Singapore’s Recipe for a Sustainable Bar Scene
The weight of a golf ball is roughly 46 grams, about the same as a cooked egg. That’s something to keep in mind when you ask Vijay Mudaliar how much waste is produced on any given night at his compact bar Native on a winding street in Singapore. He’ll cup his hands and, without drama or ceremony, he’ll say “less than 50 grams.” He’ll follow up that by mentioning there’s also zero food waste. Then your jaw will drop.
Native, which opened in 2016 and garnered the number 12 spot on this year’s World’s 50 Best Bars list, is discretely located above a Japanese noodle restaurant in a 200-year-old building. Shiny steel-and-glass skyscrapers, the quintessence of modernity, cast shadows on this historic structure. But Native, however modest, sits as a bold suggestion for an idealistic and sustainable future.
Sustainability has become a buzzword and a practice of varying degrees at bars around the world. Sourcing ingredients locally is increasingly common and the abolition of plastic straws has evolved into something of a movement—in bars and beyond. Many spots now serve drinks with compostable alternatives or even metal varieties. Composting or repurposing the night’s food scraps is gaining momentum, but it’s still a long way from being widespread. But all those steps are perhaps best equated to undergrad exercises in comparison to Mudaliar’s doctoral-level daily routine at Native.