Spirit of The Week • Madame Fan

Madame Fan • 32 Beach Road • Singapore

The name and concept is the birth child of Alan Yau. The London-based restaurateur started Wagamama in 1992 and then sold it in 1997. Yau then founded Hakkasan in 1999. Himself of Hakka descent, Alan Yau was born on 11 November 1962 in Hong Kong and moved to England with his family when twelve years young. Hakkasan – together with another restaurant called Yauatcha – was sold in 2008 to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth company for US$60 million.

Madame Fan the restaurant includes an eye-catching bar that won’t be out of place in Paris, London or New York. There are also lush private rooms. As for the equally stylish main dining area (capacity 100), it’s not too far-fetched to imagine you are in (a large) dining car of the Orient Express. Or attending a dinner hosted by Crazy Rich Asians.

Madame Fan is situated in a national heritage building, the NCO Club. It was previously the Britannia Club, and managed by the British Navy, Army, Armed Forces Institution or NAAFI, and the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) in the 1950s during colonial times (Singapore became independent on 9 August 1965). In 1972, the Singapore Government acquired the club and allocated it to the Singapore Armed Forces which, in turn, designated its use for non-commissioned officers. The NCO Club began operations in March 1974. Forty-four years later, in April 2018, Madame Fan moved in. The NCO Club has other dining and drinking outlets. It is connected to, and managed by, the J W Marriott.

TASTING NOTES

Kavalan Classic

Light Single Malt more suitable as an aperitif as it lacks concentration and intensity to engaged as a digestif. On the woody, smoky rather than fruity style. 40% alcohol. Kavalan is in Yuanshan Township, Yiland County, Taiwan. The distillery produced its first spirit in 2006 and released its first bottling in December 2008. Kavalan is named for the indigenous Kavalan people of the region. The Taiwan Elections are due next week on Saturday 11 January 2020.

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