Since notre aniée (the French term for oldest daughter), recently moved to Australia with her family, we spent Christmas in the southern hemisphere, where instead of snow we had palm trees and sparkling skies. To break up the brutal flight, we made a stopover in Singapore. In this orderly land of orchids and omnipresent street food, the first stop is always the famous Raffles Hotel. Built on the waterfront in 1877, it was named after Singapore’s founder and frequented by the likes of Rudyard Kipling, Noel Coward, and Somerset Maugham.
Nothing embodies the romantic, louche lifestyle of the British Colonial era like the Raffles. Picture arched loggias, ceiling fans languidly spinning, amidst a garden of palms and tropical blooms. Imagine bringing out your best jewels for dinner and deep conversation in the garden with the litterati and the glitterati, followed by waltzing to the live band long into the night. In the hot afternoons one sips Singapore Slings–a Raffles invention—in the dark, cool, Long Bar, a favorite hang-out of Joseph Conrad and Ernst Hemingway.
The last time I was there (decades ago), we had a drink in the famous Long Bar, but the rest of the place was closed for renovation. Like many legendary institutions, this one has given way to modernization. Skyscrapers now form the backdrop of the lush gardens. The hotel is still luxe but has been renovated to within an inch of its life; and instead of string quartets on the veranda in the drowsy
heat of early afternoon, pop music is piped in from speakers in a shiny new courtyard. And to try the traditional Singapore Sling in the Long Room? Well, these days that will set you back $30 a drink. They did have a nice little museum, though, where you could dream over the lavish Raffles lifestyle, back in the day. Photos above, from the Raffles museum. Below, the newly renovated Raffles.
There’s nothing to say we can’t try the Singapore Sling chez nous, however. Perfect for a hot afternoon after hunting elephants or whatever, but better plan time for une petite sieste afterwards!
RECIPE: The Raffles Hotel's Singapaore Sling
This recipe from Food.com claims to be the orginal. Have one if you're dreaming of summer.
1 1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce cherry heering
1/4 ounce Cointreau liqueur
1/4 ounce benedictine
4 ounces pineapple juice
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/3 ounce grenadine
1 dash bitters
Shake with ice, strain into a tall glass, and serve with a cherry and a slice of pineapple.
Favorite Reads: Shelf Pleasure is a new site about books for women with reviews, a book club, and more. You might want to read my interview with the founders over at the Daily Basics.
Friends in Burgundy have renovated a gite, all spiffed up and ready to go. Read about Les Volets Bleu here.
9 thoughts on “Side Trip: Romancing the Raffles”
Maybe a Singapaore Sling is just the cure for these grey winter days…. We’ll dream of warmer temps during the afternoon nap.
Sounds good but what’s cherry heering? (If this is a typo, I’m not trying to be flip.)Just never heard of it or anything like it.
Sue, I’d never heard of Cherry Heering either, had to look it up—I was sure it was spelled wrong, but no! It’s a Danish liquor, not too sweet but with the taste of black cherries. Sounds yummy, n’est pas?
It’s two or three years since I last had a drink in the Long Bar in Raffles, but they still maintained the tradition of a floor strewn with discarded peanut shells. I trust that tradition still remains and that you contributed your own shells. Ever, John A
Lynn, I’m sure nothing could top your visit with votre ainee, with a stopover–AND!! the wonderful Singapore Sling!!–to be just the icing on the cake. Though I am unfamiliar with that part of the world, I do remember Cherry Heering.During the 70’s, we were frequent visiors to Denmark and Sweden, and it was quite popular there.
I don’t think I’ve heard of it since, and this was just a lovely reminder of happy times.
Once again, you have started our weekend in the best way!!
THANK YOU!!
The Singapore Sling sounds interesting. I am sure I’ve never heard of that one before. It has lots of ingredients that I like so it would probably be something I would enjoy.
You are living life the way that many people would want to if they could find the courage to make a change in their lives. Maybe they don’t want to live where you are but they have a lifelong dream that they’ve been putting off for decades. Change can be difficult but it has its rewards. If you want it enough, you will make the sacrifice.
I had my first (and second) Singapore sling 45 years ago in college. My then boyfriend’s roommate had a job tending bar at a reasonably respectable hotel. We drank for free although the owners either had no clue or looked the other way. One night Bill-the-bartender said, “There’s ‘outtta sight’ drink I really want you to try.” He mixed me one and it tasted so good I asked for another. Then the room started to spin and I needed to be carried out. That’s the last time I had one of those concoctions and, while I’m sure they’re most excellent, I’m sticking to a gin and tonic.
Lord have mercy, I”ve not thought of a Singapore Sling in decades. Be careful, they’ll get you in trouble!!!
BTW, I am just back from 9 days in Paris. We dubbed this trip the Paris Marathon. Jam packed fun.
The last night I had frites and after we left dinner, I told my friend they tasted just like Mc Donald’s!!!
V
Thanks for this trip to a legendary hotel. I remembered a visit to the Rock hotel on the Rock of Gibraltar in 1989. The guidebook compared it to the Raffles. This is Fodor’s description of it presently:
“This hotel overlooking the straits first opened in 1932, and although furnishings in the rooms and restaurants are elegant and colorful, they still preserve something of the English colonial style: bamboo, ceiling fans, and a terrace bar covered with wisteria.”
There are advantages in being a little older. We’ve seen places and buildings that will never be the same again or not likely, and we have those wonderful memories!