Seven bartenders from across Asia went “Into The Wild” in Bali, Indonesia last month, and came up with a one-night-only bar takeover that featured drinks using unusual ingredients like sago worms, crickets, durian, belacan and more.
That was what happened at the first ever Into The Wild: Liquid Basecamp event at Ubud, Bali in early June.
Into The Wild is an annual “creative basecamp” organised by acclaimed Ubud restaurant Locavore NXT. Every year, the restaurant brings in chefs from all over the world to participate in a sort of exchange programme dedicated to gastronomy, creativity and community.
This year, the programme introduced its first ever Liquid Basecamp, which focuses on bartenders and drinks instead, and is co-hosted by Locavore Group’s Night Rooster bar.
The three-day event brought in five international bartenders to take part in a weekend of “exploration, collaboration and cocktail creation in Bali”, namely Dre Yang from Pony Up, Shanghai (China); Mars Chang from To Infinity and Beyond, Taipei (Taiwan); Niko Idham from Between the Sips, Jakarta (Indonesia); Ron Cruz from Fat Cat, Manila (Philippines); and Thanesh Vishakumar from Backdoor Bodega, Penang.
Hosted by Raka Ambarawan from Night Rooster and Steven Angelo of Locavore NXT, the programme was like a cultural exchange that revolved around drinks, where the participants (and media) were invited to forage for ingredients, exchange ideas, work with unfamiliar ingredients and explore how nature can influence the way they think about drinks.
Farm foraging and a wild night
Day One started with a foraging trip in the jungle of Payangan, guided by Locavore NXT’s team of foragers, who taught the bartenders about the local ingredients that can be found there.
These included the cemcem leaf, passion fruit flower, trijata berry, gotu kola, and every edible part of the chayote plant, alongside other local ingredients.
We also got to try some grilled sago worms, and also freshly harvested palm sap, which is usually made into the traditional Balinese alcoholic drink, tuak.
This wasn’t just a normal tour though – these ingredients would later be part of a challenge, in which each bartender would have to use them to create drinks.
But that was the next day. Later that night, six of the bartenders (excluding Angelo) took part in the rip-roaring six-bartender “The Rooster Goes Wild” guest shift at The Night Rooster, which is also celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
Each bartenders brought their own signature drinks to the shift, so we got to taste quite a diverse range of drinks.
Niko’s drinks challenged some common perceptions of matcha and lychee martinis, while Chang, who will be in Kuala Lumpur’s Cacao Mixology And Chocolate for a guest shift on July 23, brought two tea and coffee-based drinks that were among the highlights of the night.
Yang and Cruz showcased some of the most savoury and unique drinks of the night. Cruz’s especially, were the most “out there” for me, especially the tarot-themed The Tower, which was inspired by the orange chicken dish in the Philippines.
Last but not least, was Thanesh and Raka, whose drinks were arguably the most spirit-forward ones. Raka’s highlight was the wonderfully complex IQ Magic from Night Rooster’s current menu; while Thanesh brought the only martini of the night – the butter-fat-washed Compound Martini, which was a great, albeit strong, way to end the night.
All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable shift from six bartenders with very distinct styles. But the best was yet to come from the participants of the Liquid Basecamp.
Black boxes and crazy cocktails
Day Two was when things got really interesting. It began with a morning mystery-ingredient reveal at Locavore NXT, where the seven participants were presented with boxes containing unusual local ingredients they’d only just discovered the previous day in the jungle and had never worked with before.
They then had to develop a cocktail and a non-alcoholic (or low-ABV) drink using those ingredients, which would be served at a special showcase at the Locavore NXT lobby bar later that evening.
Besides the mystery box, the bartenders also got to go through a “supermarket sweep” of Locavore’s pantry in order to choose the other ingredients they would want to include in their drinks.
A wide range of fresh and dried ingredients was available, ranging from fruits and spices, to an assortment of vinegars and sauces. The catch was that each ingredient could only be claimed by one bartender, so if one guy decides to choose lemons, no other bartender can use lemons (unless that bartender decides to share his lemony haul).
While they were developing their drinks, several “curveball” challenges were launched at them, one of which was to include an additional ingredient that each bartender had brought from their hometown (for instance, Thanesh brought some Penang toddy while Chang brought Taiwanese Mountain Pepper), chosen at random.
While this entire arrangement may seem somewhat, well, wild, the resulting drinks were actually pretty unique, and really did showcase the skill and creativity of these bartenders.
For instance, Yang decided to go for a wine-like style for both his drinks. His alcoholic drink mixed bourbon, Marak arak (a local Bali spirit), trijata berry, noni, turmeric leaf, and guava; while his non-alcoholic one threw in lobster essence alongside juruh (a traditional palm nectar) for an umami-filled concoction.
Thanesh got arguably the easiest box of all, with many of the ingredients in the mystery box being almost similar to the local ingredients in Penang that Backdoor Bodega tends to use in their drinks.
These included durian, the pepper-like Andaliman, Betel leaf, kluwak fruit, bacon fat, and soy milk. “I have all I need for a Backdoor Bodega menu!” he proclaimed.
Three bartenders got insects in their mystery boxes. Niko used roasted crickets as his garnish for both drinks. His cocktail, especially, was a pretty powerful and complex one, with a gin-based punched-up by Saba grappa, tuak, and sticky rice wine, alongside cemcem leaf, black pepper, passion fruit and chilli.
Cruz arguably had the most head-scratching ingredient – live sago worms. In the end, he decided to blend all the worms together with coconut and use it in a slushie-like drink along with white rum, Saba Grappa, toddy, and fragrant mesoyi wood. It was actually pretty tasty, as long as you don’t get squeamish about actually drinking sago worms!
Chang had to use ant eggs as part of his garnish, though in comparison to the others, he had a slightly easier box, which included cacao fruit, bunga cempaka and snake fruit vinegar.
And last but not least, of the two Bali bartenders, Raka had to figure out how to use belacan (shrimp paste) in his drinks; while Angelo got a traditional Indonesian fermented cassava dessert called Tape singkong, along with Lion’s mane mushroom and goat’s milk.
According to Eelke Plasmeijer, chef and co-founder of Locavore Group, just like the culinary edition of Into The Wild, Liquid Basecamp was never meant to be a competition.
“We simply invited a group of bartenders to Bali, took them into the jungle, and introduced them to some unusual ingredients and our team,” he said in a press release.
“The goal is really not to win anything. It’s to learn from each other, exchange ideas, and see what happens when people work with things they don’t normally have access to. Interesting things tend to happen when routines are interrupted and people step out of their comfort zones.”
Well, “interesting” is exactly what Liquid Basecamp turned out to be. Besides being an eye opening experience, I also got to taste some pretty darn unique drinks as well. Just don’t ask me to drink another sago worm slushie, ok?
Michael Cheang wouldn’t mind another one of those roasted cricket garnishes though. Follow him on Instagram (@mytipsyturvy) and Facebook (fb.com/mytipsyturvy).
