Five Marbles Singapore: Cheap Craft Beer and Casual Bistro Fare with an Asian Twist in Bras Basah

PUBLISHED December 2nd, 2017 06:00 am | UPDATED May 18th, 2020 06:55 pm

With a name inspired by a communal childhood game, it’s clear that the founders of Five Marbles are looking to build a watering hole where one can seek a similar type of comfort and familiarity. It works for most part, mainly due to the pocket friendly pricing for hearty grub and craft beer – ranging $5 to $8 for a half pint, and $10 to $16 for a full one – on its 12 rotating taps, despite a location straddling the Orchard Road shopping belt and the vibrant arts and heritage neighbourhood of Bras Basah.

Housed in the atrium connecting Rendezvous Hotel Singapore and Rendezvous Gallery, it can get a little warm in the day but that’s certainly the best time to appreciate the beautiful skylight that protects the courtyard from the elements. Our visit started off with Salted Egg Fish Crisps ($9) accompanied by Pasteur Street Brewing’s Dragon Fruit Gose ($6/$12), a pink-hued sour and slightly salty beer with a juicy mouthfeel and a light acidity. The fish skin was well fried and retained its crispiness for at least half an hour; the salted egg yolk was not overwhelming. In fact, it could use a tad more of the slightly spiced, savoury topping.

Though not impressive, the Bolognese Linguine ($16) was serviceable since the sauce was drier and chunkier than most local renditions of the classic dish. The linguine had a decent bite and the beef wasn’t drowned out by the tomato, but we had hoped for a stronger, more robust sauce. Five Marbles’ co-founder and craft beer enthusiast paired the pasta with Gosnell’s Citra Sea Mead ($8/$16). Hailing from a London brewery, the fermented honey was smooth and sweet – a salty tinge from the addition of sea water to the brew saved it from being overly so.

What will lure us back to Five Marbles, however, is the Green Curry Lychee Duck Linguine ($19). Again, the cooked pasta wasn’t swimming in sauce, but there was enough to coat the noodles with enough to get the multitude of flavours in every bite. It could have been a little spicer (personal preference) but we’d be more than happy to eat it the way it is. The chef’s choice to use a gamier fowl paid off by providing a more textural contrast while the lychees were welcome bursts of sweetness between the spice. We had this with Brewlander’s Love ($7/$14), an IPA fermented using wild yeast. It has more character than the classic IPAs, with tropical fruit on the nose and hoppy bitterness with a slight tartness on the palate. And in case you missed it, Brewlander is actually a local craft beer company with facilities in Cambodia to churn out their tasty brews!

A closer look at Five Marbles’ menu will reveal that they have a couple of savoury dishes on the menu that features beer in the cooking process. One of them is the Portobello Chicken Cheese Baked Beer Rice ($16), where the shredded chicken and mushrooms were cooked in lager before being enveloped in rice and encased by a topping of cheddar. Though we couldn’t really taste the beer (lagers aren’t usually as flavourful to other craft beer styles) in the baked rice, at least the buttered rice was moist and not overcooked. It could have used another cheese for more flavour support but for $16, there’s nothing much to complain about. To offset the heaviness of the dish, have a portion of the easy-drinking, well-balanced Tuatara Helluva Helles Lager ($6/$12).

There’s not much at Five Marbles in terms of desserts, but there are a variety of beer floats. For instance, they paired the Gosnell’s Citra Sea Mead with coconut ice cream to come up with The White Princess ($17) and also catered to the dark side with Darker Than Black ($15), featuring dark chocolate ice cream and chocolate stout.

Be warned that night time at Five Marbles also mean hotpot smells wafting down from the popular restaurant above – but if you’re in the queue, you should probably head down for a drink while waiting. The affordable route the owners have taken here also means that it’s unlikely to see craft beers with an ABV higher than 10% (it’s the way Singapore taxes alcohol) on their taps. That said, we had a good experience at Five Marbles and there’s no reason not to give it a go.

Five Marbles Craft Beer Restaurant is located at Level 1 Courtyard, Rendezvous Hotel Singapore, 9 Bras Basah Road, Singapore 189559. Open 11am-12 midnight daily.

All food images courtesy of Sylvester Fedor.