Cover Bai Jiawei, the founder of White Shades and co-founder of Stay Gold Flamingo (Photo: White Shades)
Bai Jiawei, the founder of White Shades and co-founder of Stay Gold Flamingo (Photo: White Shades)
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Previously the youngest and fastest to become principal bartender at renowned bar Employees Only, the co-owner of Stay Gold Flamingo spills on what it’s like to open his own bar, White Shades
When Jiawei Bai speaks, he is aglow with a sense of urgency, characterised not by anxious, rapid speech but by well-cadenced intention. We’re on the second level of his new bar, White Shades, and he is eagerly yet systematically telling me about all the little details here that make this space so luxurious. Lights are dim to avoid giving off an unpleasant glare, and the walls are cushioned to absorb sound. Tables in this sophisticated speakeasy are set with unique two-glass coasters—one for water and one for a cocktail—designed so that the counterbalancing weight of one glass prevents the coaster from sticking to the bottom of the other.
I know a perfectionist’s touch when I see it, and it seems like everything at White Shades has been meticulously thought out for an elevated bar experience. “I want everything to be perfect,” Bai agrees when I point this out to him. That often means Bai ends up designing everything himself, from the interiors to the cocktails. It's this attention to detail that is probably why Bai, at the age of 30, already boasts a long list of achievements in the cocktail industry. Previously a bartender at Employees Only Singapore, Bai gained considerable respect by becoming the youngest and fastest bartender to reach principal bartender status at the esteemed bar. Bai went on to open Stay Gold Flamingo with co-founder Jerrold Khoo in 2021, in the middle of the pandemic—a move that has paid off with a No. 32 ranking in this year’s list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars.
Now, Bai is striking out on his own with White Shades, an immersive bar experience spanning four floors in a shophouse on Boon Tat Street. At roughly one month old, it has already received rave reviews from bar-goers and industry veterans alike. The journey starts at the first floor, awash with pretty pastels and serving up gelato and sorbets with cold-brewed tea and low-ABV tea cocktails, while the second floor commands a more seductive atmosphere with dark gradient tones, man-made stone and eclectic Hermès scarves framed on the walls. The entire third floor is an event space perfect for cocktail events or workshops, and the fourth-level rooftop offers a stunning view of the neighbourhood as you sip on carefully curated cocktails.
“I’m pleased with what I have right now,” Bai says of his career. But not one to settle, he admits asking himself every day how he can improve and “refine” his work. Bartending and owning two businesses is a labour of love, and in an industry where a brief series of slip-ups can lead to collapse, finding a passion to keep at is key. “If I don’t feel it, I don’t want to do it,” Bai says, adding that he asks himself: “What is your end goal? How does your passion fit into what you want to do?” When he’s found something he wants to do, he does it quickly. If not, the drive, momentum, and motivation to work on it comes crashing down.
Of course Bai does not always know what he wants, but one thing’s for sure—he’s going to learn as much as he can to figure it out. With two celebrated bars under his name at such a young age, it appears he’s well on the right path to working it out.
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Above Second floor cocktail room at White Shades
Second floor cocktail room at White Shades
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Makings of a great bartender
Growing up in a “typical” Chinese-speaking family, Bai says he “did not know how to express [himself] much” growing up. The wheels of change were set in motion only when Bai turned to part-time bartending in his late teens. Unlike most 18-year-olds who consume alcohol without much discernment, Bai was more inquisitive. “I used to ask myself, ‘What am I drinking?’” Bai says. That curiosity led him to working at now-defunct Nektar, and then Bitters & Love. After finishing his engineering diploma at Ngee Ann Polytechnic and completing National Service, he plunged into full-time work at Employees Only, the Singapore outpost of the renowned New York bar.
“When I got into this industry, I had to interact with more guests,” Bai says, recalling that his introversion prevented him from connecting with guests. The turning point came when he had the chance to visit the original Employees Only bar in New York. While there, he was exposed to the high-octane, convivial style of American bartending. “When I came back to Singapore, the general manager told me it was like I had become a totally different person.” For the first time, it dawned on him that the bar was like a stage, and just like a seasoned actor commanding an audience, it was a platform for him to “break the barrier to talk to strangers”. The change in Bai was so stark that he was subsequently given more and more responsibility, eventually earning the role of principal bartender in just two years—the youngest and the fastest in the Singapore outpost to do so.
Bai would continue at Employees Only until 2020, when the pandemic shut almost everything down. During the forced respite, Bai and his friend Jerrold Khoo, who was at the time the bar manager of Jigger & Pony, decided it was a good time to embark on a journey they had been putting off for a long time. “We had always joked that someday we would open our own bar. And that was the best time to actually do the things that we had been delaying,” he says. In September 2021, Stay Gold Flamingo opened in the midst of mask mandates and group size restrictions, and by 2023 it had become recognised as one of Asia’s 50 best bars.
Opening a bar with restricted crowds and curfews seems like the opposite of sound business logic, but there are benefits too, like lower rental costs. Besides, according to Bai, there’s no such thing as a perfect time. “If you really want it, you will find all kinds of ways to make it happen.”
Read more: How Singapore’s best bar, Jigger & Pony, is welcoming its new decade in the industry
Above Savi Galloping at White Shades
Savi Galloping at White Shades
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Striking out on his own
Today, Bai finds himself at the helm all on his own. He has designed everything himself—he refuses to work with an interior designer, citing creative clashes—and has crafted a deeply personal cocktail menu that reflects his growth.
Having had a taste of business ownership at Stay Gold Flamingo, Bai comes into the new venture with a clearer eye on management and administrative issues. But the most exciting part about Bai’s solo venture is the autonomy to apply the lessons learnt and make a name for himself. “When you’re confident enough, it’s time to start your own thing where you can take full control,” he says.
But running White Shades is not a walk in the park either. Bai recalls a moment right before signing the lease where he experienced a crippling episode of self-doubt, when the tough reality of running a business reared its ugly head. “I don’t want to create something that will leave me in debt and where I cannot pay my staff,” he confesses. When negativity creeps in, Bai questions the passion and motivation that got him started in the first place. But he has managed to stay true to his path, emerging from each episode with a refined sense of “time management” and “self-discipline”.
“You have to keep failing until you succeed,” he says. “Find out why you failed and don’t repeat the same mistake.”
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Above “Bomber J”cocktail at White Shades
“Bomber J”cocktail at White Shades
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The future of Singapore’s cocktail scene
In Bai’s perspective, the opening of White Shades coincides with Singapore’s cocktail scene reaching an all-time high, with a myriad of styles, techniques, and a powerful dose of innovation lighting up the industry. With Singapore’s cocktail bars increasingly in the spotlight, he envisions White Shades as a platform for local bartenders to hone their craft. His hope is to correct the misconception that bartenders can only find success by heading abroad.
Bai knows firsthand that the road to achieving one’s dreams is often long and hard. “You must be willing to learn,” Bai offers in advice to newcomers in the industry. “Once you level up, throw yourself back down to learn,” he says. “Learn to be patient and seek opportunities where you can be heard, while also hearing what others have to say.” After spending almost half his life successfully carving a name for himself in the cocktail industry, we’re inclined to think this tricenarian knows exactly what he’s talking about.
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Ethan Kan was Tatler Singapore’s dining writer.
