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Chloe Loung

Stefano Bussi was born to be behind the bar.
“My family owned a small cafe in Italy. My mother often said I made my first negroni when I was eight years old,” he says.
His career started with working seasonal jobs at various hotels, with a secret aspiration to perhaps become a sommelier.
“But as soon as I touched the shaker for the first time, I felt safe, like I could express myself.”
Bussi’s career has taken him around the globe. He has worked in prestigious bars and hotels in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, England, Australia, Macau and finally Hong Kong.
He was named bartender of the year for Hong Kong and Macau at the Diageo World Class 2024 cocktail competition. This year, he was recognised as one of the top 10 bartenders in Wine Luxe’s 2025 Hong Kong & Macau Top Ten Bar Awards, in which he also won the Young Bartender Award.

He was recently appointed bar manager at The Aubrey in the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, where he has just unveiled his latest creation: a menu of 16 original cocktails titled “The Art of Shibumi”.
It is the culmination of months of preparation using years of experience and knowledge, showcasing his journey through the Japanese concept of shibumi, or effortless beauty and depth beneath simplicity.
Bussi says the menu invites guests to explore elegance, complexity and quiet experimentation through the lens of Japanese philosophy. The drinks are thoughtfully crafted around the idea that initial minimalism often reveals deeper meaning over time.
The menu is divided into four sections, moving beyond traditional spirit or technique-based classifications.
“Elegant” features minimalistic, classic and clean tastes, while its opposite, “Imperfect”, has the boldest and most adventurous flavour combinations.
“Refined” serves as a middle ground for the two, maintaining the lighter and crisper Elegant profiles while introducing the layers and unexpected ingredients from Imperfect.
“Balanced” provides the flavour punch of the other three sections without the alcohol. These zero-proof drinks ensure all guests can fully enjoy the experience without compromise.

Bussi has a soft spot for sparkling drinks, which is why he included a trio of highballs. For Elegant, there is an earthy, mineral blend of cacao husk, dark rum and Kokuto Shochu. For Refined, Johnnie Walker Blue Label features with guava and Moscato infused with jasmine. For Imperfect, a Japanese whiskey is mixed with awamori, matcha, tomato and sesame.
Bussi finds inspiration everywhere, from colours and paintings to dance music, but mostly from food. Although he is known for advanced mixology methods, such as cryo concentration and preservation, he actually prefers not to rely on laboratory techniques. Rather, he goes to the kitchen.
“We have this idea that revolves around sustainability, where we upcycle ingredients and repurpose them. Taking the Flawed Martini from Imperfect as an example – which is also the most daring cocktail of the entire menu, I’d say – I had the idea to use fat from Wagyu without making it too obvious.
“[Then] I go to have a look in the pantry. The first thing that comes out is peanut butter. Not really the easiest thing to link, but then eventually when you blend it with tomato liqueur, a little bit of soy sauce and oyster leaf, it generates this very meaty, savoury flavour.
“I didn’t need to use any distillation, I didn’t need to use anything that is too crazy, just blending the right ingredients in the right amount.”

He is always looking for taste profiles that will start conversations. Besides mild ingredients such as matcha or brown butter, some more “tricky but very delicious” components include wasabi, burdock and togarashi (Japanese spice mix).
Of the four sections, Bussi is the most excited about Refined.
“You have your fruity, you have your sour, you have your spritz, you have your mint punch, and somehow it all works. It’s kind of like the in-between because you find things that you would not really match together, like green apple and nori, [or] a glass of champagne elevated with mango tropical notes.”
When asked what he would order for himself on the other side of the bar, he likes to keep things simple.
“If I’m with my girlfriend, possibly we would order either a glass of champagne or a dry martini with lemon. If I’m with my friends, let’s say industry friends, more often than not we would end up ordering a boilermaker, which is a beer and a shot. If I’m in Italy, a negroni. So I have one for the three most important occasions.”

Bussi believes that a similar sentiment pervades “The Art of Shibumi”.
“It is the relationship between something that is a little bit more pushy, more forward thinking, and something that is more classical. It is seeing something on a menu that seems difficult to explain, but quickly realising it is a taste you already know and love.
“You have a lot to discover, yet it all feels very familiar.”


