“Here’s my hope that we all find our Shangri-La.” – Lord Gainsford
Shangri-La is a mythical paradise isolated from the outside world. The name evokes the idea of utopia where happiness abounds and people live to near immortality. This is an appropriate location for the end of the quest for the ultimate summer cocktail. With its lofty status as a “destination” restaurant, the Market at the Shangri-La Hotel certainly has some skilled bartenders who allow you to think out of the box and create your own concoction. However, despite all of this creativity, it seems that the ultimate summer cocktail, like the legendary earthly paradise described in the 1933 James Hilton novel, has remained as elusive as ever.
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Episode 6 – Sampling summer cocktails at the Shangri-La Hotel
Image Cutline: Explore beyond the menu when in the hands of a skilled bartender.
After tornado-ing through the city’s finest cocktail establishments, sampling menus from head to toe, and pushing bartenders to their limits, Raj and Melody Fury prop up on Market by Jean-Georges’ marble bar inside the Shangri-La hotel. They’re on a mission to see what all the fuss is about.
Fury: Raj, of all places to conclude our quest, you lure me to a hotel bar? If it weren’t for the big name behind Market, I might have thought twice…
Raj: Big names only amount to so much. Remember that crazy night in Vegas after poppin’ bottles of bubbly, you insisted that you must eat something to hold your liquor down?
Fury: Wolfgang Puck was the only place open and I was horrified at what flew out of his kitchen! Nevertheless, back to Market. Jean-Georges’ team out in New York designed this summer cocktail menu. Upon first glance, their signature menu looks pretty dated and lacked substance – was it really created in a trendsetting city?
Raj: As a rule of thumb, I avoid any drink that involves flavoured vodkas. And what’s up with the passé lychee and passionfruit? The bartenders served up the Lychee Raspberry Bellini and Vodka Thyme Lemonade in hidden embarrassment.
Fury: As professionals, we gave their signature menu one more shot. After trying the flat and heavily sweetened Ginger Margarita and Sour Cherry Caipirinha, we decided to take matters into our own hands.
Raj: The beauty of a place that purports to being high-end is that they at least have some great spirits behind the bar. Given this opportunity and nothing that was working on the list, we completely sidestepped the menu and looked beyond…
Fury: Right to the wall where we requested they construct some great well-documented classics using their premium spirits. The Americano, for example.
Raj: Sometimes the ultimate summer cocktail is as elusive as the season. The Americano on the other hand has been around for ages. Mix Campari, sweet vermouth and soda, it’s easy as pie and works better than those other drinks we saw that night.
Editor: Summer’s over, you’ll have to mix your own Summer drinks from here on in.
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Raj Taneja is part technologist, entrepreneur, social media juggernaut and foodie. He runs urbanmixer.com and publishes a miscellany of musings at raj.jp and on twitter @tinhead. Melody Fury is the founder of Vancouver Food Tour. Follow this YVR lifestyle ambassador on twitter @GourmetFury.
