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Time Out
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Check out this new Australian restaurant on Ann Siang Hill with a hidden underground bar
Tranquil by day, buzzy by night – Ann Siang Hill and Club Street are home to some of the best-kept secrets of Singapore's food and drink scene. This year, the trendy locale welcomes an Australian bistro and hidden underground bar, taking over the corner unit at the famous three-way intersection beside Ann Siang Hill Park. The new Club Street Laundry is anything but a laundromat, but the restaurant does pay homage to its past life as Hup San Laundry, frequented by second-generation immigrants nearly a century ago. The 'Hup San' name also lives on in Hup San Social Club, a cocktail bar inspired by the many Chinese social clubs that once lined the street in the early 1900s. If you're looking for a place to people-watch, Club Street Laundry fits the bill perfectly. The breezy, open-concept bistro has high tables perched along walkways, staring out at the charming shophouses around the neighbourhood. You'll quickly spot the happy hour board splashed out with $15 house wines, tap cocktails, and full-pint Peronis from 4pm to 7pm on weekdays. View this post on Instagram A post shared by @clubstreetlaundry The menu is positioned as modern-Australian, but really, Chef Justin Hammond (previously from Neon Pigeon and Underdog Inn) works his way around any and every flavour profile just fine, with dishes based off his travels around the world. We have no qualms devouring the flame-grilled beef cheeks which sit atop a bed of buttery mash ($33). Cooked overnight in a master-stock of dashi, orange peel, star anise and other spices, the beef comes out fork-tender without even a need for chewing, and the ahi verde (a type of South American pesto) adds pleasant acidity to each bite. Despite our biases against the usual beurre blanc, fennel, dill and fish combination, the charcoal-grilled sea bream ($31) turns out excellently executed. Pickled fennel graces the top of the sea bream for a respite from the richness of that lemon-caper sauce, and the fish is as fresh as it gets, with a nice and slightly bitter char on the skin. The charred leeks ($15) are Chef Justin's memories of his mother's stuffed chicken and leek dish on a plate. Garlic croutons stand in place of chicken stuffing, while fried sage leaves are added for an herby touch. Even the gravy is a sticky, collagen-rich chicken stock reduction. But for an easy table favourite, order the wood-fired mushrooms ($15) instead, featuring king oyster and maitake mushrooms with celeriac cream and chives. Some seven cocktails (from $18) grace the menu here, most of which are on the refreshing, spritzy end of the spectrum. These are all courtesy of June Baek, Hup San's Beverage Director. For a true taste of Baek's mastery, you'll want to retreat into Hup San Social Club once you're done with dinner for the full experience. A flight of stairs down from behind Club Street Laundry's kitchen will take you to the snug 12-seater bunker (previously home to Ssal Bar) buzzing with energy and some of the warmest hospitality we've received in a while. Baek has honed her craft across South Korea and Vietnam, followed by stints at Madame Fan and MO Bar in Singapore. Now, in her very own space, she shakes up cocktails inspired by both her Korean heritage and local Singaporean flavours. HSSC's debut menu Do What Brings You Joy is a two-pager spread of 14 cocktails, with interesting savoury concoctions like Cold Soup ($26), Achar ($25), and The French Fries 2.0 ($26). Having heard rave reviews of Baek's Cold Soup, we make a mental note not to leave without trying it. The tipple is a clever reimagination of oi-naengguk, a summer dish popular in Ulsan, Baek's hometown. First impressions: the drink is presented in a metal cup reminiscent of Korean stainless steel crockery, and we get a faint whiff of fresh cucumbers off the bat. Don't let that fool you though – the Tokki Soju hits hard, while apple vinegar adds a punchy sting, followed by the distinct taste of kelp dashi and a nutty hint of sesame. Baek recommends the Camellia ($25) for those who love sour flavour profiles. The rum, galangal, and rose blend is one that's close to her heart, having first debuted as a competition cocktail. Meanwhile, The French Fries 2.0 is as irreverent as it gets, featuring Monkey Shoulder whisky infused with fries, Heinz ketchup, tomato, chilli, and salt. Find out more about Club Street Laundry and Hup San Social Club here.
