Parlour Mirage, Farrer Park: “A craft beer & Japanese pairing perfect for newbies getting into craft beer”

Most people enjoy a nice pint of beer. A refreshing Carlsberg or a punchy Guinness would normally do the job, injecting you with a joyful blurry buzz to let you slickly assimilate into any social situation. But nowadays, a new type of beer is on the rise—craft beer. Alas, most people don’t know what craft beer is and don’t know where to start. That’s where Parlour Mirage comes in with their innovative craft beer and food pairing menu specially designed so that anyone can jump into the world of craft beer effortlessly.

So what exactly is craft beer? It’s more than just a beverage, it’s a culture. It’s many people coming together with their love for bolder, wackier flavours that range from Pandan Lagers to Chocolate Marshmallow stouts. A sub-genre of alcoholic beverages where possibilities are endless.

But to simplify things for the general public, Parlour Mirage rolled out a new program in September that streamlined the process by pairing three different varieties of quirky beer styles with scrumptious Japanese-Mediterranean tapas snacks.

What I tried

As a craft beer bar, Parlour Mirage carries a very diverse and comprehensive curation of beers to suit every palate possible. Everything is stored in kegs and dispensed from taps to ensure peak freshness. 

You can expect everything from gentle light lagers, similar to your tiger beers, to funky sours that taste like fruity cocktails. Plus the taps are kept on rotation to make sure things never get boring.

The Beer & Yakitori Menu (S$45) at Parlour Mirage is a beginner-friendly experience—they start you off with the lighter more palatable combinations before slowly moving up the learning curve through three courses. The first is a pairing of a fruity sour beer with skewers of Chicken Thigh and Eggplant, along with a side of Asian Slaw.

But other than just the pairing menu, you should start off with a bang—it’s imperative you order their signature Furikake Fries (S$10). Blanketed by an avalanche of umami furikake atop crispy thin fries, each mouth is an addictive burst of flavours and we couldn’t stop popping them in.

Following that, our first course of Parlour Mirage’s craft beer and yakitori pairing arrived—it came with a glass of Collective Arts Guava Gose, a tangy and refreshing brew that was delightfully fruity and easy to drink for almost anyone.

The pairing of the sweet chicken thigh stick and juicy eggplants were the perfect foil for the spirited fruit guava notes and gentle saline punch, with a crisp blend of sweet and floral notes.

The second course came in an ensemble of Pork Belly and Tamago skewers with a bowl of Sweet Corn, along with a glass of IPA. The IPA of their choice was the Soul Barrel Fresh Nectar, an easily palatable medley of fruit notes and a mildly earthy finish dominated by hops, an important botanical ingredient in craft beer.

The stronger smoky profiles of the pork belly and tamago were perfectly married to the IPA’s depth of flavour, resulting in a refreshing hit and also a good dose of flavour and buzz at the end.

For the curtain-raiser, we got a combination of Shiitake Mushrooms, Hummus, and a serving of Parlour Mirage’s signature Hokubee Beef Cubes to go with a deep and malty stout.

While not a traditional stout similar to Guinness or ABC stout as most would expect, the Brewlander Respect was a porter with a gamut of strong toasted notes that would entrance most stout lovers but still appeal to most casual beer drinkers with a gentler dose of that punchy, fragrant depth.

Admittedly, this was the best ending you could ask from Parlour Mirage’s craft beer and yakitori pairing since the Hokubee Beef Cubes were absolutely sublime and the highlight of the night. Impossibly juicy and a decadent burst of flavours, this left us swooning and completely satisfied with all its luscious richness.

Final thoughts

The world of craft beer is generally quite daunting for most newbies to get into but if you’re looking to have a quick look into this rather esoteric realm of tipples, Parlour Mirage provides an easy outlet for anyone to jump into.

Alternatively, if you love Japanese or Mediterranean bar bites, they also serve up pretty solid sticks that will satisfy most people. If you’re looking for a nice spot to chill that serves up both solid drinks and food, this little craft beer oasis at Owen Road would be the perfect hangout spot for all you beer guzzlers out there.

Expected damage: S$20 – S$45 per pax

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