The star behind the hotel bar
Sometimes it’s the person behind the bar with the stories of inspiration to share.
BBC Travel
When Bannie Kang’s grandfather returned to his farm on the island of Namhae in South Korea after working as a captain of a fishing boat, he would down a homemade drink infused with local grapes, plums or berries. Then, he would settle in and tell his wife and grandchildren about his day. This cherished memory of warm conversation over a carefully crafted libation would one day inform Kang’s career as a multi-award-winning bartender.
Kang, a diminutive Korean with smiling eyes has become the left-field star of Singapore’s hotel and drinks scenes. Within two years of becoming a mixologist, the softly spoken expatriate was gathering national awards with the same zest she once exhibited when collecting strawberries and yuzu on her grandparents’ farm. Now the head bartender at Anti:dote at Fairmont Singapore, 28-year-old Kang’s idyllic childhood often influences her work.
Personal influences
Kang’s spin on a traditional Korean fruit punch known as hwachae – made with watermelon, pineapple and lemon – saw her represent Singapore at a global competition in 2016. “It was inspired by my grandmother, who is very special to me,” says Kang. “My grandmother used to make hwachae for me, now I make it for her.”
“Bannie’s drinks are an expression of who she is,” says Christian Carminati, food and beverage manager for Fairmont Singapore and Swissotel The Stamford. The difference between Kang and her peers, says Carminati, is her energy. “Her passion comes from her background, how she grew up, and her love of cooking for her family,” he says.
When mixing drinks at Anti:dote, Kang lights up as brightly as the bar’s custom-made chandelier, which comprises 26,000 pieces of borosilicate glass and is the centrepiece of the modern venue. Using market-fresh ingredients and herbs grown on-site such as Cuban mint and cinnamon basil, Kang reinterprets classic recipes with contemporary flair – a combination that is the foundation of Fairmont’s global cocktail culture.
Among Kang’s signature concoctions is Jack Meets Sage, a refreshing drink using jackfruit shrub and home-grown sage from Fairmont's herb garden. But just as her signature drink is named after the joy of an unexpected meeting, Kang is a person guests love to encounter. “It’s almost impossible not to love Bannie,” says Carminati. “She’s a people person. No matter where you put her, she’s talking to guests.” And the guests love her. “She’s the most Instagrammed bartender in Singapore,” jokes Carminati. Kang’s husband, and Anti:dote’s chef de cuisine, Tryson Quek agrees. “She has a special charisma behind the bar,” he says. “It’s why I married her!”
Overcoming obstacles
Though naturally gregarious, Kang faltered in 2010 when she first moved to Singapore to take up a role as a waitress at Swissotel The Stamford. “My English was very bad and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do at work, so I just polished cutlery in the restaurant,” says Kang. An eagle-eyed co-worker recognised her dilemma and with the help of Kang’s manager encouraged her to transfer to the hotel bar, City Space. But Kang was resistant.
Her family had once forbidden her from pursuing a career as a mixologist. “In Korea, we didn’t have cocktail culture back then and a lot of older people had the mindset that working in a bar was dangerous for women,” says Kang. At her family’s suggestion, Kang instead enrolled in a hotel management course at Jinju Health College in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do. On graduating, she landed the job at Swissotel.
But when Kang’s manager explained that the bar staff would have more time to help her improve her English, Kang agreed to the transfer. It was a serendipitous move. That year a co-worker, British bartender Richard Gillam, won a major competition. “Gillam invited the global winner to Singapore to collaborate with him and a lot of people came to watch what they were doing,” says Kang. “He used simple, fresh ingredients to create something special. That surprised me.”
Kang had an epiphany – she realised she could use the flavours from her homeland as a base for beverages and perhaps, like Gillam, win her own award. But still the language barrier prevailed. “To this day, learning English is one of the biggest obstacles I have faced,” says Kang, who is self-taught using language books and videos of English pronunciation on Facebook.
Kang went back to South Korea to learn the basics of bartending at two prestigious academies in her mother tongue. A year later, she returned to Singapore with renewed vigour and quickly found support in the Lion City’s thriving drinks scene. Her fellow craftsman added her to a group chat of about 40 prominent bartenders. “We invite each other to events and masterclasses, and share the names of suppliers,” says Kang of the supportive group.
Double check
In what is surely a testament to Kang’s likability, at one competition she realised she had forgotten a vital ingredient and a fellow member of the group chat lent her a bottle so she could compete. “I used to wake up very early before competitions,” says Kang. “I would come to work and prepare and stress. But now I have more experience, I know what I’m doing and I just get excited about impressing the judges.”
Among those she wished to impress was legendary Japanese bartender Hidetsugu Ueno. “He is the hero of a lot of bartenders,” says Kang, who did not win an award at the event when she met him, but did pick up some advice from the master. “He told me not to give up, and to do better next time.” Ueno also – quietly – told her to be more diligent after noticing a minute crack in the glass she was using during a challenge.
“He told me to make sure I double-check the rim and not to let nerves get in the way of such details. Now I always check the rim, even when we are really busy.” This level of care is among the reasons Kang has been so successful and has gone on to be a competition judge herself. Never one to rest on her laurels, there’s still one goal Kang has yet to achieve: “I want to be the world’s best bartender,” she says, with a sweet smile that belies both her talent and tenacity.
This story was originally published on BBC Travel