Koh Yung Shen, Owner/ Bartender Backdoor Bodega

Koh Yung Shen

In this interview, Koh Yung Shen, owner/bartender at Backdoor Bodega, shares some stories from behind the scenes and upcoming plans.

What do you do?

I usually just summarise to people that I sell clothes during the day and make drinks at night. But the full answer is — I’m actually a graphic designer and copywriter by profession (I started my career in advertising back in 2009), and I continue to run a one-man branding and design studio, in addition to running a clothing brand (LANSI), a clothing store (The Swagger Salon), and a cocktail bar (Backdoor Bodega).

How did you get into the cocktail industry?

This may sound odd, but I am physically unable to burp (yes, it’s a thing). Therefore I’ve never been a fan of carbonated drinks, which is why I don’t drink beer, so I’ve always been a cocktail person ever since I discovered bars and alcohol. Having lived in KL since before I turned 18, I took for granted the accessibility of great cocktail bars everywhere I go in KL when I was in my mid-20s, especially during the thriving years of the KL cocktail scene around 2014/2015.

When I opened my clothing store (The Swagger Salon) in George Town back in 2014, I started travelling back to Penang more often, and it made me realise that cocktail bars aren’t really a thing here back home. Back then, there was only Mish Mash (that opened that same year) and it was always a full house. So my only cocktail alternatives on an evening out would be at hotel bars — where even the best ones served ice cubes in my Martini. After a year of commuting back and forth between KL and Penang, it hit me during one of those drives back that I should really just turn the extra space I had at the back of The Swagger Salon into a tiny little speakeasy, stocked with a bunch of spirits, so I can make proper cocktails myself and for friends who hang out at the store.

By the end of 2016, I had a simple (and in hindsight, badly planned) bar set up, and I was shaking up drinks for friends on weekday afternoons. Friends started bringing their friends, and the next thing I knew, strangers started showing up…and that was when I realised I should really set the bar up properly (with a menu and POS system and what-nots). And I’ve been making drinks behind the bar ever since then until today.

Share with us a story from behind the scenes.

None of us in the team were trained in bartending, nor were we from a bar or cocktail background prior to working at Backdoor Bodega. I might’ve made a margarita or two at home when I was younger, but that’s about it. Giap (head bartender) and Joseph (FOH manager) were baristas from my previous cafe venture, while Thanesh is from a fine-dining kitchen background, and our first proper bar experiences literally started right here at Backdoor Bodega, and it’s been a self-taught (and on-going learning) journey ever since. 

What’s a food and beverage memory from your childhood that stands out?

Not quite a food or beverage memory, but Cocktail (the 1988 movie) was one of the very first VCDs we had at home when I was a 10 or 11-year old kid (my mom probably bought it because of Tom Cruise). And because it was one of the first few movies we had on disc at home back then, I grew up watching Brian Flanagan and Doug Coughlin doing their bartender thing on screen many, many times after school. I’m not saying that the movie shaped me to become the bartender that I am today, but I guess subconsciously it planted the bartending appeal in my mind since then.

What’s the best part of your job?

So. Much. Booze.

What’s the worst part of your job?

So. Much. Booze. 

What’s your favourite food and beverage pairing?

Economy rice and iced Chinese tea.

What’s one of the craziest things you’ve seen behind the scenes at Backdoor Bodega?

Not quite the wild bar story you’d be expecting to hear but on 4th November 2017, Backdoor Bodega was booked out for a wedding after-party. At 9pm, we received a call saying the bride and groom might be late as it was raining too heavily and they couldn’t catch a Grab from their banquet venue to the bar for some reason, but some guests may arrive first. At 10pm, we received another call saying that the area they were in was flooded, and there was no way for them to leave the place. At 11pm, the water from the rain started seeping into the front of our shop. And by 1am, the interior of the bar was already ankle-deep in water. The water continued to rise throughout the night and peaked at 6am. By the time the sun rose, the bar and its entire surroundings in George Town looked like it was submerged under gallons of teh tarik (We created an alcoholic teh tarik cocktail in memory of this event and named it November the 4th). Cleaning up after the flood was probably one of the toughest work I’ve ever done, but I’m just glad we had no major losses due to it. My heart definitely goes out to the victims of the floods in KL/Selangor right now, they were definitely hit worse now than we were back then.