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Food and Drinks

Top Hong Kong bartender Stefano Bussi talks about his new cocktail menu at The Aubrey

Stefano Bussi, the new bar manager at The Aubrey in the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, has launched a new cocktail menu of 16 drinks. Photo: Mandarin Oriental/The Aubrey

Bussi was named bartender of the year for Hong Kong and Macau at the Diageo World Class 2024 cocktail competition. Photo: Mandarin Oriental/The Aubrey  

Drinks from Bussi’s new menu. Photo: Mandarin Oriental/The Aubrey

The Flawed Martini, from the Imperfect section, uses Wagyu oil, peanut butter, tomato liqueur, soy sauce and oyster leaf. Photo: Mandarin Oriental/The Aubrey

The Wa-Bi-Sa negroni from Bussi’s menu. Photo: Mandarin Oriental/The Aubrey

Hong Kong bar power couple’s new cocktail joint mixes memories with minimalism

Birs Wong (left) and Jo Lo are the brains behind Bar Mind, a new cocktail concept which soft opened in Central in June, with a focus on minimalism, authenticity and the drinks themselves. Photo: Bar Mind

Some of the signature drinks in Bar Mind’s first menu, many of which use locally sourced ingredients. Photo: Bar Mind

Monk’s Sea Breeze is a cocktail at Bar Mind inspired by dishes from Hong Kong’s traditional cha chaan teng cafes. It features a poached egg dunked into hot water and includes rum, passion fruit, tomato and Lillet. Photo: Bar Mind

Lo (left) and Wong says they want guests to focus on Bar Mind’s drinks and hospitality. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Bar Mind’s A Taste of Home was adapted from a cocktail Wong created for a bartending competition. Photo: Bar Mind

Bar Mind’s Streetwise Boulevardier is Lo’s favourite cocktail on the menu. Photo: Bar Mind

How to make a perfect gimlet, the citrus-and-gin summer cocktail

A gimlet cocktail, made from gin, lime and simple syrup, is easy to make, refreshing and ideal for the summer. Photo: Shutterstock

Some believe the gimlet was invented by a navy surgeon to help keep citrus juice fresh so that sailors could avoid scurvy. Photo: Shutterstock

Hendrick’s gin is a good choice for making gimlets, bar manager Rachel Sinagra says. Photo: Shutterstock

A classic gimlet is light and citrusy, and with only three ingredients, is easy to make. Photo: Shutterstock

6 of Singapore’s best hidden speakeasy bars that will take you back in time – and how to find them

Bartenders at Chandu create drinks with a narrative that are loosely based on history. Photo: The Robertson House by the Crest Collection

A bartender mixes a drink at Chandu, one of our picks of six of the best hidden speakeasy bars in Singapore. Photo: The Robertson House by the Crest Collection

The Mizuwari whisky highball at Live Twice uses Hokkaido soft water rather than soda to accentuate the malt notes of the Japanese Nikka whiskies. Photo: Instagram/@livetwicesg

Chandu is inspired by Singapore’s colonial era, when opium dens flourished in the city state. Photo: The Robertson House by The Crest Collection

Chandu’s Mata Hari cocktail is named after a Dutch dancer and courtesan. Photo: Facebook/Chandu

Oriental Elixir, located in a Peranakan rowhouse, is a dimly lit watering hole for nonconformist cocktails. Photo: Philipp Meier

Oriental Elixir’s Malabar Tamarind cocktail combines the sour ingredient with roasted cherry tomato gin, dry vermouth. Photo: Instagram/@oriental.elixir

Junior the Pocket Bar is a small, 25-seater speakeasy that tasks itself with changing the menu completely every few months. Photo: Philipp Meier

A cocktail titled Sesame from the Korea-inspired menu at Junior the Pocket Bar. Photo: Junior the Pocket Bar

Jade Harbour is part of The Bund menu currently offered at Junior the Pocket Bar, inspired by the Shanghai district. Credit: Junior the Pocket Bar

For its Korean Joseon dynasty-inspired menu, the interiors of Junior the Pocket Bar featured dragons. Photo: Philipp Meier

Roxy is a hip-hop-inspired speakeasy hidden inside the Miss Fitz restaurant in Singapore’s Marina Bay. Photo: Facebook/Roxy

The drinks at Roxy are based on classics, but are given their own spin. Photo: Facebook/Roxy

Last Word has finessed tipples that were invented in the 1920s. Photo: Philipp Meier

Last Word’s eponymous cocktail is a classic, blending gin, maraschino liqueur, green chartreuse and lime. Photo: Instagram/@lastwordsg

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Award-winning bartender Stefano Bussi reveals the thinking behind his ‘Art of Shibumi’ cocktail menu and the quest for minimalist perfection


Award-winning bartender Stefano Bussi reveals the thinking behind his ‘Art of Shibumi’ cocktail menu and the quest for minimalist perfection.


Wine and Spirits

Best bars in Hong Kong

Mandarin Oriental

Top Hong Kong bartender Stefano Bussi talks about his new cocktail menu at The Aubrey

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Award-winning bartender Stefano Bussi reveals the thinking behind his ‘Art of Shibumi’ cocktail menu and the quest for minimalist perfection

Award-winning bartender Stefano Bussi reveals the thinking behind his ‘Art of Shibumi’ cocktail menu and the quest for minimalist perfection