Angel Of The Mrs

I met a cool mix-mistress lately at a food review. I was assigned a piece on Hit & Mrs, the restaurant, but also left with good vibes about the gal who is Bar Manager at Hit & Mrs. In the absence of the restaurant manager who stepped out for operational stuff, and two shy, reticent chefs who busied themselves in the kitchen, it was a slightly frazzled Angel Ng who took it upon herself to play hostess.

Lil ol' me under a tree must have brought out the Angel in Ng.

Ng made it clear from the get-go that she ran the bar upstairs ("I'm not completely sure about what was planned for you, because the bar was not involved, but I will do what I can.") I liked her frank, open manner, as well as her body art. It was clear she felt it was her duty to help. I liked how she stepped up to the plate, knowing she was the most senior person there. She didn't put on a show about knowing what was what, but she took the initiative to go behind the counter to the chefs and talk to them to sync their food delivery process with her chat about the concept and food. (I will leave that for another time).

While food was being prepared, I delighted in excavating details out of Ng. She's got a tough-girl persona, but underneath, like most people, she enjoys sharing stuff with people who are really interested. In fact, barring the tattoos, she is most like Resorts World Genting F&B Executive, Irene Nurfairene - one of the people I rate most highly in the food PR business.

Angel at work.

Ng is Malaysian, but she lived in Singapore since she was a few months old. She began bar tending during her university days, although that talent was not utilized during her subsequent six years in sales and marketing. This is her first foray back to her motherland, after attaining Head Bartender standing, and training with some big names on the mixology circuit in Singapore including World Champion Mixologist, Josh Ivanovic. Ng is also one of only three female Diageo World Class Bartenders!

She admits to being a bit too sloshed to remember who Benjamin Yong (founder of the Big Group, and her ultimate boss at Hit & Mrs) was when she was first introduced to him, but she must have impressed him enough in order to be offered the Bar Manager job. Her first move upon taking the helm at the bar at Hit & Mrs was to change the drinks concept. Hitherto her coming,  it was bottled beer, wine and traditional cocktails. Now Ng is urging people to try Asian-inspired cocktails which she designs with aromatics such as ginger and lemongrass. When I visited, she was also drying mandarin orange peels to infuse.

She insisted on my trying her cocktails, and like all really good bartenders, she follows a client's request to, 'Surprise me!', with questions designed to tell her something about her new client's taste profile questions: do you like ice in your drinks? Do you like sweet flavours?

She hit me up with a Whiskey Ginger Smash, made up of malt whiskey, ginger, unmuddled mint leaves and honey syrup. Just the long drink to usher in the sunset!

The big chill: Whiskey Ginger Smash.

Her next mix was not named yet, but she coded it Mrs Flirty for Valentine's Day. This was a bourbon, Campari, orange bitters, double creme de cassis drink which was her version of an Asian Negroni. It was lethal! The sweet blackcurrant liqueur masked the alcoholic wallop of this cocktail. Drink it too fast and rue it!

It has to be said that Ng knows her stuff. It also bears saying that she's a cool bartender to hang out with. She's very keen to encourage people to try new things, but she is equally responsible about watching alcohol limits. She walks a line between tough-chick-who-can-hold-down-a-bar-solo, and educated mixologist who can talk shop with the best of her kind. She's something I'd go back for, because I like what she stands for. 

Simple is deceiving: Ng's version of a Negroni.

 

Hit & MrsBar

15A Lorong Kurau

Taman Weng Lock, Bangsar

59000 Kuala Lumpur.