Serangoon Gardens: Drink tower central

By Elias Wee

SERANGOON Gardens – the little hip hangout in the North-East, with its cafes, restaurants, niche grocers and village vibes (don’t forget the narrow roads and parking lot headaches) – is becoming the indisputable go-to place for massive, colossal drinks you won’t quite grasp the size of just by reading it off the menu: the drink tower.

A drink tower typically holds 2.5 to three litres of your chosen beverage. Because of its large size, it is usually ordered by groups; everyone dispenses the drink into their own cups. You may order cold, iced beverages by the drink tower and we’ve not come across hot drink towers – yet.

When did this all begin?

Beer towers have been around for quite a while – pubs and bars were the first to sell their drinks by the tower. Then, we started seeing non-alcoholic drink towers, from RK Eating House, appearing on Instagram sometime just before 2015. Its shop staff confirmed that they have been selling drink towers, which nowadays can include a plethora of choices, such as iced milo, lime juice and others, for over a year.

Just opposite RK Eating House, drink stalls at Chomp Chomp Food Centre began selling sugarcane towers towards the end of last year, say sellers there. As if to muscle in on the trend at Serangoon Gardens, Srisun Express, which started selling drink towers in the middle of last year at its first outlet in Hougang, opened its branch there on Thursday evening.

Together, all these stalls offer a whopping 36 beverages at least, that one can have in a drink tower – welcome to drink tower central.

Why buy a drink tower?

For customers who dine in groups, it’s simply good value for money, compared to buying a cup each, said Mr Rob Cheh, 30, an information technology engineer, who was dining at Chomp Chomp with his colleagues. Mr Wong Hoong Chun, 26, a university student, said he liked the communal experience and convenience, as each person may dispense whatever amount they need and drink at whatever pace they choose. Others went beyond functional reasons. “Because it’s fun!” said Ms Vannesa Sim, 24, a freelance filmmaker, “especially when you have many people drinking from what looks like a soccer ball”.

For some, it appears that they just can’t get enough of their favourite drink; hence, they order it by the tower. Twitter user @SoSingaporean posted: “Milo tower, my dream come true or what?” – alongside a photo of an ice cold milo tower from RK Eating House.

Here are the four places you should visit in drink tower central:

Chillax Cafe (beer towers)
Let’s begin with the one that started it all: beer towers. You may order popular beers—Carlsberg, Hoegaarden, Asahi—by the tower, in shops around the area like Fat Boys, Happy Daze, Bulldog Cafe & Pub. And then there’s Chillax Cafe, which sells Weihenstephan wheat and lager beers by the tower. The brand claims to run the oldest still-operating brewery in the world, brewing beers since 725 (Yes, the year’s only three digits long). A three-litre tower at Chillax Cafe will cost you $68. We did the math — that’s cheaper than buying it by the glass or jug. According to Mr Darren Wee, the co-owner, sales of beer towers has seen a steady increase since Chillax started in 2012, though he didn’t give exact figures when asked.  You may order dishes like root beer chicken wings and truffle fries to accompany your drinks.

Address: 28 Maju Ave, Singapore 556698; Facebook page

Opening hours: 3pm–1am, Monday to Thursday; 4pm–2am, Friday; 11am–2am, Saturday; 11am–12am, Sunday

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RK Eating House (multi-flavoured drink towers)
This Indian-Muslim eatery sells drink towers in two sizes 2.5 and five litres — that’s the largest drink tower in Serangoon Gardens! Their most popular drink towers include ice milo, teh peng, bandung and teh-cino-ice (similar to teh peng, but sweeter and with more ice). When asked about which drinks they sell by the tower, the staff flipped the menu to the “cold drinks” page and made a gesture, indicating that pretty much any cold drink may be served by the tower. Depending on which drink, the smaller towers generally costs around $10 each; large towers, $18. According to its staff, sales of drink towers have tripled since they first started selling the drink towers more than a year ago. Still want more towering delights? Order RK’s Eating House’s conical shaped paper prata, which is a thin, flour-based pancake deftly shaped by hand into a metre tall cone.

Address: 1 Kensington Park Rd, Singapore 557253

Opening hours: 24 hours a day

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Chomp Chomp Food Centre (sugarcane tower)
Drink stalls at Chomp Chomp Food Centre have long sold sugarcane juice in oversized mugs, with tiny, colourful straws – emerging from the luminous green liquid. But now, at least three stalls sell them by the tower too. They come in two sizes — two litres and three litres, $10 and $15 respectively. And depending on which stall you visit, they serve other drinks by the tower too — like bandung, longan, soya bean milk, lime and soursop. After the first stall started selling sugarcane towers at the end of last year, two more stalls quickly followed suit, and started selling their own drink towers two to three months ago. The stalls usually provide you with a separate bucket of ice. A cold sugarcane tower pairs well with Chomp Chomp’s many well loved dishes like barbecue stingray and chicken wings,  or fried Hokkien mee and oyster omelette.

Address: 20 Kensington Park Rd, Singapore 557269 

Opening hours: Stalls selling sugarcane drink towers here typically open from around 4pm to 12.30am

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Srisun Express (multi-flavour drink towers)
Like RK Eating House, Srisun Express sells many different types of drink towers. But theirs come in a slender, taller, three litre cylindrical design. It’s Serangoon outlet is the only place in this area where you may enjoy non-alcoholic drink towers in an air-conditioned setting! Drink towers here cost between $12 and $16, depending on which drink you choose. According to the staff, the most popular drink tower flavours are iced milo, bandung and blueberry. While the Serangoon outlet is new, the original outlet at Hougang has seen the sales of drink towers also triple since introducing them last year. Srisun Express serves all kinds of North and South Indian food, and Thai seafood too. In the past, Srisun Express has held drink tower competitions for customers, and they have said this will continue. Be sure to look out for them!

Address: 56 Serangoon Garden Way, Singapore 555952; Facebook Page

Opening hours: 24 hours a day

Featured image from TMG file. 

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The post Serangoon Gardens: Drink tower central appeared first on The Middle Ground.

- Elias Wee