat and Robertson quay)
• Mohamed Sultan Road, near Robinson quay
• Chijimes complex off Bras Basah and Stamford roads

Check out the plethora of chic jazz lounges, the hip and fashionable bars, the loud and boisterous nightclubs or the karaoke lounges in these areas. Groove to the rhythm of disco, hip-hop, jazz, reggae, blues, techno, and rap. Name it, the bars and clubs have it. We assure you, sleep will be the farthest thing from your mind as you get caught in the excitement of the party. Mind you, these hotspots are packed, especially during the weekends, and are extremely popular with locals and expats, as well as tourists.

Now, if you want something unique, you can visit ethnic enclave bars that are a rising trend in Singapore. These pubs offer you Punjabi-style bhangra music, Bollywood-style music, Hindi hip-hop, or Hindi pop. Anywhere Bar in Orchard Road (Tanglin Shopping Centre) highlights rock music, Malay style. Another favorite would be O’Reilly’s Irish Bar which features Unwanted (a local band you WILL want to hear). O’ Reilly’s can be found at 86 East Coast Road.

If you want it on the seamier and sleazier side, go to the east coast – the strip comprising Serangoon, Katong to Kallang, and Changi Village. If you did not come here for the authentic local food, then you have come for the bawdy experience offered by the red-light district. The area, Geylang, is one of the leading hunting grounds of prostitution, which is legal in Singapore.

Coming out of the closet, you will see that the gay scene is slowly but surely gaining ground. There are gay bars to be found, especially in Tanjong Pagar in Chinatown.

For more on culture, Singapore boasts of internationally acclaimed orchestras and a number of local theatre and dance troupes. There is the Singapore Symphony Orchestra at Esplanade – Theatres On the Bay, The Singapore Lyric Opera, which performs at the Stamford Arts Centre and the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, an award-winning ensemble that performs classic Chinese interpretations. There are also cultural festivals promoted by the Singapore Tourism Board. As for jazz and blues, you can go to Crazy Elephant (Clarke Quay), Jazz@Southbridge on Boat Quay and Roomful of Blues (Prinsep Street).

Venues in Singapore

Cool places

• Divine Wine Extraordinaire is a great lounge with live music every Mondays to Fridays from 9p.m to midnight. The band plays a variety of music, from pop to jazz standards. Check out the mesmerising singer Umi Yushida. She sings only on Tuesday and Wednesday nights there.
• Loof is an open air bar near North Bridge Road
  
• There are many ethnic festivals during the year
  
• Zouk (17, Jiak Kim Street, 6-738-2988), a hugely popular club, which has been compared with some of the best in Europe, plays mainly techno, house and hip hop to a mostly young crowd. Zouk's music is spun by its seven resident DJs, while regular live acts from visiting artists such as Galliano, Chemical Brothers, Heart and Kylie Minogue are an added draw. Wednesday is Mambo Jambo night, when the club shakes off its techno garb and plays a mix of 70s to 90s pop. For those with an aversion to heavy techno, the Zouk establishment also houses Velvet Underground, where the crowd is slightly older and the music is mainly Soul and Garage. The mood here is sophisticated and futuristic - the walls are adorned in velvet and hung with original modern art works, and the furniture has a Bauhaus feel.
• Adjoining Zouk's main building is Phuture, where the music is a more eclectic mixture of trip hop, drum 'n' bass and down tempo. The decor is a futuristic, space-agey blend of steel, liquids-in-glass-vials and state-of-the-art lighting. As the real action at Zouk and its sister discos don't begin until midnight, the popular place to hang out in the meantime between dinner and dance is the Zouk Wine Bar. This stylish bar is a great place for people-watching.

Boat Quay and Clarke Quay

Boat Quay and Clarke Quay are dotted with restaurants as well as pubs, so the mood here is slightly laid-back and the crowd mixed. The pubs are old Chinese godowns and shophouses given a heartening facelift.

• Harry's Bar (No 28, 6-538-3029), Singapore's best-known jazz joint. The live jazz here is of the more classic variety, although sometimes the music branches out to acid jazz. Harry's is a popular haunt of expatriates, especially those working in the towering skyscrapers nearby. Nick Leeson, the infamous trader who brought down England's Barings Bank, frequented Harry's. They've concocted a drink there in his honor - it's called the Bankbreaker.
• Molly Malone's (42, Circular Road, 6-534-5100) an Irish pub and grill that won the Newsweek International World's Best Bar accolade in 1996. The decor is so authentically Irish that you'd be forgiven for thinking yourself in Ireland, while the mood is friendly and mellow.
• Take a bumboat to nearby Clarke Quay and go to Brewerkz Restaurant & Microbrewery (30 Merchant Road, #01-05 Riverside Point, 6-438-7438). The crowd here is mostly yuppie and expatriate, and the menu consists of pizzas, salads and burgers.
• Crazy Elephant (3E River Valley Road, #01-07 Traders Market Clarke Quay, 6-337-1990) has live blues and rock n' roll bands playing every night. The decor is warm wood, and graffiti.

Orchard Road:

• Venom (Pacific Plaza Penthouse, 9 Scotts Road, 6-734-7677) boasts a state-of-the-art dance floor and a sweeping view of Orchard Road. The theme changes every night, and the music ranges from pop to retro to house.
• Brix (Basement Level, 10-12 Scotts Road 6-730-7107), which is situated in the luxurious Grand Hyatt Hotel. The underground place is lit up with candles, and the decor is warm and woody. The pub's resident band plays every day, and the place also has a great wine bar. Another trendy spot is Bar None (320 Orchard Road, 6-831-4656) at The Marriott Hotel. Bar None's resident band, Energy, is often said to be Singapore's best homegrown music group.
• Sparks (391, Orchard Road, Ngee Ann City Shopping Centre, 6-735-6133). This huge entertainment complex houses a dance floor where retro music booms loud and clear, as well as many karaoke rooms.
• Emerald Hill part of Orchard Road. Peranakan-style shophouses allow you to cradle a glass of Beaujolais at the Que Pasa wine bar (7 Emerald Hill, 6-235-6626), or a mug of frothy Tiger at No. 5 (5, Emerald Hill, 6-732-0818) or Ice Cold Beer (Emerald Hill, 6-735-9929). The latter's specialty is beer - it has over 35 varieties -- chilled in ice tanks. There's also the carnival-like atmosphere of Papa Joe's (180, Orchard Road, Peranakan Place) with its colorful decor and catchy dance music.