Page 24 - Thirst Magazine Issue 1 (Feb 2017)

Today, the cocktail is making a comeback
to the bars in KL. You can try it in almost any
cocktail bar that serves Tiki cocktails, some
even create their own version with a twist.
It’s a drink that every Malaysian cocktail
bartender knows. But there are a few things
that bother us – Who created the cocktail?
Why was it not recorded in the Poister’s Each F&B outlet in the old KL Hilton
book? Was he local? What inspired him to had its own design. From left: Tin Mine,
create it? So many questions. Melaka Grill, The Paddock, Aviary and
We approached the current Hilton KL Planter’s Inn
but that lead came to a dead end. So we went
on a man hunt on our own. That’s when we
found Raj, who had worked in KL Hilton for
almost 30 years until the end when the name
was changed to Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala
Lumpur in 2004, and later demolished in
2013. Raj is among many ex-staff from the old
KL Hilton who missed the place and joined
an online group to share the past glory of According to Raj, the Jungle Bird
the hotel. He was recommended by the site cocktail has been on the menu since 1975
moderator for his strong memory of the place (as opposed to Poister’s record) and was
and for being one of the longest serving staff. served as a welcome drink. Guests arriving
We got on the phone with Raj. at the lobby would be welcomed in The
“During the old days, there were high Aviary Bar, where they would be served the
expectations of bartenders working in hotels,” cocktail in a bird shaped ceramic glass with
said Raj. The discipline, manners and ready a pineapple garnish.
to serve attitude were a must due to the high The menu, including the Jungle Bird
profile clientele at the hotel. KL Hilton was recipe, was created by Reinhard Steffen,
the first five star hotel in Kuala Lumpur, the F&B Director at that time. Apart from
hence employees for the hotel were regarded Jungle Bird, there were also signature
highly. Raj recalled when there were police rum-based cocktails such as Rasa Sayang
road blocks, he only had to show his work and Planters’ Inn Punch created for other
ID and he would be immediately waved off. restaurants in the hotel.
That’s the extent of how much respect the Like the other cocktails created according
police had for the hotel. to the individual outlet theme, Jungle Bird
refers to the birds that could be seen from
inside The Aviary Bar. Guests facing the stage
would see the birds through a glass panel
where they were kept in a netting area near
the swimming pool.
It took us some time to find out about
THE JUNGLE BIRD COCKTAIL Steffen, a German who later became the co-
founder of Swiss-Garden International Hotel.
We have sent out emails in our attempt to
HAS BEEN ON THE MENU connect with him but haven’t heard back
so far. We may never hear from him but a
SINCE 1975 (AS OPPOSED TO benchmark for quality cocktails has been set.
Now we seek another world-known cocktail
POISTER’SRECORD) AND WAS from Malaysia, this time, by Malaysians.
SERVED AS A WELCOME DRINK *The article was first published on
Thirstmag.com on November 8, 2016.

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