Forget the allure of the green mermaid for now—it’s time for a real coffee experience.
Within the walls of Social House, the Pan-Asian restaurant at The Shops at Crystals, is a specialty coffee bar that’s home to Jonah Vongdala. Vongdala is a bartender and head of Social House’s specialty coffee program, which uses the revered method of siphon brewing. A siphon coffee maker brews coffee using two glass chambers where vapor pressure and a vacuum are used to produce the coffee. This hand-brewing method produces a “cleaner, brighter coffee that sparkles,” he said.
Vongdala is a coffee enthusiast. “I’m a purist,” he said, meaning he adds nothing to a freshly brewed cup. He’s also a member of the Barista Guild of America, and has been practicing the art of coffee making professionally for eight years. He’s a part of what he calls the third-wave coffee movement, a return to the art of the barista. Basically “geeking out” on coffee, he said.
Vongdala’s passion benefits guests of Social House, where he takes them step-by-step through the brewing process. There’s only one bold and one mild single-origin coffee on the menu at any time, and he rotates the selection regularly to feature coffees from Africa, Peru and Guatemala. “(Guests are) not just enjoying a cup of coffee after dinner; they’re actually fully immersed in the process, from the beginning to the end of the cup,” he said.
The Gallivanter
You won’t find this cocktail on the menu, but you can order it by special request. “Instead of a coffee cocktail,” Vongdala says, “it’s more of a cocktail featuring coffee.” The Gallivanter mixes Basil Hayden bourbon, Licor 43, single-origin Ugandan siphon-brewed coffee, crushed Ugandan coffee beans and chocolate bitters. Making cocktails is a passion of Vongdala’s, in addition to coffee-making. This pool season, catch him at Hakkasan Group’s other venue, Wet Republic at MGM Grand, where he’ll be indulging his passion for cocktail creation.
The Shops at Crystals, Noon-4 p.m. Fri.-Sun., 5-10 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., 5-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat., bar 5 p.m.-late daily. 702.212.8804
