Jordan Lim On Building A Bar And An F&B Community From The Ground Up

From economics to advertising, Jordan Lim chose the bar life and built a community rooted in honesty, authenticity, and a good pour.

There’s a certain kind of person you expect to meet behind a bar—part showman, part perfectionist, maybe a little elusive. Jordan Lim is none of that, and entirely more interesting for it.

“Just be your authentic self,” he says, almost offhandedly. It’s the kind of line that could feel rehearsed, but coming from him, it lands with surprising sincerity. No theatrics, no over-polished persona. Just a quiet philosophy that threads through everything he does, from the way he speaks to the way he builds a bar.

Before Up & Away, Lim wasn’t shaking cocktails or crafting menus. He was studying economics in the United States. Though it’s not the number-crunching, finance-heavy kind you might expect. His was the more theoretical, social side of the discipline, shaped by big ideas, big questions, and professors who challenged the very systems they were teaching.

“I’m a capitalist,” he laughs, “but a lot of what I learned leaned very social and very liberal.” It’s a contradiction he seems comfortable holding. And perhaps that’s where his worldview and his bar begin.

From ad man to bar man

Back in Malaysia, Lim’s first foray into working life was in advertising. Not as a creative, though that came later. “I was in accounts,” he admits. “But I kept hanging out with the creative team.”

It didn’t take long before the pull became too strong to ignore. After a year and a half, he made the leap. Not just into creativity, but into something far riskier: F&B. But unlike many who romanticise the industry from the outside, Lim took a more deliberate route. He started from the ground up, getting his education from cocktail institutions in KL.

“That was my foundation,” he says simply. From there, he moved through the industry with intent—first into spirits retail with The Chamber Malaysia under Holy Spirits, then into brand work with Suntory, handling a portfolio that ranged from Roku Gin to Jim Beam and Bowmore. Each step added a layer: product, people, perspective.

The feeling behind the name

When the opportunity came to open his own space, Lim didn’t just think about drinks. He thought about feeling. “Up & Away is that moment,” he explains. “When you’re done with the day, and you just go, okay, let’s go. It’s freedom. Euphoria. A little escape.”

It’s a simple idea, but one that shapes everything about the bar. This isn’t a hushed, reverent cocktail den. It’s a place that invites you to exhale.

A “fun, casual spot,” as Lim puts it, where tacos, pasta, and fried chicken share the table with carefully considered cocktails, and where the energy leans more towards Friday-night release than quiet contemplation.

Cocktails with character

Lim is quick to clarify that while creativity matters, it’s not the starting point. “Hospitality comes first,” he says. “Always.” It’s a belief that runs counter to the growing obsession with technical wizardry in cocktail culture. At Up & Away, drinks are playful, yes, but never at the expense of warmth. Still, there’s plenty of craft beneath the surface.

Take the Green Cover, a matcha-topped cocktail that looks deceptively simple. Getting that clean, layered finish took “many, many tries,” Lim admits. The breakthrough came down to technique—a reverse dry shake that changes the texture just enough for the matcha to float perfectly on top.

“It’s a small thing,” he shrugs. “But it makes all the difference.” That’s the quiet magic of his menu: drinks inspired by café flavours, nasi lemak, even cereal milk—familiar notes, reimagined with just enough surprise to keep things interesting.

Building more than a bar

For Lim, the real challenge isn’t creativity, but consistency. Running a bar, especially in a neighbourhood like Chinatown, means navigating unpredictable crowds and ever-shifting trends. “Trendy areas move,” he says. “People move on.” What keeps a place alive, then, isn’t just good drinks or good design.

“It’s community,” he says. “You can have the best concept, but what sustains you is the people who come back.” It’s also the most rewarding part of the job. Over the past year, Lim has built more than a customer base. He’s built a network of collaborators, friends, and regulars who give the space its pulse.

What success looks like

When asked what success means, Lim pauses. “It’s not just money,” he says finally. “Money can’t buy happiness… not entirely.” What matters more is something less tangible: a full room, a buzzing night, a team that clicks, and guests who feel at home.

And maybe that’s the real takeaway from Up & Away. It’s not trying to be the best bar in the city, or the most technical, or the most talked about. It’s trying to be the place you go to feel lighter, freer, and just a little more up and away.

Up & Away

All photos are courtesy of Up & Away