Rajang Lobby Lounge is located at the lobby of Holiday Inn, Kuching and extends out from the air conditioned interior to the pool side seating which overlooks the mighty Rejang River (which is where it probably got its name from).
There are different and contrasting views each way you look – the pool, the bar, and the interior of the lounge. The seats range from pool side recliners to comfy padded chairs and the clientele is predominantly Caucasian for some reason…probably coz this is Holiday Inn.
Tutom Pole (RM 30)
This Totem Pole like drink comes in a really cool sculpted design. The
cocktails all have a theme and the mug is customized to fit the theme
and comes specially designed for Holiday Inn.
The “Tutom Pole” (sic?) is topped with a slice of orange and a cherry in a long receptacle containing a combination of Cointreau, Grand Marnier, and wine cooler, plus some other spirits which I promptly forgot.
Kereta Lembu (RM 30)
Look at the beads of sweat forming on the industrious cows. This
intricately designed receptacle is shaped literally like a “cow driven
carriage” (instead of horse, geddit?).
You basically have to grab the bull (or cow) by the horns to drink this one. The straw goes into the lid and the drink settles around the base (which has a large footprint) so to get all of it the cow part has to be tilted to pool the drink for consumption.
This drink contains an egg yolk mixed in and it tastes great – nice and creamy. Hmm…I mean, Mmm…
Rajang Lobby Lounge also serves food. This is the tuna sandwich (RM 14++) that comes with white bread, fresh raw vegetables and Pringles.
I went for the Club Sandwich (RM 15.75++) which is a triple decker toasted sandwich with chicken, lettuce, beef bacon, tomato, mayo and egg. It’s served with chips instead of Pringles and a salad with raw onions.
The Fancy Cocktails menu with its themed mugs sent out a siren call in the middle of our eating expedition (it was supposed to be our late lunch) and we decided to go for another round of drinks to check out the rest of the customized mugs.
Ketam Batu (RM 30)
Ketam Batu translates to “Stone Crab” and it comes in a crab shaped
clay mould. It is customized for Holiday Inn and the crab is painted to
look exactly like a crab. It even has eyes! Awesome! (…and other
adolescent hyperboles)
The straw for this cocktail goes straight through the crab…the very place you stab to kill a real live crab. Nice touch. No pun intended. This is a great drink, it’s made with lemonade and various liquors which the bartender told us but we promptly forgot. It’s refreshing and thirst quenching.
Headhunter (RM 30)
Headhunter comes in a tall receptacle with an orange slice, a piece of
orange rind carefully sliced to resemble an orchid garnish, and the
entire drink is topped with a cherry. The expression on the face molded
into the mug looks almost comical.
The Headhunter cocktail uses a lot of cognac and tuak (a local rice wine) which is a strange combination. It has an interesting taste to it due to the unusual ingredients but it works. I was told this is the most popular cocktail in Rajang Lobby Lounge, Holiday Inn.
There are six more drinks in the “Fancy Cocktails” menu and we’ve made it a mission to drink all of them (and take the themed mugs back home). I want a collection of all the 10 customized theme mugs! I think it would look great on my desk at work. 😉
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