The MO Bar won the 2021 Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award from the Asia’s 50 Best Bars Academy. Photo Credit: The World's 50 Best Restaurants
For planners organising events at Mandarin Oriental Singapore, which has converted underused meeting space into a specialised studio for both hybrid and virtual events, there's another reason to stay on — MO Bar at level four.
MO Bar is only two-years young, but has already received accolades including ranking 46th on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2020, and now, the recipient of 2021 Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award from the Asia’s 50 Best Bars Academy.
According to Etienne Francois, director of food and beverage, it's about being "more personal".
"If the team overhear that it’s a birthday or a special event, they will come up with something bespoke to treat the guests. A lot of the time it’s almost expected, as a group will announce an event when they’re booking, but we try to create something special for guests who are more discreet with their bookings — the reactions in this instance are really nice to see, because it’s a genuine surprise for them," Francois said in a interview with The World's 50 Best Restaurants.
"Word of mouth has spread that we are the place that people should come to in order to celebrate a special occasion and that means a lot to us."
Winning factors include a creative bar programme inspired by Asia's ports and its travellers, resulting in a series of menus which transport drinkers to the culture and history of the Asia Pacific region such as Bangkok, Taipei, Seoul and Kyoto, to Sri Lanka, Macau, Sydney and Guangzhou.
“In the midst of these extremely challenging times for our industry, this recognition reaffirms all of our team’s hard work and dedication to providing exceptional service and creating moments of delight,” said Adrian Besa, MO Bar manager.
In the wake of the pandemic, Mandarin Oriental Singapore was among the first hotels in Singapore to jump on the hybrid bandwagon, converting its Level four Boardroom into a portable virtual event studio in late 2020. The adjoining room can also be set-up for refreshments, making the space suitable for hybrid meets.