A storied Sling
Art, gardens and a legendary drink: The city-state is always surprising
BY ROSEMARY MCCLURE SINGAPORE — Yes, it’s a tourist trap. Yes, I had to queue up in a long, steamy line to reach the bar. And, yes, I paid $50 for a couple of drinks. But I’m a traditionalist. And skipping a Singapore Sling here would be akin to snubbing scotch in Scotland, Cognac in France or vodka in Russia. So I waited my turn, took a seat in the storied Long Bar at Raffles Hotel and ordered the pretty pink drink that bartender Ngiam Tong Boon concocted 101 years ago. As the tale is told, the Raffles’ mixologist created the fruit-juicy cocktail for ladies, mixing gin with pineapple and lime juices, grenadine, Benedictine, cherry brandy and Cointreau.
It still looks — and tastes — like spiked fruit juice, and the Long Bar, a clubby-looking dark mahogany space, adds just the right amount of colonial-cool atmosphere to complete the illusion. I was transported to another place and time.
Surprisingly, it was well worth the wait and hassle.
Singapore is like that: always surprising visitors.
The wealthy island citystate, off southern Malaysia, has attracted a lot of attention, not all of it good, since gaining independence from Britain in 1963. Its rigid laws and heavy penalties for minor infractions — you can be fined $500 for dropping gum — sometimes make it the butt of international jokes.
Despite this, it has thrived on high-tech industry, financial services and the success of its busy port. And tourism has become increasingly important to the economy.
The multicultural background of its residents, diverse cuisines and outstanding airport, which is often called one of the best in the world, have made it a prime Southeast Asia tourist destination, drawing more than 15 million annually.
Now the city has more to brag about. Besides being applauded for its head-turning architecture, Singapore’s new National Gallery houses the world’s largest public display of modern Southeast Asian art, showcasing a vast collection of 19th and 20th century works.
Singapore’s reinvention from colonial backwater to high-tech art center didn’t come cheaply: It took the government 10 years and $375 million to build what CNN calls “The Louvre of Southeast Asia.”
When I visited Singapore earlier this year, the new showplace ranked high on my list of must-sees. But like many travelers, I have eclectic interests and was also eager to visit the city’s fantastic gardens, Little India and Chinatown. And do some tippling at the legendary Long Bar.