Monkey Business At Raffles Hotel

You thought this one was about some one night-stand at Raffles Hotel, didn't you? If you did, sorry to disappoint you. If you didn't, then perhaps you are under 3 and it's advisable to come back here after your 3rd birthday.

You see, there's this pub called Long Bar situated on the 2nd floor of Raffles Hotel where you can have free flows of peanuts and cast their shells willy-nilly on the floor and you won't even get fined for littering.

It's my first time here and walking into the pub, the crunching popping sounds I hear under my shoes with every step I'm taking tells me that yeah, the floorboards are indeed covered with discarded peanut shells. My eyes confirm this fact when I look downwards. It feels like the ground is moving too. There's something quite uncivilized about this even though it's a quirky and amusing thing.

Well, you know what they say about doing as the Romans do when you are in Rome. So being in this place flicking peanut shells about makes me feel like a monkey.

And for some strange reason, the box of peanuts on the table we are sitting at seems to be inexhaustible with a never-ending bottomless pit of peanuts that reminds me of Doraemon's magical pocket. No matter how many peanuts we are eating or throwing around, that box always look filled almost to the brim with peanuts. The level of peanuts in it doesn't seem to be getting any lower, much to the disbelief of my eyes. Gosh.

Anyway, when it comes to alcoholic drinks, they are overpriced here as compared to any other pub or bar. My friend's glass of cocktail costs more than 25 bucks and so does my glass of long island.

Ambience-wise, the dimmed lightings and colonial furnishings are kinda cozy if you ignore the ghetto-like feeling you get when you move your feet around and hear that out-of-place grating crunching noise. I like the moving fans hanging from the ceiling; they sway back & forth at an automated leisurely pace and it makes me all dreamy-like just staring at them.

They don't play loud music here, you can still hear your friends talk. Live band is on the second floor.

The service level is alright. The staffs are nice and friendly. Would be an odd thing if they weren't. I mean, this is Raffles Hotel where hotshot celebrities like the late MJ chose to reside at when he was last here.


Aw man, I really pity whoever has to clean this place up after closing time.


- De Lion Speaks