Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Zsofis

Turning into Dunlop Street from Jalan Besar, the atmosphere took a dip from the bustling main road to a relatively calm one-way street. That night, at the early hour of ten, we were accompanied by the sounds of prayers transmitted from the historic Masjid Abdul Gaffoor. Donned in majestic yellow and green, the mosque was a sight to behold. The magnitude of it might not be startling but the features were everything beautiful. A visit during daytime is a must, I promised myself.

Along the way, there were backpacker lodges and budget hotels with their bright, colourful signboards. And we found a good number of Indian restaurants, serving dishes of different origins; South, North and Indian Muslim. I might have just found my shangri-la.

We were already veering towards the heart of Little India. I must admit that I was slightly lost in the energetic, amplified beats of Indian music blaring from the shops and the newfound excitement for the eateries that surrounded me.

And then, there was Zsofis.

The vibe was right that night, the moment I heard Feist’s One Evening.

And Coldplay’s God Put A Smile Upon Your Face.

The bar was gradually filled with patrons as the hours went on. Tourists, locals and us; all in search of a good time on a Saturday night. We started off with beers. I like mine dark and malty. Erdinger Dunkel and Guiness Stout seemed like good choices. Hoegaarden offered the forbidden fruit, De Verboden Vrucht (Le Fruit Defendu) which came with, yes, a potent, fruity flavour. The tequila and vodka shots followed. And the greeting of a dear old friend, the long island tea.

Each drink came with a free tapas serving. Towards the end of the night, we had sampled about seven or eight of them. Sweet and spicy Spanish salami slices, fiery hot chilli buffalo wings, crispy Calamares Rebozados (deep-fried squid rings), rich Huevos Rellenos con Alcaparras (halved eggs stuffed with cream, capers and topped with caviar), savoury Brochetas de Esparragos y Bacon (bacon wrapped asparagus) and tasty Croquetas de Queso con Jamon (potato fritters with ham and cheese), among others.

They said that one should not drink on an empty stomach. I absolutely agree, especially when the tapas are delicious.

I would love to meet Zsofis, the Spanish lass whom had inspired the opening of this tapas bar. She must have been a lover of good music and good food. I am almost certain that she is as bubbly and interesting as the owner, Janice.

From our strategic seats, we were able to observe the activities that were taking place in the bar. And yet, all I could do was immerse in the cool selection of music that crossed between pop, indie and fun. None of that torchy stuff to fire up the already hot, transition days to the months of dry spell ahead.

I wanted to leave a word or two on the blackboard before calling it a night but gave up in the end, for the crapulous state of mine did not permit the flow of a good line to compliment the awesome tapas bar they called Zsofis.

Zsofis

68 Dunlop Street
Singapore 209396
Tel: (+65) 6297 5875
Mobile: (+65) 84284284
Website: http://tapasbar.com.sg/

22 comments:

Sugar Bean said...

Nice photos, looks like a good place for a drink. Awww... Another good place in Singapore. Envy envy! How's the pricing?

Life for Beginners said...

I love the starkness of this black-and-white post! No sepia tones in sight too. Very, very nice, bro. The words match the pictures to create a very WKW-ed mood, the sort I can appreciate on a stormy afternoon with a black, black cuppa joe. :)

Now I feel like doing my own stark, stark post... :P

backStreetGluttons said...

Zsofis,Janice, Dunlop , tapas an Hey ! where's da Extravagent Spanish Eyes ? The 1 we came to C ?

promise next time ok , or we gonna fret for years to come

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

looks like it was a complete happy meal, drinks and food!..

Selba said...

Ah... again... your pictures amazed me! Even the black & white food pictures look delicious to me...

A night with a song of Coldplay? hmmmm..... nice :)

ladyironchef said...

hahhaha Nic did you put everything in B&W because the photos too dark? lol! But yeah man, i agreed with the rest, the B&w photos together with yr words, got the "feel" heh

I read abt this place before on the papers, but din venture to little india yet. haha. I'm craving for spanish food, i love the tapas concept! how much is the food and drinks there like?

Tummythoz said...

Thot 'crap-ulous' was made up. Lucky there's Thesaurus. *shy but memorising*

kampungboycitygal said...

argghhh i need my happy hour drinks

Ciki said...

i love ur color posts... now u just made me fall in love w ur b/w posts too! where is this plc.. btr take me thr nxt time!

Xiu Long Bao said...

Somehow the alcohols gave me one sleepless night. Too much or too little? Grunt...how come liddat one.

J2Kfm said...

you cannot be lost if you dunno where you are.

erm, that's a little deep. =P

minchow said...

Very film noir... you can just imagine a silent steady type, in a trenchcoat, slipping into a not too strategic seat, rejecting all advances, preferring instead to dip his head in concentration over a shot or two, and the weight on his shoulders. What words does the blackboard of his mind proffer? We can only speculate...

