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The cat's out of the bag, BarBaaBlackChic (BBBC) is no longer
the insider's dirty little secret. Tucked away in a corner of Little India,
easily accessible from the train station and the main road, this relative
newcomer to the industry is slowly building up quite a reputation within
what must positively be the last untouched bohemian enclave in Singapore.
Just a stone's throw away from the wildly popular budget hostel The Inn
Crowd (last seen on Discovery Travel and Living's 5takes
travel journalist programme), which incidentally is also owned by the
same people, BBBC has been steadily drawing curious onlookers as well
as discerning pub-goers jaded with the normal hangouts and greedy for
an unpretentious place to unwind.
 Conceptualised
by the husband-and-wife duo of Hai and Ping, BBBC is something like your
premium instant coffee mix - a 3-in-1 establishment comprising of club,
bar and café - only better. While the ground floor is where resident
and guest DJs spin their sets on a rotational basis, the top floor is
tastefully furnished with loungey seats designed to promote as much interaction
as possible among the patrons. "We want people to interact with each
other, and usually alcohol is a good ice-breaker", explains Hai half-jokingly.
Despite top-notch décor and killer music, BBBC isn't half as pretentious
as you'd expect a joint of such standards to be. In fact, it's not pretentious
at all. Hai and Ping sit down with their customers to chat as and when
their busy night allows them to; in between we are kept entertained by
people-watching and by bantering with the friendly chief bartender.
BBBC distinguishes itself from other generic clubs-down-the-street by
the sheer eclectic mix of music it serves up every night. Headlined by
resident DJ Daniel Storey, a veteran who has spun at The Tube and Ibiza,
this unassuming club plays astounding music that defies convention and
genre (by Singapore's standards, anyway). Unlike generic house or drum-and-bass,
BBBC takes great pains to feature underground tribal, breakbeats, trance,
trip-hop and progressive mixes. In fact, during our short stint at the
bar, the dancefloor synched through an infectious mash-up of funk, old-skool,
progressive and trance, with nary an abrupt transition so often experienced
elsewhere. The atmosphere was reminiscent of Europe's renowned clubbing
scene, where boundaries were meant to be broken and the derring-do spirit,
de riguer. BBBC has also been voted as having one of Singapore's best
sound systems, an advantage that is utilised and expounded on by its fleet
of dedicated DJs -- which includes Yukun, Case Woo and Aaron Lim.
Grooves aside, there are very few bars that place equal emphasis on both
drinks and food, but BBBC seems to have gotten their heads screwed on
right on both accounts.
Generous happy hours abound follow the extensive drinks list, which comprises
of some unique concoctions that include the Cucumber Martini, which works
extremely well as a refreshing aperitif with its generous dose of Midori
and grated cucumber, as well as the Frozen Long Island Iced Tea, which
is a Slurpee take on the original but no less potent!
 Grub-wise,
food portions are hearty and substantial, however nothing is priced above
$10 so people wondering where to settle their dinners before a night out
now have one less thing to worry about. Though the menu of burgers, wings,
and fish and chips may not seem out of the ordinary, what stands out immediately
is the freshness of the ingredients plus the way the food is done to finger-licious
perfection. We bet our last dollar there is one proud chef in the kitchen!
Hai explains that their food is flash-frozen, which costs marginally more
than the methods other restaurants employ, however the results are substantially
palpable. The burger patty was a thick slab of home-ground beef scented
with rosemary, grilled to perfection before being melded onto the buns
with yummy, gooey cheese; the fries were hot and crisp; the fish was firm
and fresh; even the coleslaw was surprisingly light and fresh, with raisins
tossed in to add an extra dimension to the simple dish.
The people who run BBBC love what they do, and their enthusiasm is palpably
evident. With evenings at the joint making the gradual transition from
loungey chill-out to lively rambunctiousness, the place is starting to
feel like it's come into its own. Whether it's just your average hanging
out session with selected close chums or if you're raring for a serious
night of clubbing, best discover the place now and make it your own before
it gets too popular. Don't say we didn't warn you!
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