It’s not every day a young bartender gets to convince a local industry veteran like Arsenio Mariano Jr—better known as Ash—to come out of “retirement” and co-open a bar. Yet, Raz Ng was able to pull it off. After all, Ash is her industry dad, the person who took her under his wings when she cut her teeth in The Attic Bar—a Chinatown institution. In fact, Ng’s strict parents initially told her that she only had three months to see if this career would work out before doing something more corporate. Eight years have passed, and Ng has not only worked in other bars in KL—Bar Shake, Gekko—but she also participated in the HennessyMyWay competition in 2021, where she became one of the Top 25 bartenders in the world (and Top 10 locally). That win got her noticed, and soon enough, she was offered a job under one of Singapore’s known hospitality companies, Jigger & Pony Group.
When she was offered the job in Singapore, Ng admitted to being at a crossroads. She asked some veterans and pioneering bartenders for opinions, and everyone agreed that she should go for it—but she needed to eventually return to Malaysia to serve the local scene with whatever experience she gained in Singapore. She spent a little over three years in Sugar Hall, a rum-focused cocktail bar, until she realised one day that the time was right to return. Then came the challenge of convincing her mentor to buy into the business with her.
“A lot of people asked me the same thing you did,” she laughed. “They were like, how did you manage to convince this grumpy legend to kickstart a bar with you?” Ng had been pushing Ash to start his own thing for the longest time. “I tried convincing him, like, didn’t you want to cross off this whole-day-drinking concept out of your to-do list before you retire?”
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Eventually, he caved, and they decided to open Bar None together, which coincidentally opens this month in December. The name explains itself, said Ng, which means “with no exceptions”. The bar was designed to support a day drinking concept—a place where people could just hang during the day like a cafe, but with drinks. WFH? More like WFB—work from bar. On Fridays and Saturdays, Bar None will be converted into a cocktail club. “We wanted to keep the drinks low ABV and a little more price-friendly, because drinking in KL has been quite steep recently,” she said. “Hence why we wanted to make it an all-day drinking concept too. Prices would be friendly, and the drinks would also be tasty and easygoing so that you can continue drinking throughout the day.”
2026 looks to be a big year for the new bartender-owner, though. Keeping a business afloat is never easy, and Ng foresees herself travelling a fair bit to put word out on the street that Bar None is here, by way of guest bartending sessions. “There’s definitely going to be a lot of creativity and fun to be had running this new place. It’s a canvas where I can finally paint it my way in my own identity, and how I want the place to be,” said Ng excitedly.
Photography: Sarah Hobbs
Styling & Creative Direction: Joseph Cheng
Art Direction: Nadia Aswardy
Hair: VV Chan, Zac Lee, Philex Chin, Cody Chua
Makeup: Eranthe Loo, Crystal Fong (Plika Makeup)
Styling Assistants: Sarah Chong, Lorraine Chai, Maryssa Helmi
Photography Assistants: Ayiesha Almas, Brandan Simon
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