Fifteen bartenders. Ten venues. Two cities. World Class Malaysia returns after nine years and the bartenders carrying the flag have never been more ready.
When World Class Malaysia last ran in 2017, the local bar scene was a different place entirely. Some of the bars these finalists call home—Coley, Penrose, Backdoor Bodega, Bar Trigona, Reka—were either in their infancy, yet to open, or not yet the names they are today. Nine years is a long time in any industry. In hospitality, it’s a generation.
This year, Diageo’s World Class competition has finally returned to Malaysia. What was intended to be ten finalists became fifteen. The judging panel, faced with a submission quality they described as “nothing short of spectacular,” unanimously agreed the original cap wasn’t enough. It was the first signal that this wasn’t simply a competition returning. It was a competition arriving into something.
READ ALSO: World Class Malaysia Is Back—And the Bar Has Never Been Higher
Nacre reached out to all fifteen finalists to hear from them directly — who they are, how they got here, and what they’re bringing to the national stage. These are their stories, in their own words.
The 15 Finalists:
- Affie Adut — B.E.D.
- Anna Koh — Reka
- Caden Chua — Coley
- Chang Yue Shuen — Coley
- Chew Qing Ting — Steep Social
- Ivon Soon — Ensō Izakaya & Bar
- Justin Tay — JWC Cabinet 8
- Justin Yow — Good Friends Club
- Lee Wei Lung — Cacao Mixology & Chocolate
- Marcus Kwok — JWC Cabinet 8
- Maria Escobia — Penrose
- Melvin Lim — Bar Trigona
- Oh Chong Hau — The Nest Cocktail Bar
- Rachel Hor — Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur
- Thanesh Joel — Backdoor Bodega
Affie Adut
On getting into bartending: Affie describes his path into bartending as accidental—a part-time favour for a friend of his brother’s that turned into a calling. His first drink, a Mojito, was rejected outright by the guest. “That moment bruised my ego a bit, but it also lit a fire in me.” He hasn’t stopped since.
On his approach to making drinks: Simple and personal. If he wouldn’t drink it himself, it doesn’t make the cut. Balance and enjoyment over complexity every time.
On the return of World Class: “From a rejected Mojito to World Class—feels surreal.” For years, he watched the competition happen everywhere else. Being part of it now, in Malaysia, means something he can’t quite put into words.
On what he’s bringing: Just himself. Affie isn’t here for the podium. He’s here for the stage. The chance to perform, create, and express. Bartending, for him, has always been performance art.
Catch Affie in action at B.E.D, KL
Anna Koh
On getting into bartending: Bartending found Anna before she went looking for it. An unexpected opportunity became a passion, and a passion became a career. “It felt like fate.”
On her approach to making drinks: The guest always comes first. Before the ingredient, before the technique, Anna is thinking about the experience, the emotion, the memory she wants to leave behind. The drink is the vehicle. The person drinking it is the point.
On the return of World Class: Five years in the industry, and making this list feels like self-recognition, standing on a stage that carries both expectation and influence. Not just external validation, but proof to herself of what she’s capable of.
On what she’s bringing: Story. Anna believes stories are the best bridge between ideas, ingredients, and people—the thing that makes a drink not just technically good but genuinely felt and remembered.
Find Anna behind the bar at Reka:Bar, KL
Caden Chua
On getting into bartending: She started as a barista. The momentum of coffee service didn’t suit her. Bartending did.
On her approach to making drinks: Precision through contrast. Caden treats every ingredient like a stroke of paint and the most interesting combinations, for her, are the ones that shouldn’t work. “Sometimes the most mismatched colours are what make the masterpiece pop.” The goal is harmony found in chaos, not despite it.
On the return of World Class: An honour, but also something larger. For Caden, World Class Malaysia’s return feels like an ultimate homecoming for the local bar scene—a chance to reconnect with the community and share what the craft has become.
On what she’s bringing: The mismatch. Unexpected ingredients, unconventional technique, abstract harmony in the glass. Caden’s drinks are built on the same principle as her favourite art—that the most memorable experiences come from elements that collide rather than conform.
Visit Caden at Coley, KL
Chang Yue Shuen
On getting into bartending: Yue Shuen came in through coffee—until a hotel internship in Singapore changed the direction entirely. Watching Bannie Kang work behind the bar was the moment. “I was lucky to be given a chance to try bartending, and that’s how I started. From there, I just kept going.”
On her approach to making drinks: Balance—but not just in flavour. Every drink she makes is designed to be clean, easy to enjoy, and easy to understand. Flavour, for Yue Shuen, is the language through which a bartender and a guest connect.
On the return of World Class: It feels a little unreal. Grateful to be among fifteen finalists who are all, in her words, learning from each other. She just wants to do her best.
On what she’s bringing: Her own journey—growth expressed through bright, vibrant flavours that feel fresh and alive. “Always feel fresh and lively,” she adds, with a laugh.
