Ever encountered weird food or drink combinations like hot chocolate with cheese, a peanut butter sandwich with pickles, or alcohol with milk tea? It’s weird, but some people love it. In Bang Bang, a bar in Makati, the drinks are exactly like this. But before you get to the bar, you have to pass by VBQ, the Vietnamese restaurant downstairs.
Since food is definitely a must when you want to go drinking, it’s best to have dinner at their restaurant downstairs; it’s less of a hassle and you can hangout immediately at the bar after.
Unlike VBQ, Bang Bang gives off a hip Asian feel perfectly fit for the neighborhood of Poblacion. At first glance, it looks like those rooms in Asian movies where gangs and mafias meet to discuss their nefarious plans. Its dimly lit room is filled with neon green pieces from hanging toy guns to paper lanterns that served as little pieces of chandelier. Lit with neon nights, the bar’s facade also has a variety of alcoholic drinks that fill the shelves. Its chess board-like tiled floor complements the gray velvet sofas that are comfy to sit on.
Apart from its neon facade, the stainless countertop has an array of various herbs ranging from dried fruits, flowers, to candies that the bartender mixes with the drinks.
When the operations manager Patrick Ortega told us that they were going to serve us milk tea in a bar, I was rather confused. “I’ll let your imagination play on that,” Ortega said, trailing off. To my surprise, it really was your typical milk tea with boba and a brown sugar glaze on the side of the cup, but the difference is that it has 40 ml of alcohol mixed with it. The MILF tea is tequila with rum-infused pandan and Oolong tea, served in a cup that could easily be disguised as just “milk tea,” except it’s not. The surprising thing about this is that you can’t even taste the alcohol until you’ve had plenty of it.
Inspired by the LGBTQ community, Pride and Tonic is a gin-based drink mixed with tonic water, flavored ice cubes of lemon, strawberry, cucumber, and blue pea, and sprinkled with edible glitters. It actually looks like one of those glittered perfume with its texture.
This is perfect if you are a casual drinker, otherwise you’ll need to have at least two glasses of it to get drunk as its sour and fruity taste is not that strong.
For those who want to feel like it’s summer all-year-round, there’s the Summer Hangover which is a coconut rum mixed with gin-infused cucumber made into a slushie, with bitters and dried flower buds placed on top. But the fun doesn’t stop there, as this petite drink is served in a small unicorn inflatable. Don’t be fooled by this drink, though, because it gives a strong and slightly bitter taste.
Craving for coffee but still want your alcohol? The Straw-Viet-tini has Vietnamese coffee-infused vodka whipped with a combination of blended fresh strawberry milk and chocolate bitters. It’s tangy and caffeinated, which made me palpitate a little, but it’s delicious.
What I think is the hardest drink that we tasted was the Voyage. Oddly enough, the drink just tastes sour but after a few seconds of your first sip, you’ll eventually feel the heat creep up your face. Made with lotus tea and blended with gin, whiskey, and tonic water, this drink will surely leave a mark. First-timers would think that it’s a pretty drink with its frozen orchid flower but it will actually make you drunk faster than you’d expect.
Got something you want to say but don’t know how? Dear Cheenie, a love letter to its creator’s wife, is a personalized sour drink made from tequila, ginger, basil, lemon, and Asian spice syrup. It comes with a note clipped on the side of the glass. The bartender shared that some guys use this drink to ask out some girls.
If you’re looking for something to eat while enjoying your drinks, Bang Bang also has different snacks to choose from but this pizza is something unique.
We’re often used to seeing pizza with crust made out of dough, this bar makes a Vietnamese version. Made with grilled rice paper and topped with ground pork, spring onion roll, cilantro, and sriracha, this pizza is unlike any of our normally oven-baked pizza.
Poblacion is home to a lot of different restaurants and bars that you can choose from, but if you want to have Vietnamese food and drinks to match without the hassle of going bar-hopping then you’ve come to the right place.
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Writer: GABRIELLE PARLADE
PHOTOGRAPHY TRICIA GUEVARA
