Bannie Kangaroo
Bannie Kang, co-founder of MU, Taipei, was crowned Bartender of the Year (Asia) at the DRiNK Awards 2020. Here’s her story. By Holly Graham.
BANNIE KANG Head Bartender at ANTI:DOTE, Fairmont Singapore About Bannie GRANT SCENEY Creative Beverage Director at Botanist, Fairmont Pacific Rim About Grant JO LAST Bartender at Beaufort Bar, The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel About Jo NADER CHABAANE Mixology Director at Nacarat, Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth About Nader TAI BARBIN. Korean-born, Singapore-based bartender Bannie Kang was a waitress when she first entered Diageo’s World Class competition. On her third try in the event, she was victorious. Bannie Kang stormed to.
My journey in hospitality began when I moved to Singapore from my native Korea in 2010. I worked at Swissotel The Stamford, polishing cutlery at the back of house because my English was very poor and I couldn’t communicate with guests. I was very lucky that the bar manager asked me to transfer to City Space bar (now SKAI bar) and I started off there as a cocktail waitress. The beverage operations manager Richard Gillam had just won Diageo World Class Singapore.
When I looked at myself, I knew I wanted to be somebody. It felt like lighting hit my head – seeing Richard making everyone so happy and all the guests wanting to talk to him. I was inspired and admired bartenders. I also loved the process of competitions as I knew they would make me stronger as you spend your own time outside of work developing and training yourself to be more independent.
I wanted to learn more bar skills but felt I couldn’t do anything because my English was bad, so I decided to move back to Korea and worked part time in a coffee shop. I was very lucky that Diageo had organised a free training program for two months, so I learned how to make all the basic classic cocktails and acquired a very basic spirit knowledge. I returned to Singapore and back to City Space bar as a waitress again, but told my manager that I wanted to work at the bar. We didn’t actually have a proper bartender because every staff member rotated. I first entered World Class in 2013 and made it to Singapore’s top four, and City Space promoted me to bartender.
I met my mentor Tom Hogan when I transferred to the newly renovated Anti:dote. It was a very different experience, as City Space didn’t have a proper bar and because the bar was located on the 70th floor. That meant everyone wanted to sit at a window rather than the bar, so I hadn’t had much chance to talk to guests but at Anti:dote, everyone wanted to sit at the bar and industry people came in too.
Bannie Kang Singapore
Tom would always put me in front of guests and get me to talk with them. I was very appreciative of Tom, as he would be doing his job but would always be listening out for me. For example, sometimes I wouldn’t know how to answer a guest or I didn’t understand them, and he would come and help me, which meant I learned more. He was very patient like when he explained something to me, he explained it to me until I understood. Tom also taught me how to be more confident and expanded my creativity. He taught me about flavour profiles and hospitality rather than just technique.
After joining Anti:dote, I entered World Class again in 2014 and got through to the Singapore finals, but after that I realised I needed to get some more experience as a bartender, and other competition experience under my belt. Though I’d grown so much, I still wasn’t good enough. In 2016 I got through to the global finals of Bacardi Legacy and that’s where I really changed, because you need to promote yourself and your drink every day. After that, I joined Black Cow 2017, and won the global finals!
I told myself 2019 would be the last time I would enter World Class. Weirdly, I was more nervous in the nationals then the global finals as I feeling unwell and stressed because I put a lot of pressure on myself. When I won the global finals, I wasn’t relieved, as in my head I was asking myself what’s next after this. But of course I was feeling super honoured too.
Nick Wu, my husband Tryson Quek and I had already planned to open MU before I won World Class. Before that I was actually planning to move away from Asia as I wanted to experience the world before I get too old and have kids! I wanted to go to other countries and see what other people are doing.
Moving to Taiwan was not an easy decision for me because I can’t speak Mandarin, and of course, it was hard for me to leave Singapore because I had lived there for my whole bartending career. My husband Tryson is a strong willed chef and decided he wanted to open his own place, and if I moved elsewhere, separating wouldn’t be good. Both us working with Nick was the best option but they both had to convince me. There was so much to consider but it was time for a new challenge. It helped that Taiwan has four seasons, meaning I could finally get the chance to work with seasonal ingredients!
I’ve worked with Tryson before but now we have MU together, it’s not easy – we fight a lot. But on the other hand we feel very comfortable together, because we know each other and what we’re like and always support each other. He is very straightforward with his comments, always giving me the worst case scenario. But I appreciate his honesty, he inspires me. Those harsh comments make me push myself and I want to show him I can do it!
Opening a bar in the middle of a pandemic has been strange. We soft launched at the beginning of the virus, and didn’t know how serious things would get. Slowly, we had less reservations and more cancellations. We have strictly followed government instructions and our team has been a little nervous and stressed, but we try to keep them positive. Taiwan has been handling COVID-19 really well.