~Christine~Leng said...

it's been so long i went out for a drink... I have a thing for B&W photos. nice :)

HairyBerry said...

sugar bean, thank kew! ;D yupe, it's a cool place to drink, no doubt. i especially like the neighbourhood! well, the pricing is average. but on the night of my visit, i think they were having promotion. so, it was tax-free!!!

kenny, thanks so much, bro. yeah, definitely no sepia tones here. hehehe...oh, i bet if WKW is doing a Zsofis, it would have been colourful to the max. but i still like the b&w thingy here, cos that's how i felt that day. ;D smokeless, but stark. woah, u doing a stark, stark post? got vampires or not? hehe...

backstreetgluttons, haha, i would have loved to meet the extravagant spanish eyes as well. alas, she was just the inspiration. haha, i'll try my best to discover and hopefully, snap more eyes for y'all. dont fret lah! ;D

joe, and the funny thing was, this actually took place a few hours after an ala carte buffet!!! woohoo!!! no wonder we were quite sober thought drank lotsa..hehe

selba, really glad u liked the pics! i like em too! ;D yeah, food should be colourful, i must agree. but i thought it would be fun to inject some B&W into the pics...hehe..you like coldplay too? that's awesome!

ladyironchef, heheheeh..actually, my pictures were quite bright that night. just that i thought, well, let's have some fun with the pics! ;D woah, got "feel"? *shy shy* ;D the drinks here are reasonably priced, and there are some promotions going on, i think. as for the food, i see many patrons ordering the plates of good looking yummies. shd be good oso.

HairyBerry said...

tummythoz, aiyah, no need shy-shy all la. i oso thought it was part of the crappy crap family. turned out to be an appropriate word. thanks to the drinks, definitely..hehe

kampungboycitygal, me too! me too! plus a good makan before and after the happy hours! heheh..

cumi & ciki, woah, i am flattered beyond the most potent of long island teas la...so sweet of ya! ;D yupe, we go there next time u pay sg a visit. it's at dunlop street, somewhere around little India. very funky place. i like!

xiu long bao, i think the sleepless night was caused by the yummy buffet la...hehe..plus the alcohol, woah, summore jialat la. but hey, the next day was a sunday, so, no worries la.

j2kfm, so ironic hor, that phrase. i contemplated on it for quite sometime before giving up. i guess it has got something to do with subconciousness kua...i was kinda lost in the music though..but i knew where i was la..hehe

550ml jar of faith, film noir! ohh, tres bonne! i like your story! i continue here ar..

"the night must have been hard on him. the attack, just an hour ago had left him scarred from within. they came back for it. yes, that something that did not belong to him. but who were they? he dipped his head, held the glass in his hand and took a sip. he was in search of a tranquilizer, to calm him from the rain of blood that poured the in front of him. the sins of his past crawled back to life, tonight."

hehe, so shiok-sendiri hor?

christine, me too! well, before this, i mean. ;D hey, do go out for a drink when you are free la! it's a good way to unwind! ;D and am glad u liked the pictures! cheers!

ladyironchef said...

HAHA! dont need shy, really got feel! heh. the promotion is one drink with one tapas? how much is it?

Jun said...

omg i looove those pics!! which version of photoshop do u use?

GFAD said...

I was so tempted to write,'Ze Zsofis muz be a nize plaze tzo hang out afzer a hard dzay at ze ofis'... but nahhh..... :P

I thot the glass of chalk were your ciggie butts!

I agree, your B&Ws are very nice - very atmospheric!

Rebecca Saw said...

a modern plc but depicted by "old" pics - the effect of B&W at the most unlikely time, which gives an overall stark atmosphere YET it was actually at a 'happening' venue..yes, only u can pull it off!

bossacafez said...

nice pictures nic! i love intense shades of black & white, which i'm not able to achieve for all my b/w pics. need to do alot of photoshop before i can achieve this shade.

one of my customer is working as PR (i think) at zsofis and wanted to ask me to go for a food tasting session, but til now still no news haha.

Snow White said...

i really like the fax pix!

HairyBerry said...

ladyironchef, yupe you are right. one tapas per drink. good deal, right? oh, the drinks come in different prices. i can only remember my tall glass of beer which cost about ermmm, S$18. check it out! ;D

jun, glad you like 'em pics, gal! ;D aiyoh, i not so hi tech to use photoshop la. i've been using ACDSee for the longest time. sometimes, i just download some legal software off the net..hehe..

GFAD, zdis zis za gud plaze to hang out zeven on weekendz. ;D
haha, i thought the chalks were ciggie butts as well! well, chalks are definitely a healthier choice..hehe.. and thanks for the compliment on the pics!! ;D

thenomadGourmand, woah! thanks so much for the compliment! ;D i must say the starkness was unintentional..hehe..but i must say that it was a very inspiring place. hence, the jumping of queue to post this first. ;D

evan 이벤젤린, thanks evan! ;D i agree with you on the B&W pics. contrarily to popular beliefs, i think it is more difficult to capture a good pic in B&W than in colour. colours can be a good distraction but B&W, woah, the shades are very difficult to achieve. hence, softwares...hehehehehe... woah, you going to zsofis? that's really cool stuff! take lotsa pics! ;D

snow white, thank kew thank kew! glad you like 'em pics. ;D ;D