Popular Bars And Prices

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30931, 11 December 1965, Page 13

Popular Bars And Prices

(From Page 12) KOREAN whisky is carefully distilled, aged and blended with the cure-all ginseng, Sojoo is a sort of moonshine of American hillbillies, and has the kick of a mule.” Bar? are closed only between midnight and 4 in the morning, but hotel room service is a 24-hour-a-day amenity. Any drinking possibilities not covered by the above are catered to by the Korean Tourist Service-operated F oreigner’s Commissary (branches in key cities) where a tourist may present his passport, American greenbacks or traveller’s cheque, and buy duty free liquor to drink in Korea or take out of the country. (He may bring in two bottles.) Most popular bars with tourists (and Koreans) in Seoul are at Walker Hill, the Chosun, Bando and Grand hotels, to name just a few. The touris* making the rounds in Malaysia will find bars open from early morning until midnight (1 a.m. on Saturdays). Hotel room service varies—the Merlin in Kuala Lumpur offers 24-hour aervice; The Eastern and Oriental Hotel in Penang keys room service to licensing hours— 7 a.m. to midnight (1 a m. on Saturdays); the Town House in Penang, until midnight. Well-known Brands In Malaysia Liquor lists in Malaysia cover a wide range of wellknown imports, with gins running to M 1.05 for half a peg. Scotches from M 1.25 to M 1.55 half a peg, and aperitifs somewhere in between per glass. (Ask for ice.) The The average price for American-type cocktails is M 2.

Beers and stouts are locally brewed—among them the favourite of the Far East, Tiger Beer. A must for the tourist, says our correspondent, adding that it should be tried ice-cold. Others to try, in a spirit of adventure, are Samsu, something like vodka and distilled from rich mash; Tuak, the popular native drink in Borneo, made from fermenting rice, and toddy, made from palm juice. “Tastes like champagne but

for the smell. To obtain full enjoyment this is best drunk by the seaside under the shade of a coconut tree from which the juice is obtained.”

Drinks come either by the peg or by the bottle in Nepal. Imported Scotch, bourbon and gin costs about 6s 6d for a small peg and 12s for a big peg. A bottle of Johnny Walker, for example, comes to £4 in a licensed shop. The local highland whisky is another matter—l4s a bottle, with local gins and rums in about the same price category.

For the familiar drinks (except the American cocktai, which local bartenders don’t attempt to mix), the leading hotels of Katmandu are the places to go. There’s 24-hour service, both in bars and in hotel rooms. Until All Are Satisfied Hotel bars and cocktail lounges in New Caledonia generally stay open “until there are no more drinkers,” reports our correspondent. Public bars, such as Noumea’s Cafe du Marche, do follow certain hours, but they can hardly be called a hardship since the Cafe opens as early as 4 a.m. and stays open until 11 p.m. Imported Scotch and gin are in ready supply, but bourbon is hard to come by, and cocktails would have to be mixed by special request (and probably direction). To be sure of ice, it’s best to specify “de la glace.” Prices run somewhat of a gamut—in a bistro or milk bar, draft beer costs about Is, a whisky about 3s. In a hotel lounge whisky and soda is 3s 6d. The prices go up in a cabaret since they usually have no cover charge. Here a drink runs about 6s, champagne about £3 5s a bottle. But there’s no tipping. Popular hotel bars and cocktail lounges where visitors congregate in Noumea are at the Lantana, Noumea, Caledonia, Nouvata Bungalows and Laperouse, and on the Isle of Pines, the Hotel Relais de Kanumera. No Independent Bars In N.Z. In New Zealand there are no independently run bars. All bars are attached to hotels (or motels or guesthouses), meaning licensed hotels. And the majority of hotels are licensed.

Then, there are licensing hours. “The licensing hours may appear somewhat strange compared with those of many countries,” writes our correspondent, “when you consider that the bars are open all day long while people are at work, and then shut down tight just at the time work finishes. To be more exact, hotel licensing hours run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday, with a complete shutdown on Sunday—for the general public at least.”

But the thirsty tourist in New Zealand has the edge over the local. Comes the 6 p.m. closing time, the tourist staying in a licensed hotel can still get a drink, for the house or cocktail lounge is open to him and his guests, and room service is generally available at all hours, including Sunday. Except for the public bar. A men-only bar, the public bar is closed even to tourists on Sunday. A good selection of imported Scotch and gin is readily available. Bourbon and rye, at about the same prices, can usually be found

in the better class hotels but rarely in the public bars. Beer—most of it locally brewed—is the New Zealander’s tipple and popular with tourists too. In the men only public bars probably more than 90 per cent of the liquor sold is beer (draught). To note: barmen in New Zealand expect to be paid with each drink served, but they don’t expect a tip. If drinking in a hotel lounge where drinks are brought to a table, a tip of Is to 4s is in order.

