Remember the freshbie from Singapore that we met in Circus last year? She’s gone away and come back again, telling us something she has been studying that we have not heard of. Something to do with human. Anyway, you can now find her at Hit & Mrs, the new cocktail joint in Bangsar.

We see what she has been up to and what we can learn from her…

You have been away for a year, where have you been?
After leaving Circus in February, I went to Langkawi and worked in a hotel for 7 months. After that, I stayed in Penang and worked as a trainer for one month before I was offered this job here for The B.I.G. Group.

You seem pretty pumped up, what is it about these islands?
Well, let’s put it that way. I am recharged! The past 8 months were like a getaway for me!

What did you do?
Quite a lot! Apart from getting my hands on at the back end work for the hotel, I learned about working in a culture I wasn’t familiar with and human interaction at a different level.

That sounds deep…
First of all, I was an F&B Coordinator and Acting F&B Manager for the restaurant in the hotel at the same time. Not only did I have to look after the services at the front end, I had to take care of the paper work, human resources, reporting etc. It was an all rounded role but that gave me the opportunity to learn the full operation of an outlet. Secondly, I learned about the working culture there. It was very different from the big cities. I felt more “human” and that taught me to see things from my staff point of view.

How does it feel being back to the “war zone”?
I feel great and ready! I am really looking forward to next year, especially getting back to competition again. I also miss the vibe that the job here gives me and working with people that make me wanting to come to work every day.

You have a choice of working for the back end and further your experience at a management level, why didn’t you?
I still am at the management level but I feel that servicing customers and managing the bar are more “me”. Over the past 8 months, I have been studying more about history, ingredients and the observation on “sociology palate”. I want to put them into practice now.

Sociology palate?
Yes. It is basically learning about ones’ culture, finding reference from their food and then decipher what the taste they like. For example, Asians are used to herbs which are different from herbs used in European cuisine. We as Asians are more familiar with lemon grass, gula Melaka, ginger, kaffa etc whereas European use things like lavender, rose or hibiscus. So, when introducing cocktails to customers with different palate, you can base your suggestion on what they like and create something with the tastes they are more familiar with.

How would you introduce a cocktail to a local who had not tried your cocktails before?
I’ll first ask him if he likes his drink sweet or sour and then fruity or floral. After that, if they like their drinks dry or fizzy and how strong a taste he likes his drinks.

That sounds like a lot of steps.
It is not so bad when you start with asking them if they like sweet or sour. You can kind of tell if they like the taste or not from their expression, especially through their lips, even sometimes people try to be nice to you and say that they like it. I will then tweak the cocktails to their liking. Experimenting cocktails can be scary because of the verdict you might get but that’s how you get to understand your customers’ palate better.

You were not sure about staying as a bartender a year ago, is that still the case?
No, I am now more sure than ever that bartending is my path. I am so happy that this opportunity came up. It is the right time and I am very excited about it!