Cuisine: Asian fusion
Address: 20 Cross St. #01-19, Cross Street Exchange, (Along, Nankin St, 048422
Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer station (Downtown line)

One of the sassiest bars in Singapore, Coq & Balls offers the most potent cocktails in Singapore, and once you’ve had a taste of them, you’d want to come back.

It was starting to get crowded and lively when I reached the area around 6pm. It was great to see the Singapore night scene slowly recovering and people hanging out in groups of up to 10, mingling over food and drinks.

Along the China square pedestrian street, there are various sculptures and artwork that depict the old Chinese culture, such as this one of a rickshaw rider ferrying a passenger.

Coq and Balls offers some attractive lunch sets, such as this Wagyu Beef don ($16.90), which I had tried previously during a visit to the restaurant in the afternoon. The beef slices are cooked for 20 hours sous vide and marinated with mirin/ sake and shoyu. The onsen egg was slightly runny and this beef bowl is filling enough for one. The beef slices were tender, the sauce was tasty and the faint smell of truffle awoken our senses when this dish was served to the table.

On the second time that I had visited, it was dinner time and going with a few more friends allowed us to order more dishes for sharing. The St Louis Style BBQ Pork Ribs ($23.90) is highly recommended, with the tender ribs cooked so well such that they fell off the bone easily. It is served with roasted potatoes and greens.

There is also a wide range of pasta available, and based on the chef’s recommendation, this is the famous Singapore laksa with seafood ($26). The laksa sauce was thinly coated over the pasta noodles, and the ingredients were aplenty, such as squid, tomatoes, mussels, prawns etc.

For pizzas, we were choosing between the truffle mushroom pizza ($16.90) and the smoked duck pizza ($16.90). In the end, we settled for the latter because of the smoked duck pieces It comes with mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan. It was slightly little with the duck slices but the thin crust pizza was crispy and delicious.

Happy hour prices at Coq and Balls are attractive. Drink start from $29 for a 1.5L of Kronenbourg Blanc. This pint of Kronenbourg cost $9.50. With most of the pints prices below $10 during Happy hour, it is definitely worth coming here before 8pm daily to enjoy the attractive prices.

Overall, we had an enjoyable time at Coq and Balls, with cheap drinks and delicious food, we would be back here again. They also have another outlet at Tiong Bahru. If Coq & Balls @ Tiong Bahru is your go-to place for wild Friday nights, Coq & Balls @ Cross Street is a great place for a more chill night & affordable dinner & drinks.