Yup, bartenders are putting ants in your cocktails
Just when you thought cocktails couldn't get more offbeat, now they're putting ants in your drink.
One new bar in Singapore is taking the edible insect trend to gourmet proportions. At Native, the S$23 ($16) "Antz" cocktail comes with local ants blended into the yoghurt-based drink.
On top of the cup, larger crunchy black Thai ants rest in a liquid nitrogen-frozen leaf with basil cubes that melt in your mouth.
You're supposed to pop the entire leaf in your mouth and crunch on the ants before you sip on the drink.
"Sometimes, ant legs get stuck in people's teeth."
"Sometimes, little bits of the ant legs and parts get stuck in people's teeth," says Vijay Mudaliar, founder and head bartender at Native, who created the drink.
He explained that he had to import Thai ants because the Singapore weaver ants have ascorbic acid -- Vitamin C -- which give them a sour taste. That went well with the yoghurt and rum, but he needed the larger Thai polyrhachis ant for its crunch.
"I tried maybe seven different types of ants before I found the sour weaver one. We don't have crunchy ants in Singapore," he said.
The ants will certainly raise an eyebrow or two, but Vijay insists he isn't aiming for the shock factor with the unconventional ingredient.
He says the drink creation is his nod to São Paulo top chef Alex Atala, who's been known to use Brazilian ants in his high-end creations.
Vijay's other drinks are similarly reliant on local flavours -- albeit without the shock factor of insects.
Some of the ingredients on Native's menu include the Tongkat Ali root, long regarded as an aphrodisiac in Southeast Asia, and home-made coconut yoghurt.
Even the batik fabric on the staff's aprons is another local-flavoured detail.
"It makes more sense for the bar to be Southeast Asian themed, because that's what we're familiar with.
"So many bars (in Singapore) are like New York speakeasies, or New Orleans clubs -- why don't we do something we know?" Vijay said.
Victoria Ho is Mashable's Asia Editor, based in Singapore. She previously reported on news and tech at The Business Times, TechCrunch and ZDNet. When she isn't writing, she's making music with her band
