Imagine this: the vibe was high from the moment you walked in. Chop House was packed. I watched the staff rearrange tables and chairs on the fly, squeezing in friends who had just arrived and spotted their friends' table across the room, people finding out their friends were friends with their friends. Candles were lit and the music was loud.
From behind the bar you could hear laughter break out every few minutes as four bar buddies bumped shoulders, busy making their own signature drinks. It was less of a party and more of a friends' hangout over good food and unique cocktails.
Then I had a chance to talk to Kevin from Club Rangoon, one of the Singapore buddies who initiated the night. He chose a table and sat with me as I asked him the first question. "Why would you even have an idea to host a long table charity event in Bali of all places?"
It started the way many good ideas do, over drinks, late at night. Kevin of Club Rangoon, Tsaqif of Codfather, and Boon of Naga House were out together when the conversation turned into a realization:
"shit man, we need to do something good, you know?"
"Codfather inspired us," Kevin recalls. "Their brand is actually only for charity. They do pop-ups in Singapore and work with different charities once every three months, and all the proceeds go to the charities. So that actually sparked a fire in us."
The answer to that question became The Long Table Charity Project, a one-night event in Bali, bringing together a collective of chefs, bartenders, and DJs from Singapore alongside local Balinese talents for an evening celebrating community, collaboration, and culture.
Why Kevin and the Crew Chose Bali as Their First Stop
For Kevin, the choice was personal. "I grew up here," he says. "Boon visits Bali every now and then. Tsaqif loves Bali as well. So we said, you know what, let's do it in Bali."
But beyond sentiment, the event carried a dual purpose. For Club Rangoon, it was an opportunity to test the waters for Burmese food in a new market. For Naga House, a chance to explore Bali's appetite. "It's a win-win situation," Kevin says simply.
Transparency, Community Health, and Why Yayasan Bali Peduli Sosial Stood Out
With hundreds of NGOs operating across Bali, the team was deliberate in choosing who to support. Their answer: Yayasan Bali Peduli Sosial, a foundation dedicated to essential community health initiatives across the island.
Then I asked Kevin, "why Yayasan Bali Peduli Sosial in particular?" He didn't hesitate. "I believe they're very transparent," he explained. "With their posts on social media, they document everything. They're doing good. They're helping other villages to sustain. And the economy now is bad, so we do what we can."
He's also candid about the nature of the event itself.
"I know a party is not the most obvious way. But we do what we can. We're from the industry, this is what we can give."
And give they did, fifty percent of the profits from each maker's share on the night went directly to the foundation.
Meet the Chefs and Bartenders Behind Every Dish and Pour That Night
The format was straightforward: a cocktail and food party built on limited portions and collective generosity, but the people behind it brought real weight to the concept.
Based in Singapore, Club Rangoon has built its identity around authentic Burmese soul, family recipes meeting natural wines. For The Long Table, they contributed two cocktails and two dishes to the menu: Nangyi Thoke with round noodles, pork, toasted chickpea powder, fish sauce, lime, chilli, pork crackling and Laphet Hummus with fermented tea leaf hummus, tea leaf oil, homemade flatbread.
Joining them on the food side was Codfather, the Singapore concept born on "Chefs Ground" by Jerome and Tsaqif, the same Tsaqif whose charity-first model sparked the entire evening. Codfather flips the script on the classic fish burger, prioritising quality and sustainable catch done right. Two of their dishes made it onto the long table.
I ordered one of them, the cod "Fillet-O-Fish" burger with a battered cod fillet, house matah slaw, cheddar, brioche bun. The fish was thick, and though it was fried, salty and savoury, it tasted light and fresh, balanced by the slaw and the sweet, flaky flesh of the cod itself. A perfect food for cocktails.
Speaking of cocktails, Naga House brought two cocktails inspired by familiar Asian flavours and classic technique: Morning Ritual with Jura 12YO, smoked acai berry, jamu, honey, lemon, foamee and Dirty Heirloom with Herradura Blanco, dry vermouth, red bell pepper, strawberry, tomato, olive, herbs, CO₂.
Behind the bar alongside them were two of Bali's own. Deva Diantara of SKOOL Kitchen, whose eleven years of speakeasy craft have been refined into deceptively simple, flavour-forward cocktails, represented the local bar scene with two pours of his own. So did Dimas Mahendra, the mind behind Moodhaus and Barboyz, whose decade in hospitality has been spent leading bar operations and curating high-level guest experiences.
I told Dimas I wanted something unique, and he straight up made me Enter the Dragon with Herradura Reposado, cabai bun, herb liqueur, lemon, albumen. I didn't know what cabai bun was, but Dimas kept raving about it and honestly, he was right. The chili gave the cocktail another layer of depth on top of an already sweet, sour, and refreshing base. I ended up convincing my friends to order it too.
My second drink of the evening was PINK by Club Rangoon, made by Kevin himself with Jura 12YO, lychee, oloroso, fermented tea, honey, indo wine, acid. The cocktail tasted light, refreshing, and uniquely funky from the fermented tea in the best possible way. The kind of cocktail you could sip all evening without getting tired of it.
Chop House, the host venue, also contributed two dishes to round out the food side of things: Lamb Dolma Croquette with labneh, ras el hanout, pomegranate, mint and Wagyu Kofta Roll with garden herbs, crispy bits.
The DJs Who Played the Whole Night, Without Taking a Single Fee
Music was provided by two acts, both close friends of the crew, who showed up without asking what was in it for them.
Amtake, a good friend of Kevin's, brought Hip-Hop energy from East Indonesia. Karat Soundsystem, a very close friend of the crew and the Bali act turning bars into playgrounds of Techno, Disco, and Dub, did exactly that. Neither act was there for a fee. "They still wanted to help," Kevin says. "That's really nice. I love that."
Why This One Night in Bali Is Just the Beginning
When I asked if this was just gonna be a one time thing, Kevin excitedly said the vision is to have more and do more for the people.
"We want to do more. We believe if this goes well, we'll try to do it in other countries."
The Long Table is, by design, meant to travel. If this first edition proves the concept, they will bring along everyone who showed up for this one. "Whoever helped us for this event, we'll try to bring them with us next year," he said.
"So we'll grow as we go. Probably it's gonna be once a year. Fingers crossed."
For now, the first table has been set, and cleared. And I don't know what the Singapore-Bali buddies think, but as a guest I think it was a really warm and great night.