Drinks on the house

FOR most people, the party ends at 10.30 pm under the current Covid-19 safety regulations. But not for Lendl Chong, an ICT consultant, and his wife, Karen Tan, a senior public relations and social manager.

The couple - who love entertaining - have turned their cosy apartment in Jalan Besar into a welcome space for late night gatherings, within the household visitor limit, of course.

The second floor of their 893 sq ft apartment has been converted into a bar with an island counter, a plush sofa, heavy curtains, and even a T-tower font for dispensing fresh beer that Chong personally brews.

To add to the bar vibe, a mirror with neon lights was installed at the entrance, with other LED lights strategically placed. Wall mounted shelves showcase the couple's collection of spirits.

During the circuit breaker period in 2020, Chong was buying beer by the keg from bar owners who were eager to sell them off when they were compelled to close their premises.

"The 'barcony' was the place to entertain friends and ourselves during the extended time we spent at home," says Tan, of their previous home.

From buying kegs of beer, Chong began developing an interest in brewing his own. He has been picking up tips from the Internet, but is also taking beer brewing classes. "Fresh beer just tastes so much better," he says.

And when they were designing their current apartment in 2021, which the couple have nicknamed Rendl Residence, having a well-equipped bar became a feature that they wanted to have. "Since we were designing from scratch, we had a better idea of what we wanted to have in the bar," says Tan.

Chong brews different styles of beers each time such as lagers, IPA or pale ales, depending on his fancy. He buys his ingredients from local shops that specialise in homebrewing.

Tan jokes that just at the bar alone, there are already three fridges - a kegerator for the kegs of beer, a wine chiller and a third, one stocked only with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

"You can never be short of a drink here," she says.

The bar is also equipped with other fancy equipment such as a water dispenser, an automatic glassware washer and a dishwasher. "It is crazy how many glasses we end up with at the end of a night," says Chong.

While the bar is mostly used at night and on the weekends, the apartment's small footprint meant that the couple had to also keep in mind how to maximise use of the space.

By day, the second floor doubles as a workspace for Chong. The quartz island table is designed to be slightly lower than a bar counter so that it is comfortable enough even when Chong decides to be on his feet to work. "This extra space has been a blessing in disguise, since Karen and I do take a lot of calls at home, and now we each have our own workspace," says Chong.

The upper floor was previously the master bedroom.

Tan prefers to work downstairs at the dining table, which due to space constraints, was designed with an L-shaped booth seat. "It reminds me of the booth seats at Shake Shack," she says with a laugh.

The kitchen is a very compact one, but that has not stopped Tan from whipping up soups. "Our steam oven comes in handy, but admittedly, we have cooked less, since there is easy access to lots of food joints in the neighbourhood," says Tan.

While they worked with an interior designer on the space planning, Tan also found inspiration from friends and social media.

A friend had commented that the staircase landing looked empty, so Tan searched for a full-length mirror to place there.

"Then I saw a picture of a mirror with a plant next to it, so I did the same," she says. To complete the look, she found an L-shaped sofa and placed it on the other side of the mirror.

Tan jokes that the sofa comes in handy when she needs a break from climbing the stairs.

The set-up has unintentionally become a favourite photo spot in the house for guests and also for Tan to take her OOTD (or outfit of the day) picture.

There is no doubt the bar, however, is the main attraction of the home. "Our friends know who to call whenever they need a place to hang out," says Tan.

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