See Yue Shuen in action at Coley, KL
Chew Qing Ting
On getting into bartending: She wanted hotel reception, landed in a lounge, and stayed in F&B long enough to realise the kitchen wasn’t for her. Bartending was. Qing Ting left Penang for Singapore, spent a decade across two of the city-state’s most prestigious hotel programmes—Origin Bar at Shangri-La and Madame Fan at JW Marriott—and found something she hadn’t expected along the way. “I realised I start enjoying life again. So I stayed.”
On her approach to making drinks: Anticipation. Before the drink, before the pour, Qing Ting is reading the guest. Whether they’re in a hurry, whether they want a recommendation, whether they need to feel looked after. Technical precision is the baseline. Making someone feel valued is the point.
On the return of World Class: She has been here before—Qing Ting reached the Top 10 in World Class Singapore 2025, competing as head bartender at Madame Fan, JW Marriott Singapore. Later that year, she returned to Penang and opened Steep Social a bar built around tea, wine, and cocktails, and entirely her own. Now in Malaysia, a market she’s newer to, the recognition means something different. “It means I get recognised by this market even though I haven’t worked here.”
On what she’s bringing: Tea and wine. Specifically the terroir of both, and the personal stories that live within them. Steep Social’s identity runs through every drink she designs, but so does hers.
Find Qing Ting behind the bar at Steep Social, Penang
Ivon Soon
On getting into bartending: It started with a student competition during her hospitality degree. One competition was all it took. “And the story goes on.”
On her approach to making drinks: Character. Every drink has a story behind it, and that story shapes everything—what goes in the glass and how it’s expressed.
On the return of World Class: “The right time to challenge and push myself.”
On what she’s bringing: Tamparuli. A small town in Sabah, rich in Kadazan Dusun culture, food, and community. Ivon is bringing that world—its flavours, its spirit, its people—to the national stage.
Catch Ivon in action at Ensō Izakaya & Bar, Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown, KL
Justin Tay
On getting into bartending: Self-taught, and largely by accident. Justin planned to be a barista. A chance placement in a cocktail bar changed the trajectory entirely.
On his approach to making drinks: Precision and data. Every ingredient has an optimal expression. Justin’s job is finding the exact balance that unlocks it. Science applied to craft, methodically.
On the return of World Class: Nine years have changed everything: the competition, the industry, the broader cocktail landscape. Making the finals, for Justin, is validation that his perspective and approach are being recognised.
On what he’s bringing: A question about where modern bartending is headed in technique, in hospitality, in how the profession understands and treats ingredients. Grounded in local Malaysian flavours, examined through a contemporary lens.
Find Justin behind the bar at JWC Cabinet 8, KL
Justin Yow
On getting into bartending: A self-described breakfast person and flavour lover who knew F&B was his world but couldn’t cook and didn’t want the kitchen. Bars were the answer—the fastest way to learn flavour and create something new.
On his approach to making drinks: Sophisticated, and deliberately overthought. Justin digs for possibilities most people wouldn’t consider. “Drink isn’t just a drink—it could change the world. And it actually did.”
On the return of World Class: A new start. Nine years reshaped the culture and opened the creative space. For Justin, that means freedom to think and to create without limits.
On what he’s bringing: A challenge to the philosophy of what a drink can be. Culture, identity, and an experience beyond the glass itself. “You have to experience it.” He’s not giving more away than that.
Catch Justin in action at Good Friends Club, Penang
Lee Wei Lung
On getting into bartending: Wei Lung started on the floor, learning service and understanding guests before the bar pulled him in. It was the precision, the creativity, and the way a well-made drink could shape an entire experience that fascinated him. Curiosity became craft. The bar became home.
On his approach to making drinks: Intention. Every drink starts with a clear idea of what he wants the guest to feel, not just taste. Technique and ingredients are always in service of something larger. “If a drink doesn’t have a reason to exist, I don’t think it belongs on the menu.”
On the return of World Class: Being part of the competition’s return feels bigger than individual achievement. It feels like a moment for the local bar community. For Wei Lung personally, it’s recognition of years of work, discipline, and belief in his own style. An honour and a responsibility in equal measure.
On what he’s bringing: Cacao beyond sweetness. At Cacao Mixology & Chocolate, cacao is explored in all its forms—bitter, earthy, fermented, aromatic. Wei Lung wants to bring that same depth to the World Class stage and challenge what people think they already know about a familiar ingredient.
Visit Wei Lung at Cacao Mixology & Chocolate, Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, KL
Marcus Kwok
On getting into bartending: Marcus came to bartending for the human connection—every guest a different story, every shift something new. Being behind the bar is where he feels most alive, and that energy has kept him passionate about the craft ever since.
On his approach to making drinks: Every creation has a story behind it. Marcus builds drinks that are fun, engaging, and designed to bring happiness—because for him, a drink should always be more than just a beverage.
On the return of World Class: Excited and honoured in equal measure. World Class has always represented the highest stage for bartenders, and being part of it feels like both a privilege and a challenge he’s ready for.
On what he’s bringing: His personal style is diversity in flavour, diversity in technique, and unexpected combinations that surprise and connect. The drink as a bridge between the person making it and the person drinking it.
