Drinking Melbourne is the weekly briefing from drinks writer Fred Siggins, unpacking what’s happening in Melbourne’s bars (and what you can learn from them), sent every Tuesday to your inbox. Get on the list here.
Welcome back to the Boothby Melbourne newsletter — Sam Bygrave here once again while Fred Siggins works on his non-verbal communication in Rome.
In this newsletter, Yao Wong — he of whisky bars The Elysian Whisky Bar and Goodwater — answers our Drinks Traveller questionnaire from the current print issue of Boothby, which, by the way, you can lay your hands on along with our Boothby totes and back issues of the magazine in the store here.
Drinks traveller: Yao Wong
Yao is co-owner of two award-winning Melbourne bars — The Elysian Whisky Bar and Goodwater — and still finds the time to travel abroad, maintain an internal rolodex of the the best places to eat in multiple cities, and show up and support his many industry friends across Australia and South East Asia.
I think hospitality is in the word itself, giving treatment and care to others however we can to make their day a little better. It doesn’t have to be complicated, all my goal is, is to make sure my guest leaves happier than when they came in — everything else is secondary.
The last purchase that really meant something to me is was a fresh set of Japanese whetstones. Sharpening my kitchen knives (which I use a lot) is oddly cathartic and therapeutic, and it is understated how good it feels to sharpen on a fresh set of very level stones.
The best book I’ve read this year is Project Hail Mary — well, as an audiobook — as a consolation prize because I probably wouldn’t have time to check it out whilst it was playing in the movies.
On a trip to Kuala Lumpur this year, I learned how far my home city has come up in the bartending world, and how proud I was that it was so amazing.
If I were to describe my sense of style, I’d say I’m proper suited up in a waistcoat and tie for work most times, and so often that some people get so surprised when they spot me in the wild on my rare day off with a tee shirt and baseball cap.
I listen to deep house and ambient music when I’m travelling because I don’t get to listen to this genre much at my bars — which I spend most of my waking moments in — and I can have a little party inside my own head.
The last podcast I listened to that inspired me was the For the Culture podcast by my friend Jess Ho. It’s a great little dive into how cultural identity and food are linked, especially in migrant communities.
I travel 36-40 days each year, and it feels like a whirlwind trip every time. The amount I manage to pack into my schedule, especially the frequent small weekend Sunday to Tuesday jaunts — yes, three-day trips even to South East Asia.
The best packing advice I have received is to bring a bunch of clothes with you that you were probably gonna throw away anyway — like socks with holes, underwear that have seen one laundry cycle too many, and just ditch them in country, so I can make space for bottles to bring back.
My airport playbook? I make sure I’ve got all my visas lined up (where necessary), got a list of podcast or audiobooks ready for the plane, and make sure I’ve got my eSim good to go wherever for I’m travelling to.
The strangest place my job has taken me is when I hitchhiked on Islay after a distillery visit to Kilchoman, and missed my bus back to the cottage I was staying at. I ended up getting in a van with a bunch of Danish visitors, where the van copped a flat tire so we explored a remote beach on the Western coast of Islay whilst we were waiting for the tire to be changed, broke out the whiskies we picked up at the distillery, and shared some drams by the beach.
This is what people don’t understand about what we do — how hard it is working an actual service, trying to keep consistent day in and day out at a high level, and in my case, not being able to switch off easily.
The collaboration I’ve been involved in that spoke the most to me was bringing the Friends Abroad concept to life with my mate Kayla Saito, a concept we had been talking about for a long time — and hopefully we’ll get it going again soon.
Open my fridge and you’ll find a pretty stacked pantry where I can make a bowl of ramen on the fly... Or my booze fridge, which is full of wine and champagne, and the freezer is ready to go with freezer door Martinis.
The most expensive bottle of whisky I’ve bought for myself is a wonderful bottle from the Bowmore distillery which was bottled in the late 70s for which I paid thousands... And it is a bottle that I will order a dram of whenever I see it in the wild at a bar.
The last playlist I listened to was a really cool deep house and synthwave remix playlist of 90s/2000s bangers.
My favourite place for late night eats is delicious food from the street side corner, anywhere it can be found from Asia to Europe, it’s all a good time — I have a talent for finding these places no matter where I go. And if it’s a bowl noodles, even better.
Emotions are paramount in the ability to connect to others... But at the same time being able to understand and control my own at all times, and having the ability to leave things at the door before I clock on is equally as important.
If I’m not working, you’ll find me trying to find some new place to eat and drink at — I do try and keep up with the goings on in my city as best I can.
The work of art I keep returning to is this black and white wall spray paint art near Flinders Lane in Melbourne CBD of a cat that looks exactly like my cat. As a cat dad to a fluffy boy, I love it.
The app I use most on my phone is probably Instagram or YouTube — doom scrolling on Insta is my guilty pleasure, but also watching endless cooking videos and food related content like on Eater or First we Feast.
The bar I always return to is Caretaker’s Cottage, as that pint of Guinness starts pouring the moment I step in.
The bar I wish I could visit more often is Puffy Bois in Singapore... Great drinks, catch up with some old friends, great pizza, and I pick up some of Sam Ng’s chili crisp every time I see him... How good.
If there’s one hotel I always come back to, it’s not strictly a hotel, but a small ryokan in the town of Chichibu, called Saitama and run by a guy I met drinking at a bar in Chichibu town by chance. We kept in contact. Old school, amazing hospitality, great food, mini hot spring... Just a magical time to rest after a long day of drinking and distillery visits.
If you look at who I follow on Instagram, you’ll see a lot of hospitality industry people from all around the world, primarily bartenders, both upcoming and veterans... Unless you follow my noodle page which is basically all ramen shops and noodle fanatics like myself.
I think a great bar is made of the people behind it. People are the most important thing in a bar by far... The design, drinks, and vibe of a place bring the guests in, but the people keep them coming back.
Around the bars
Bar Privé — which you may know about because you read this story last week — is on the hunt for cocktail bartenders.
Meanwhile, the QT Hotel is looking for an F&B director — take a look here.
