The list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2022 was announced at an awards ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand last night, with two bars from MAlaysia making it into the list.
Kuala Lumpur bars Bar Trigona and JungleBird came in at No. 29 and No. 35 respectively on the list, which featured bars from 16 cities across Asia.
Bar Trigona, which became the first Malaysian bar to make it on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2020, is located at the Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, and sets the standard for sustainable bar practises not only in Malaysia, but in Asia as well.
The bar also also took home the inaugural Best Cocktail Menu Award, recognising it for a unique menu that focuses on Malaysian produce, such as wild turmeric harvested in Pahang, raw honey from the eponymous Trigona hives and tropical fruits from a Bangi organic farm.
Named after the classic Malaysian cocktail, JungleBird is a self-styled 'Rumah Rum'. Located at Plaza Damansara, it has a menu that revolves around the spirit, including a focus on on important rum producing nations around the world, and a 'JungleBird' twist on well-known classics.
Last week, Penang bar Backdoor Bodega became the first bar from the state to be named in the 51-100 list, coming in at No. 97, and is joined on the list by Kuala Lumpur bars Three X Co (No. 70) and Coley (No. 100).
Coa in Hong Kong was named The Best Bar in Asia, topping the list for the second year in a row.
Launched in 2017 by bartender-owner Jay Khan, Coa is a bar that champions agave spirits, offering an extensive menu of handcrafted Mexican spirits that include tequila and mezcal, and rarer expressions such as raicilla, bacanora, sotol and charanda.
A veteran of the industry, Khan has over 13 years’ experience and was voted Bartenders’ Bartender at Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2020. Coa first debuted on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list in 2019, winning the Highest New Entry Award at No.12, and has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top spot ever since.
The list also features 14 new entries, with Singapore dominating with 11 bars on the list, led by Jigger & Pony, which came in second.
The awards ceremony, was held in front of a live audience of 500 guests for the first time since 2019, The seventh edition of the annual awards was a chance for Asia’s bar community to come together after a hiatus in live events, as the region emerges from the pandemic's many challenges and international travel resumes once more.
For the full list of Asia's Best 50 Bars, go here.
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