The community in Taipei is strong – no matter what they support each other. But in Singapore, I think the first thing bartenders think about is hospitality – no matter which bar you go to, you feel very comfortable. I think a lot of that is because nearly everyone can speak English in Singapore, so things are a little easier. Taiwan has a lot of influence from Japanese bartenders so they have great technique and though cocktails can be simple, the flavour is always really good, even if the bartenders seem a little shy.
Now I have my own staff, I always teach them to stay humble. I feel like many young bartenders don’t want to go through the process. They just want to be somebody, and want to win competitions and gain recognition straight away. Another thing I teach them is to stay hungry and passionate – don’t just focus on your technique. Think about customers and every single thing in your bar. Without passion, it’s very hard to achieve success.
I want to be in f&b forever. I started at 21 so don’t know anything else. It’s so fun, you meet so many people then they become regulars and become friends. Bartenders create an experience to make everyone happy, and that’s my number one passion.
Find out who’s on shift where this month. By Holly Graham.
Bannie Kang (MU, Taipei) at Quinary (Hong Kong)
Bannie Kang, the wonder woman who took out the title for World Class Bartender of the Year 2019 and is currently opening her new venue MU in Taipei, will head to Hong Kong’s Quinary for one night only. She’ll join the Quinary’s Shelley Tai, who was also a World Class Global finalist, and the pair will be serving three cocktails each using Tanqueray gins.
When:January 8, 6-10pm
David Nguyen-Luu (Manhattan, Singapore) and Devender Kumar (8 ½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong) at The Odd Couple (Shanghai)
In The Odd Couple fashion, the Shanghai bar pairs different bartenders together for a guest shift. We’d argue that these dapper fellas aren’t quite the odd pairing, hailing from bars that both feature on Asia’s 50 Best. However, they both serve different styles from Bombana’s perfect classics to Manhattan’s New York inspired cocktails.
When: January 11, 8pm-late
Mario Farulla (Baccano, Rome) and Seven Yi (Room by Le Kief, Taipei) at Madame Fan (Singapore)
In another odd coupling, Rome-based Mario Farulla of Baccano and Seven Yi of Room by Le Kief in Taipei will join forces to bring a touch of Italy and Taiwan to Singapore’s Madame Fan.
When: January 12, 6-10pm
Panos Kanatsoulis (Aegon Group, Mykonos) at Vida Rica Bar (Macau)
Greek hospitality vetran Panos Kanatsoulis kickstarted his bartending career at Zuma Dubai, which was followed by a stint at the Clumsies in Athens. He’s now the bar manager for Aegon Group Mykonos (Marriott Autograph collection and Blue Marlin Ibiza Mykonos). His CV also includes winning World Class Greece 2017 and being a top 10 finalist for Bacardi Legacy 2017, and he’ll be teaming up with Greek chef Marinos for three evenings of cocktails and sweet Greek nibbles.
When: 17-19 January, 9pm-late
Edriane Lim (The Bar at 15 Stamford, Singapore) at Gekko (Yangon)
Singapore stalwart Edriane Lim has bartended at Sofitel So Singapore, Equinox Restaurant at Swissotel The Stamford, Anti:Dote Bar at Fairmont Hotel and most recently left the legendary gin palace Atlas to helm The Bar at 15 Stamford. He’ll be heading to Yangon’s Japanese outpost Gekko for a night of rum cocktails.
When: January 18, 7-10pm
Masa Urushido and Abeo Miller (Katana Kitten, New York City) at Manhattan (Singapore) and Two Rooms (Tokyo)
Bringing a taste of New York City’s quirky neighbourhood Japanese bar, Masa and Abeo will tour the magic of Katana Kitten in Singapore and Tokyo. Known for their “prawn head shots” and drinks delivered on remote controlled cars, it’s anyone’s guess as to how crazy these shifts will get!
When: January 23 at Manhattan (Singapore). Masterclass 3-5pm and shift 8pm-1am
January 25, 7pm-midnight at Two Rooms (Tokyo)
Bannie Kang
Callan Green (Laird’s), Alberto Cerrone (London) and Giovanni Magliaro (Frank’s, Kuala Lumpur) at Farquhar’s Bar (Penang)
Callan Green, Asia brand ambassador for Laird’s Applejack, Alberto Cerrone from London, and Giovanni Magliaro take over Farquhar’s Bar at the Eastern and Oriental Hotel in Penang for an evening.
When: January 28, 8pm-midnight
Bannie Kang Age
Jose Ibanez (Employees Only, New York City) at Lennon’s (Bangkok)
Lennon’s kicks off 2020 with the almighty Employees Only New York. Head bartender Jose Ibanez will be bringing the infamous speakeasy to Bangkok, serving up four special cocktails alongside Lennon’s bar manager, Daniele Cervi.
When: January 30, 8-11pm
David Cordoba (The Lovers Rum) at Origin (Singapore)
To launch Thursday Daiquiri Night at Origin, Mr Daiquiri himself and co-founder of The Lovers Rum will jump behind the stick for an evening.
When: January 30, 8pm-midnight
Bannie Kangana