Whenever my friends call me out of the caverns of my house to head to town for a chill night, the number one dilemma often ends up being “where do we go?” For after years of hitting up the same few places over and over again, we were more than eager for an adventure - to check out somewhere new.
We decided to accompany a friend to run an errand at SOTA before we ended the school day, coming across a new building we hadn’t seen before sparked an interest to explore. Admittedly, we knew of GR.iD’s re-opening after the renovation of PoMo but it hadn’t quite been on our radar. Until we saw the neon lights and got drawn in.
From the get-go, there were numerous shops that caught our eye though we easily made a beeline to get some much-needed drinks to stave off the humid heat of the little red dot. There were several options, from the refreshing tea of Gotcha Fresh Tea ($6-$8) to the tropical tastes of Super Coco ($4-$6), and within minutes, our little group of 3 each had a drink in hand.
It wasn’t long before we decided to grab some grub but due to varying appetites, we settled on getting some deliciously-yet-sinfully-fried Korean corn dogs from CHUNZ (prices range from $4-$10). Prepared fresh upon each order, these corn dogs packed a punch with audible crunches and insta-worthy cheese pulls! Yum yum!
Upon entering the building, it would be hard to miss the running theme of bright neon lights and retro colourful signages. But even harder to miss would be the large ‘Motherboard’ mural done by 7 artists, all of whom were students and alumni of the nearby art schools. We spent the escalator rides up trying to decipher and analyse its meaning based on our own amateur interpretations as we tried to channel our inner art-aficionados.
Heading up several floors, we reached the alfresco restaurant bar Kamikaze Asian Tapas Bar for the main portion of our evening–drinks and enjoying a good time with great company. As a Northie, the second concept by the same group that was responsible for my beloved Orto was interesting to check out. The vibes were similar but perhaps it was the different view where we overlooked the drinking alley of Prinsep Street that gave it a different atmosphere.
A soju tower plus several glasses of alcohol later and after a proper meal of asian-fusion dishes (mains range from $10–$14), it was almost time to call it a night. But not without desserts! Hitting up ICEBAR, it was a sweet way to end the night with some good ol’ chilly gelatos ($4-$7).
After exhausting our time at GR.iD and playing around-I mean, eating around-we headed over to Plaza Singapura to catch a late-night screening of Batman. Was it a Thursday night and we still had to report for work and school the next day? Yes. Did it really matter? Not really. But the review of Batman is a story for another day.
Overall, my time at the newly-reopened GR.iD was time well spent in great company. PoMo, though nothing truly unique or extraordinary, had been a semi-regular meeting spot a couple of years back and it’s nice to see something new in the area.
I’m definitely a sucker for bright neon lights in downtown Singapore and we’ve definitely made plans to head back there again soon to check out the other stores and brands they have available. Maybe we’ll get into character and play a live-action role-playing session to sleuth out a murder culprit or two then.
