On a lazy Sunday afternoon, eager to stave away the Monday blues, we stroll into Pahit. Nestled unassumingly behind a white brick wall, the bar opens to a quiet courtyard filled with rattan chairs and hanging vines. 

We snag a cosy corner seat and enjoy the gentle afternoon breeze in the shade. No one else is here yet, and atmosphere is feels serene. “Everyone must still be drinking their coffee”, my friend muses. “Well, it is only 3pm after all."

Our day drinking begins.

A gin-based Paloma (left) and a bespoke Gin Sour (right).

I ask the bartender for “something creamy, floral and sweet”, and he whips up a customized Gin Sour with banana, lime juice, sakura and syrup. It's fragrant, citric and subtly sweet, with an unexpectedly earthy note that reminds me somewhat of assam tea. 

My friend requests a Paloma cocktail, with the usual addition of tequila swapped out for gin. This winds up infusing the grapefruit soda with a twist of juniper, making this drink extra refreshing and fruity.

A neon sign in the courtyard flashes “Juniper and Joy", an apt slogan for a bar specialising in gin-based cocktails. In fact, the name “Pahit” means “bitter” in Malay, coined after the popular gin pahit drink that was often enjoyed in colonial Malaya.

I’m eager to try one of Pahit’s famous in-house fruit-infused gin and tonics, with local flavours such as calamansi, ginger flower and asamboi (salted dried plum).

The delicious house-infused Jackfruit and Lime gin and tonic.  

Their jackfruit and lime gin and tonic catches my eye, and when it arrives, its carries ripe notes of mango, pineapple and banana. Jackfruit is often a divisive fruit, much like durian, and is both hated and loved for being slightly pungent and fermented in taste. Yet in this gin and tonic, it adds a unique and non-confronting tropical complexity.

Sitting and sipping in the courtyard of Pahit brings forth childhood memories of sticky-sweet afternoons eating fruits in one’s grandparent’s backyard, the smell of agarwood and lime in the air – except now with higher ABV treats. The atmosphere is unpretentious, befitting of the charming 1920s heritage shoplot the bar is housed within. 

As we sit and swap stories over drinks, we’re so relaxed we barely notice the hours that have passed. It’s only until more guests start trickling in, quickly filling up the courtyard with the social buzz of conversation, that we notice its now 6 pm.

Rejuvenated from our quiet afternoon of gin-filled respite, we grab our bags and adjourn to dinner, heading outside into the bustling traffic-filled streets of Bukit Bintang.

Until next time,

@lotusroot518

---

Pahit

3, Jalan Sin Chew Kee,

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 50150

IG: @barpahit | FB: @barparhit

Pahit is a gin-focussed bar located in Kuala Lumpur. Its setting is pared down - a rustic and laid back 1920s shoplot; allowing its house infusion, classic and contemporary gin based cocktails to take centre stage.