The best retro cocktails in KL

This cosy nook is relegated to the back bit of The Majestic Hotel KL’s Colonial Café, which is blessed with natural light and a colonial vibe – the building, a national heritage site now, has been around since 1932. You may have heard of their signature Stengah but the Jungle Bird is easier to drink – it’s tropical, featuring summery ingredients like Campari, rum, lime, sugar and pineapple juice. A titbit to go with your drink: the cocktail was born in the ’70s at a KL bar called the Aviary.

Amid creaking floorboards at family institution The Ship, it’s only right to have a Grasshopper after some old-school steaks. The first The Ship on Jalan Sultan Ismail still whips up a good Grasshopper (hailing from the days since the bar and grill opened in 1972), boasting a smooth mix of peppermint, white crème de cacao and milk. The perfect after-dinner mint, if you will.

Much has changed since 1921, but the iconic institution along Jalan TAR remains as charmingly, comfortingly colonial as ever. Back in the day, it was set up to serve a white clientele, but the Hainanese fare and sizzling steaks drew in Chinese tin mine towkays, Indian lawyers, and – fun fact – every one of the nation’s Prime Ministers. Gunner A, the authentic, time-honoured Coliseum signature cocktail, is mixed with Angostura bitters, ginger ale and ginger beer.