Business Times
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Hup San Social Club is a love letter to Singapore's early Chinese immigrants
[SINGAPORE] A century ago, Club Street was a hotbed of Chinese social clubs, where immigrants caroused. Today, a new speakeasy wants to recreate that convivial spirit. Located at the crossroads of Club Street and Ann Siang Hill, Hup San Social Club is a cosy and clandestine hideout tucked away in the basement of a shophouse. Occupying the ground floor is sister restaurant Club Street Laundry – cafe by day and modern Australian eatery-cum-wine bar by night. The names of both concepts pay tribute to the building's previous occupant in the early 1990s: a laundromat called Hup San Laundry. Co-owner and beverage director June Baek hopes for Hup San Social Club to be a 'friendly neighbourhood bar' that brings people together – just as Club Street's social clubs did in the old days. 'We want to make this a new gathering spot for second-generation immigrants such as ourselves,' says Baek, who hails from South Korea. Her three co-owners – an Australian, British and a Eurasian-Singaporean – similarly have roots elsewhere. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up To reach Hup San Social Club, one must first enter Club Street Laundry, and go through a nondescript grey door behind a dining counter top. Patrons head down a narrow flight of stairs and push past a beaded curtain to enter a dimly-lit, cellar-like space, decked out in wooden furnishings amid soft hues of red and green. Black baroque-style tiles line the ceiling and a large antique mirror hangs on one wall. The other walls are plastered with framed vintage prints. Hup San Social Club is tucked away in the basement of a shophouse, with sister restaurant Club Street Laundry occupying the ground floor. PHOTO: HUP SAN SOCIAL CLUB Lamps draped with silk and lace, as well as the recurring motif of a red begonia, add a feminine touch to the interior – which some customers have otherwise dubbed a 'man cave', quips Baek. The space is kept small and intimate to facilitate conversations between patrons and bartenders, she says. It sits 12 comfortably – at the bar, a small table and at wooden ledges along the wall – with a nook near the entrance recently gaining green velvet seats and a table for bigger groups of four to five. A confluence of Asian flavours At Hup San Social Club, each drink seeks to evoke an experience or feeling. These range from the literal and playful – 'a refreshing midday escape' or 'a much-needed smoke break' – to the abstract, such as 'the beauty of ageing' for a vinegary tequila-based concoction, or 'and your life will always be' for a whiskey-cognac brew with a hint of rose. The menu's 14 cocktails are a collection of Baek's 'all-time favourites' across nine years of bartending in South Korea, Vietnam, the US and Singapore. Asian spirits, such as baijiu and soju, feature as the base in a few drinks. While some cocktails reflect Baek's South Korean roots, the menu also features South-east Asian and Japanese flavours. One of the bar's bestsellers is Achar, a sweet-sour concoction with a kick of spice that was designed to 'tickle all the taste buds.' Named for the spicy pickled vegetables common in Peranakan cuisine, the gin-based cocktail features an achar cordial made from vinegar, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and fenugreek. 'Every Korean bartender has their own cocktail recipe with a kimchi flavour profile. To me, achar resembled a Singapore-type of kimchi,' she says. The menu includes a warm cocktail, Pumpkin Ma Heart, described as 'a warm embrace'. It is texturally similar to a traditional Irish coffee, says Baek – but without caffeine or whiskey. Pumpkin Ma Heart is the only warm cocktail on the menu. PHOTO: HUP SAN SOCIAL CLUB The star ingredient is a housemade pumpkin yam mix – which gives the drink a thick, porridge-like texture – that is pre-prepared and kept in a sous vide machine at 68 deg C. When the order arrives, the mix is added to a base of Sailor Jerry Spiced rum and topped with cold cinnamon-infused coconut cream for contrast. In addition to the core menu, Hup San serves 18 classic cocktails and a range of spirits, including baijiu and soju, with Baek planning to bring in Japanese shochu too. While patrons can order mains from Club Street Laundry to be sent down – and those upstairs can similarly order cocktails – the bar is also getting its own menu of small bites this quarter. Achar