Speaking of social customs, our correspondent adds this interesting note: “A traditional New Zealand custom may sometimes cause slight bewilderment to overseas visitors—the custom of ‘shouting,’ This does not necessarily entail the raising of voices but merely denotes the system whereby each man in a group pays for a round of drinks for his companions. This is done in strict rotation, and when each member of the group has ’gone off,’ the procedure starts again. This is a jealously observed tradition and operates even within the minimum group of two. Ladies are usually excused." Should the tourist in New Zealand read an advertisement for a “licensed restaurant where customers may order liquor with their meals,” he should be warned that this may not mean what he thinks. In the case of a licensed restaurant, the word “liquor” means only wines and beer—at least at the present time. Duty-free Liquor Stores At Airports The tourist is limited to bringing in one quart of liquor duty free and there are duty free liquor stores at the three main airports of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The local rum, gin and beer of the Philippines enjoys a reputation sufficient to woo the thirsty tourist from his more accustomed drinking rounds. Prices run from Pl to P2 a drink, with the famous San Miguel beer at P 0.40 a bottle. Imported Scotch, bourbon and gin is plentiful too, with prices from P 2.50 to P 4. Cocktail lounges and bars are open from 9.30 a.m. and stay open until about 2.30 the next morning, Sundays included. Hotels serve liquor from about 10 a.m. until midnight. Hard liquor is dispensed only at private clubs and at the hotel in Pago Pago, American Samoa, and only by the drink. Buying liquor for local consumption is by permit only, and that restricted to residents of the island. But the tourist can bring in two bottles of liquor duty free. What he can take out of Samoa offers a better bargain. He can buy duty free liquor at the Pago Pago airport at very attractive prices. No Restrictions In Singapore Singapore has no restrictions on drinking (including the famous Singapore Sling), and few on drinking hours. Hotel bars are closed between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., but in case of an unquenchable thirst, there’s always the Singapore International Airport transit restaurant, which serves both food and drink around the clock.

As a free port, it might be expected that liquor would be cheaper than cheap, but liquor is one of the few Singapore imports that is taxable. What is imported pretty much covers the field, from the world over. Small

samples of prices, from the Raffles and Cockpit Hotel liquor lists: Tanqueray, Beefeater gin, Malaya dollar 1.20 a half measure: Chivas Regal, Malay dollar 1.80 half measure; Dewars White Label, Spey Royal, etc., Malay .dollar 1.40. Standard cocktails are for the asking, at Malay dollar 1.60 to 1.20 for a martini (dry too); Malay dollar for a gimlet, Malay dollar 1.20 to 2.0 for a Manhattan. Beer from all over the world is on all menus, and Singapore brews a good beer and stout of its own. A Way Of Life In Tahiti Like everything in Tahiti, drinking is a way of life. Cafes, cocktail lounges and bars do close at 1 a.m. but there is always the Lafayette, four miles out of downtown Papeete, where the tourist can drink until 3 o’clock in the morning. Most papular drink with the Tahitians, and a lot of tourists, is beer. Heretofore one did not order beer, but “a Hinano,” the name of the local brew. A new Tahiti beer called Manuia has recently appeared on the scene, so the connoisseur of beer should be alerted. There is a duty-free shop at the airport where the outward bound tourist can pick up liquor duty free.

As for where to drink in Tahiti, bars and cocktail lounges of the leading hotels are well patronised, as are the clubs where the dancing is likely to be as stimulating as the drinks. Unless the tourist were to stay in a purely Chinese hotel in Taiwan, which is highly unlikely, he will not suffer from thirst for his favourite brand. All tourist hotels stock imported Scotch, bourbon and gin. Bars operate until about 2 a.m., and room service goes on until about midnight Cost per drink is abrnt 3s 6d. Tourists can also buy bottled spirits at the Taiwan Monopoly stores, with known brands selling a little under Stateside prices. Language Not A Barrier in Taiwan Unless accompanied by a Chinese guide or friend, the local bars had best be left to the Taiwanese, but language is no barrier to getting a drink in the principal tourist hotels.

“One blessed thing for the alcoholic drinker in Thailand is that he can drink, if he can afford it, from morning till night,” writes our correspondent from Bangkok. Till night means midnight on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends. Hotel room service is on a 24-hour a day basis. Imported Scotch, bourbon and gin are generally available in hotels and cocktail lounges with prices at about a dollar a drink. The most popular local drink is Singha and Bangkok beer, at. about 4s a bottle. Also popular is Mekhong or Thai whisky. The major hotels are the Erawan, Oriental, and Rama, and the cocktail lounges the Trolly Bar, Drop Inn, Keynote, Max’s Lounge and the Rendezvous.