House of The Wood Snake
Introducing Junior The Pocket Bar’s 2025 Annual Chinese New Year Pop-Up
Returning for the sixth year, the festive menu will kick off on January 14th, 2025, with a signature menu of cocktails and food inspired by Singaporean Chinese New Year traditions.
This year, Junior invites guests to toast to the elegance and mystique of the Wood Snake, the zodiac sign symbolising transformation, wisdom, and renewal. Combining familiar Chinese motifs with a modern twist, this pop-up promises an unforgettable experience, as if Chinatown exploded in the cosy interior of 6 Ann Siang Hill.
Among the usual suspects of favourites throughout the years, 算盤子 | Abacus Seeds, featuring house-made yam gnocchi with Hokkaido baby scallops tossed in a ginger and shiitake mushroom soy glaze, onion and ebi dust, and a 63° egg. Our take on the heart-warming dish is a must-have. Don't miss out—we're giving you the inside scoop!
Not forgetting the 春餅 | Duck Wrappers, a do-it-yourself platter with pan-seared French duck breast, house-made orange hoisin, flour tortillas, pickled sweet daikon, carrots, cucumbers and spring onion. Wrap it however you like; you make the rules here!
Inspired by the Year of the Snake, Head Chef Didi Sidek has also added a cheeky dish to the repertoire, 蛇窩 | Snake’s Nest, a pair of house-made tiger prawn & lotus root balls, dressed in mala mascarpone, with fresh pomegranate seeds and pomelo. Each bite is tangy, creamy, spicy and s-s-s-succulent.
The cocktail menu is where you will find the “snacks”. 財源滾滾 | Rolling in Prosperity is a pineapple tart-inspired negroni, showcasing both Planteray Original Dark Rum & Smokey Pineapple Rum, brown butter, pineapple-infused Campari, and spiced Mancino Rosso vermouth, an apt way to kick off celebrations or end the night.
八方來財 | Wealth All Around is a clarified milk punch of bourbon, house-made roasted coconut syrup, lemon, orange, and coconut milk. The Kueh Bangkit cocktail is garnished with warm coconut foam to give a contrasting experience of temperatures and textures. A beverage every host will have during the festivities is represented with 花開富貴 | Blooming Prosperity, a dry martini of house-made chrysanthemum gin, Mancino Sakura vermouth, and honey. This is an adult version of the staple chrysanthemum tea, a little drier and very much boozier.
For savoury lovers, check out 步步高升 | Rising Success, featuring vodka, carrot, ginger, plum, Mancino Secco vermouth, lime, and sesame oil. This is essentially Lohei in a glass without the raw fish slices.
笑口常開 | Endless Joy & Laughter made with mezcal, lemongrass, lime, sour tamarind, house-made hae bee hiam tincture is a spicy margarita with the spicy, savoury snack Hae Bee Hiam Rolls (spicy dried shrimp rolls) in mind.
How can we forget the quintessential Chinese New Year snack – Bak Kwa (barbecued pork jerky)? 諸事順利｜ Smooth Sailing Ahead, featuring Código 1530 Blanco Tequila, Kim Joo Guan bak kwa, green walnut liqueur, lemon, honey, and smoke, is a sour not to be missed. Think sweet glaze, five-spice, barbecue smokiness; consider this your exclusive heads-up.
Adding to our concept menu, Junior refreshed its Homebrews & Highballs section. We continue striving for good-quality house-fermented beverages, ingredients, and brews, with or without the hard stuff, so no one is left out. Launching the refreshed menu with all brand new flavours—apple & red dragon fruit kombucha, red date ginger bug, salt-cured orange & citrus cordial, peach shrub—available with a curated selection of spirits should you choose to Make It Boozy or without, Keep It Boujee.
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“I’ve always loved Chinese New Year! My favourite memories are when we would all gather: my family, my uncles and aunties, cousins and the extended family, at my eldest grandaunt’s house. The air is thick with beautiful aromas of barbecued meat, a self-serve popiah station, my grandfather’s famous mee siam and too many desserts to count. The kids are binging cartoons in the “kid’s room” while the adults watch Jackie Chan movies in the living room. I want to relive this version of Chinese New Year and bring about a new era of celebrations. We won’t ask when you plan to get married or how much you make at your job. We would ask, for how many tonight, and will we be having one or three?"
Hazel