This trip to MOGA has been a long time coming. The bar opened in late 2023, along with the rest of Pullman Singapore Hill Street, and we’d made — and ultimately dropped — plans to swing by at least twice before. But we’re finally here, and we’re eager to try what freshly appointed bar manager Gavin Teverasan has to offer.
MOGA gets its name from a Japanese slang phrase for “modern girls”, a demographic one might consider to be the Eastern equivalent of flappers in 1920s America: independent, liberated, and subversive of societal expectations. Teverasan’s new menu, Breaking the Norm, takes inspiration from modern girls, with a focus on inviting guests to challenge the notion of what a “Japanese-inspired” drink should be.
Breaking the Norm comprises 16 cocktails, all of which are priced at $25++, and designed to be crushable. First up is the Salted Yuzu Highball, a lightly sparkling, clean yet complex mix of yuzu, genmaicha, buckwheat and shio koji. It’s sweet, savoury, citrusy and ever-so-slightly nutty, all in one, yet it’s far from overwhelming.
Then comes the Dirty Sake-tini, a gentle twist on the classic dirty martini. Sake, shochu and dry vermouth come together with a house-made pickling brine that’s equal parts tangy and saline. The resulting drink is — much like the previous one — surprisingly refreshing, especially when taken with the togarashi-sprinkled pickle on top.
We then think it’s time to go big with the Giant’s Perspective, which gets its name from a sliver of watermelon radish as garnish (the particularly gullible or uninitiated might believe they’re actually looking at a tiny watermelon slice). Alas, despite its name the drink is fairly tame, yummy but still staying on the light-and-breezy end of things. Aperol, vodka and watermelon make for a nice summery drink that we think would be nice paired with food.
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On that note, MOGA has also refreshed its food menu, with standouts such as truffle teriyaki edamame ($12) and crispy squid ($20). The latter is particularly great with cocktails, with a little tang from kizami yuzu and green chili kick.
To wrap up the night, we try The Frozen Drink, a cross between a diner milkshake and matcha anmitsu. We’re not typically fans of cocktails that feel more like desserts, but this ice-blended whisky-taro liqueur concoction has us sipping to the last drop.
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“Dessert” done and dusted, we can’t help but feel a little sad that it’s taken us so long to finally visit MOGA. Sure, we’ve seen some variation of modernised Japanese inspiration countless times before, but here it’s done exceedingly well, with clichés and stereotypes quite squarely left at the door in favour of sensible drinkmaking.
MOGA
1 Hill Street
Level 1, Pullman Singapore Hill Street
Singapore 179949
Contact:
Tel: +65 6019 7888
Email: pullman.singaporehillstreet.dining@accor.com
Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday, 12pm – 3pm, 6pm – 12am; Friday and Saturday, 12pm – 3pm, 6pm – 1am
