Bar Spirit Forward

A long teak-and-granite bar runs the room, and the bartenders here work it the way a Japanese omakase kitchen works a counter, reading you before they pour. This is a cocktail bar inside Hotel Southern Star on Lavelle Road, polished enough to mean business without making you feel like a guest in someone else's house. It landed at number 37 on Asia's 50 Best Bars, which tells you the serious drinkers have already found it.