A top priority of many people moving to new places is where to find a good watering hole. In Singapore, the biggest factor for me is cost. Drinking is expensive. Eating out is expensive. Groceries are also expensive, but that doesn’t play a role in the “where to drink” decision.

I ventured to two bars this weekend in the Dhoby Ghaut area, which is centrally and convenient located along the same train line where I live and work. We went to Blackbird Friday night for a friend’s birthday celebration, and since we went immediately after work, we got to take advantage of the buy one-get one happy hour deal! Nice! Beer and wine were pretty standard, but the cocktails sounded delicious. As they were out of my price range and the happy hour deal didn’t apply, I didn’t taste test. The mushroom risotto, however, was wonderful. There were a handful of vegetarian options on the menu, which was very exciting and would convince me to go back!

My Saturday night plans fell through so I decided to check out a real beer bar. Yelp suggested HopHeads and I’m glad it did! While pricey, HopHeads serves real beer. I had an Deschutes IPA on draft and a Rouge ale, also on draft. Though they only have two rotating taps, the bottle selection was impressive for Singapore. There were selections from a variety of brewers that I enjoy back in the US, like Rouge, Deschutes, Hitachio, and even Delirium! The only food I ordered were French fries, which were way too salty to be enjoyable. Although this didn’t stop me from eating them, I don’t think I’d order food in the future. Those fries were seriously salty. The beer, however, is enough reason to return!