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Fura

Singapore

• Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award 2024

New Entry

Opened in October 2023, Fura has landed in the crowded and highly competitive Singapore bar scene with a major bang. And that’s largely because this gastrobar is inventive, principled, unusual and fun, much like its co-founders, Sasha Wijidessa and Christina Rasmussen. The couple met in Copenhagen, where Danish-American Rasmussen was previously head forager at world-renowned restaurant Noma. Wijidessa, former head bartender at the legendary Operation Dagger in her home city of Singapore, was in Denmark working for pioneering distillery Empirical Spirits. After returning to Singapore, they ran a successful food-and-cocktails pop-up, Mallow, before opening their first permanent venture together.

Located on the drinking and dining hotspot that is Amoy Street, Fura is named after the Swedish word for pine – and the 40-seat bar places nature and sustainability at the forefront of its working practices and guest offering. All drinks on the current The Journal of Future Foods cocktail menu highlight ingredients that are either abundant or invasive due to imbalances in the ecosystem, delivered with a dose of humour and fun. Highlights include the Jellyfish Martini – a classic gin martini but with added jellyfish (now highly invasive in the world’s oceans), fish leaf and kombu oil – and the Juicy Fruit, featuring white rum and prevalent local fruits including pineapple, jackfruit and bananas, designed to invoke the flavour of the famous bubble gum brand.

Wijidessa’s skilfully composed libations are original and, vitally, delicious. The plant-led food offering at Fura, overseen by Chef Rasmussen, is equally innovative, incorporating elements such as protein-rich insects, a range of ferments and black garlic ‘caviar’. The team’s progressive take on reducing waste, sourcing and human sustainability has rightly earned Fura the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award as part of Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024.

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