Find Marcus behind the bar at JWC Cabinet 8, KL
Maria Escobia
On getting into bartending: Maria spent her first career as a professional dancer. Bartending found her through Jon Lee, who introduced her to the bar community while still in Singapore. She didn’t start behind the bar when Penrose opened. She started on the floor, learning how a room moves before she moved into it. “Watching bartenders at work felt very familiar. It reminded me of a performance.”
On her approach to making drinks: The dance background never left. Station set before the first drink, every movement considered. Flow isn’t incidental for Maria—it’s the work itself.
On the return of World Class: A chance for Malaysia to be represented on the global stage again, and for the depth of the local community to be seen.
On what she’s bringing: The drink and the bartender as a single, coherent statement expressed through flavour, spirit selection, and the way she moves behind the bar.
Catch Maria in action at Penrose, KL
Melvin Lim
On getting into bartending: A hotel management degree in Switzerland led Melvin to a pre-opening bar team at the Palace Bar Kempinski in Engelberg—and to his first mentor, Bar Manager Balazs Molnar. That encounter convinced him a serious career behind the bar was possible. Back in Malaysia, he found his second mentor in Rohan Matmary at Bar Trigona, where he’s been sharpening his craft since.
On his approach to making drinks: “Hospitality first, drinks second.” For Melvin, the measure of a good cocktail isn’t complexity, it’s whether someone orders it again. If they do, it works.
On the return of World Class: Making the top 15 already feels like an achievement, but what excites him more is the company. “So many young bartenders being shortlisted—that can only mean the future of the Malaysian bar community is bright.”
On what he’s bringing: Melvin wants to prove that drinks alone aren’t everything. Personality, storytelling, hospitality, finesse—for him, the full experience is the point. Malaysian hospitality, expressed through everything around the glass.
Visit Melvin at Bar Trigona, Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, KL
Oh Chong Hau
On getting into bartending: A lifelong pursuit of flavour through travel, through dining, through the culinary world in all its forms, eventually pointed in one direction. The Nest is Chong Hau’s answer to that pursuit: a pet project built to bring flavour to the world through cocktails.
On his approach to making drinks: A cocktail, for Chong Hau, is never just a cocktail. It’s a flavour journey structured around pairings and contrasts designed to create a complete experience rather than a drink in isolation. The glass is the beginning, not the destination.
On the return of World Class: Simple. “Fun.” Competing with the best in the industry, learning in the process. That’s enough.
On what he’s bringing: Science over story. Chong Hau’s approach to World Class Malaysia is rooted in food pairing—showing how the right accompaniments can fundamentally change the way a cocktail is experienced. Not a narrative to tell, but a perspective to shift.
Find Chong Hau behind the bar at The Nest Cocktail Bar, Penang
Rachel Hor
On getting into bartending: Rachel didn’t plan this. On a working holiday in the United States, waitressing at a Japanese restaurant, she was asked to cover the bar for a week while the bartender was on sick leave. She followed the recipe book. Then she started paying attention. “Becoming a bartender was very different from what I had originally planned for my life—but over time it became something I truly fell in love with.”
On her approach to making drinks: She sees bartending as therapy. Every drink she crafts is designed to feel comforting, balanced, easy to be with. A well-made cocktail, for Rachel, is an invitation to relax into a conversation rather than think about what you’re drinking.
On the return of World Class: She started not knowing what a Gin & Tonic was. That’s the distance she’s measuring when she says making the Top 15 still feels unreal.
On what she’s bringing: Her journey from the United States, Singapore, and home to Malaysia. Each stop shaped how she understands hospitality. She wants that warmth, that accumulated perspective, to come through in every drink and every moment of the competition.
Visit Rachel at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, KL
Thanesh Joel
On getting into bartending: Thanesh trained as a chef and spent years in the kitchen, which, as it happened, shared a compound with a bar he barely noticed for three years. Curiosity did the rest. “It’s still very much culinary, just expressed in a different way.”
On his approach to making drinks: No fixed formula. His approach is a kaleidoscope—assembled from every bartender he’s worked alongside, every guest shift, every festival. Influences absorbed and rearranged into something distinctly his own.
On the return of World Class: He’s looking forward to the next round. And honest enough to admit he hasn’t felt this kind of pressure before.
On what he’s bringing: Something that represents Backdoor Bodega proudly. Something with a bit of magic in it. He’ll leave the specifics for the bar.
Catch Thanesh in action at Backdoor Bodega, Penang
Fifteen bartenders. Fifteen different answers to the same four questions — and not one of them the same. Some arrived at the bar by accident, some by design, some through kitchens and dance studios and hotel lobbies and student competitions. What unites them isn’t background or philosophy or even technique. It’s the belief that a drink can be more than a drink. That what happens across a bar counter, between a person and a glass, is worth doing with true hospitality. World Class Malaysia returns to a scene that has spent nine years proving exactly that. These fifteen are its proof.
From the table to the world beyond, Nacre brings you dining, travel, and lifestyle experiences worth savouring. Explore more with us on Instagram (@nacre.asia).
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