Tokyo-inspired day-to-night hideout opens near Nicoll Highway, pairing pour-over coffee with craft beer

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新加坡Tokyo Brew LabHanoi Story Bar

Day-to-night venues hold a special charm because you get to watch a single space transform once the sun goes down. Singapore has plenty of them, but a newly opened spot we recently stumbled upon has quickly become a favourite. Set on the ground floor of The Concourse, directly opposite Nicoll Highway MRT, Tokyo Brew Lab serves Japanese-style pour-over coffee by day, then morphs into the craft-beer bar Hanoi Story Bar at night.

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The interior is warm and immediately inviting, with sofas and chairs scattered around and a bar counter anchoring the room. Behind it sits a striking red feature wall filled with vinyl records, while Japanese city pop plays in the background.

Espresso drinks (from $5) are on offer, but the hand-drip speciality coffee (from $9) is the real draw and the signature of Tokyo Brew Lab. It is served from 8.30am to 3pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on weekends. The beans rotate every few weeks to match the harvest season; right now the café is pouring Sherry Oak and Hanaichigo beans, alongside Mori Mori Medium and Slow Beans Medium. The menu also features two Vietnamese drip coffees, a classic café au lait ($4.90) and an iced salted-foam latte ($5.50), both made from a 50-50 Robusta-Arabica blend.

Coffee fans should claim a seat at the counter to watch the pour-over ritual. Hot coffee is poured into chilled, tulip-shaped stemmed glasses, which cools it instantly and lets you inhale the full aroma. You can also rent a DIY brew kit ($10) for an hour; it comes with a pour set, grinder, thermometer and burner so you can craft your own cup in store.

The daytime food menu is compact but reliable: five sandos, two sourdough breakfast plates (from $9) and the café's viral banana cake. We tried the classic egg-mayo sando ($7), which packs a generous, well-seasoned filling and a jammy Hanjuku egg in the centre, though we wished the bread were fluffier. Other fillings include Spam with scrambled egg and hashbrown ($9) and otah with hashbrown ($8), all priced under $15.

If you love Bake it Babe's banana cake from Thailand, the version here ($8) hits the same note, with a slightly crisp, banana-slice-lined exterior, a warm, airy centre and a scoop of banana ice cream on the side.

Come 5pm the lights dim and the space becomes Hanoi Story Bar, pouring a roster of Asian craft beers and spirits. Owners Bobby Yeoh and Flin Lee lean toward sours and hop-forward IPAs, so those styles dominate the list. Like the coffee menu, the beer selection rotates monthly, giving regulars a chance to taste brews from different Asian breweries each visit.

At launch, the pair are showcasing Chinese craft beers from Chengdu's Wild West Brewing and Ye Brewing of Shijiazhuang in Hebei. IPA drinkers can pick from single, double and triple versions by Wild West (from $19 for 500ml), while sour lovers should explore Ye Brewing's range. The brewery makes smoothie-style sour ales brewed with a high concentration of fruit purée, in flavours like kiwi, Piña Colada, Sweet Guava Heart and Tart-Tastic, a berry blend.

Vietnamese character shows up in the cocktails, spirits and food. There are five craft cocktails (from $18) built on Vietnamese spirits, plus a selection of sake from Mua (from $12), a Vietnamese sake distillery, with flavours such as passionfruit and yuzu dragonfruit.

The bar bites at Hanoi Story Bar are designed to stand up to punchy beers, bold, crispy and unapologetic. Anchovy crackers ($9) and river-prawn fritters ($6) come with Vietnamese chilli sauce on the side, while the fried pork belly ($18) is marinated with fish sauce. We also enjoyed the big-market spicy fried chicken ($23), a la-zi-ji-style dish with larger, meatier chunks. Sandos are available too, filled with wagyu patties or pork katsu (from $19) and served with fries.

Time Out rating: 4/5

The clever day-to-night concept and photogenic looks alone justify bookmarking this place. Our only real gripe is the two-hour weekday gap between the last coffee service at 3pm and the bar opening at 5pm, which makes it awkward to settle in for an afternoon of work, a shame given how quiet the area is at midday. Still, we appreciate that Tokyo Brew Lab and Hanoi Story Bar remain relatively under the radar (for now), despite the central location.

On the hunt for more new cafés in Singapore? Check out our recent picks here.

Tokyo Brew Lab and Hanoi Story Bar are located at 302 Beach Rd, The Concourse, #01-03, Singapore 199600. Tokyo Brew Lab is open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 3pm and Saturday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm; Hanoi Story Bar is open Monday to Friday 5pm to 11.30pm, Saturday 5pm to 11pm and Sunday 11am to 3pm.