Top bartender Uno Jang’s ‘Gen Z forward’ Korean drinks offer new experiences in Singapore
At Singapore’s BOP, Jang is elevating somaek and other classic drinks as he targets adventurous younger drinkers seeking bold new flavours
Most South Koreans are familiar with somaek – a humble, almost ritualistic pairing of soju and beer, long the backbone of social drinking in the country. Affordable and commonplace, it is often the default choice for everything from barbecue gatherings to post-work dinners with colleagues.
It is, in every sense, ordinary, but in the best way. What would that look like in a high-end cocktail bar?
At BOP (Bartenders of Pony) – Singapore’s first South Korean cocktail dining bar, founded earlier this year by Jang – somaek is far from just a cheap pour.
In a wink to both Seoul and Singapore, Jang first freezes soju into solid blocks, then shaves it using a traditional Singaporean ice kacang machine – the kind typically reserved for local desserts – and piles the delicate flakes atop a pour of crisp, ice-cold beer.
The result retains the familiar soul of somaek while introducing an unexpected textural play: the fluffiness of the shaved soju, the chill of the foam and the gentle fizz of the beer.