After journeying across busy tables in Bali and crowded bars in Jakarta, Virky Juanda opted for slow mastery in En Par and quickly made a name for himself.
Before becoming head bartender at En Par, Virky Juanda’s journey in hospitality was anything but linear. He started out in restaurants, working the floor before gradually making his way behind the bar. Various stints in Bali helped him build confidence in service, and he eventually rose to operations manager. But the bar kept calling.
“I basically educated myself at the beginning. I began to stay after hours, learning from the bartenders of the Japanese restaurant where I worked,” he says. His curiosity led him to make the bold move to resign and take a one-year hospitality course in Melbourne, where he deepened his technical knowledge and exposure to cocktail culture.
When he returned to Indonesia, Virky settled in Jakarta and joined the opening team at Slits, where he had his first experience as a head bartender. “This is where I started to actually learn the ropes. Making drinks is just half of it; management is the real deal.” The pandemic disrupted everything, but he quickly adapted, helping Zodiac transition into a tequila-focused bar. He then led the opening of Stalk in SCBD before being approached to take on the pre-opening team of En Par a year later.
A natural fit, En Par’s slow and intimate bar concept allows Virky to apply a relaxed, product-forward approach to cocktails. Rather than overly complex presentations, he focuses on flavour and intention, all programmed around local arak brands, Marak and Ark. This style has shaped En Par’s identity: elegant, unfussy, and grounded. “For me, the best part as a bartender is the connections I make. En Par ensures that for myself, and provides the comfort zone that I yearned for.”
Among his proudest moments is a bar takeover at Bar Swig in Tokyo earlier this year, where he shared the bar with bartenders he’d long admired. It was, in his words, “a surreal and validating experience”, proof that his personal approach to bartending resonates far beyond Jakarta.
Sweet & Sour
“I believe that there is no such thing as a signature drink. Most bars will make their version of a known classic and serve it as their own. Here at En Par, the challenge comes in interpreting
said classics, but with our own Marak or Ark. Sweet & Sour is an elevated, more complex highball, where instead of whisky we have our own twist that includes Marak.”
Ingredients
30ml Marak
10ml Martini Rosso
10ml Aperol
3 dashes Angostura Bitters
15ml Lemon juice
10ml Mango syrup
60ml soda water
Dried orange
Method
Pour all the ingredients into a Collins glass.
Add a glass-tall ice cube.
Top up with soda and stir.
Lastly, garnish with dried orange.