The perfect day off would be…

…the one day where I finally have time to catch up on reading all my books and (probably already outdated) issues of Monocle magazines.

A day in the life of Koh Yung Shen involves…

…doing a little bit of everything and a whole lot of nothing. Haha.

What do you do for fun?

At the risk of sounding like a lifeless workaholic, I really do feel that I enjoy every little aspect of my work and I honestly am having fun with what I do on a daily basis (ie: designing clothes, crafting drinks, conceptualising ideas, etc). I guess a more appropriate question would be, what do I do when I’m not having fun? Hmm. (Catching up on sleep, probably.)

What’s something you’d like guests to know about Backdoor Bodega?

That we really appreciate and love the support and trust they’ve given us over the years: thank you to the local regulars who have spent (almost) every weekend with us, and all the outstation guests who made it a point to visit us each time they visit Penang. We wouldn’t have grown over the years without them!

How has the pandemic changed you, your perspective, or the way you operate?

I’d like to focus on the positive changes that came about due to the pandemic. For example, it’s nice to see how the limited seating capacity (due to SOPs) have made people prioritise making RSVPs and respect booking times, and how bottled cocktail deliveries have become a norm (opening up new avenues of revenue for small bars with limited seating like ours), but the icing on the cake has definitely got to be the earlier drinking hours these days due to the current 12am closing time for establishments. While some may say it’s a hindrance to one’s freedom and cuts potential business revenue, I see healthier working hours (no more going home at 3 or 4 in the morning) and a more disciplined drinking culture (earlier nights = less getting wasted).

What’s something you’d like people to know about being a bartender as a profession?

I wish more people would realise that the craft cocktail industry is more similar to gastronomy and fine dining than it is to just a fancier kind of alcoholic consumption. If more people learned how to appreciate the knowledge, the skills, and the techniques that go into making each cocktail on not just our menu, but all the other craft cocktail bars in Malaysia, we as bartenders will definitely find more satisfaction (and gain more respect) from doing what we do than just serving people who want “something strong” (or who find paying RM35 for a cocktail as “exorbitant”). In fact, the sooner we educate people to elevate their mindset towards cocktail appreciation and to move away from the culture of drinking just for the sake of getting drunk, the sooner we will mature as a drinking industry where bartenders will be better appreciated and justly rewarded for their passion.

What practices do you currently implement or hope to implement in working towards a socially responsible and sustainable future?

We don’t shout about it, but at Backdoor Bodega we always work with a “don’t only use once” policy in mind. Eg: Ingredients are always used to their maximum capacity — fruits from spirit infusions or syrup-making are reused or remade into cocktail garnishes, leftover citrus peels are used for oleo saccharum, garnish ingredients are first used fresh, and leftovers are dehydrated for future use or used in spirit infusions. To be honest, I feel that “sustainability” shouldn’t just be a fancy holier-than-thou term when it comes to cutting down on waste, but it is simply just basic business sense because every little bit that you save or repurpose in the kitchen/bar will eventually add to your bottom line. While we’re still not the best at it, we’re definitely working towards throwing out as little thrash as possible at the end of every night. 

Koh Yung Shen’s personal theme song?

“Forever Young” by Alphaville. HAHA.

What’s in store for you in the upcoming months?

The team and I are putting together the final touches of Backdoor Bodega’s new menu for 2022, which takes inspiration from my maternal Peranakan roots. Meanwhile, we’re also working on our new establishment, Courtyard Cantina — a tiny, laid-back, tropical dive bar somewhere in the heart of George Town too.

Find more interviews similar to this one with Koh Yung Shen here, and stay up to date with the latest food and beverage happenings in KL here.