Our picks for culture mavens looking to explore the island in the new year

DRINK

Long Bar reopens

Raffles Hotel Singapore

Home of the Singapore Sling, Long Bar has reopened its doors at Raffles Hotel Singapore.

To celebrate the reopening, the hotel is offering an exclusive promotion with every purchase of the Original Singapore Sling.

Available till March 31, guests who order an Original Singapore Sling are entitled to an additional complimentary Original Singapore Sling or one snack of their choice from the Asian-inspired bar bites menu, which features a selection of Asian small plates like Singapore Chilli Crab Cake ($22++) made with crabmeat and chilli crab sauce and Spicy Tiger Prawns ($16++), which is enveloped with a sweet and sour sauce and accompanied with a green papaya salad, and more.

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Guests can also indulge in the Long Bar Chocolate Peanut Bar ($15++), from the menu, a nod to the unique Long Bar experience of snacking on peanuts from a gunny sack.

See: Raffles Hotel, Singapore icon

There are also a range of cocktail variations that offer a twist on the iconic concoction, like the Sakura Sling ($29++), an exotic blend made with Dasai 50 Sake, Calvados, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur Hibiscus and Cayenne Cordial, Green Chartreuse or the exquisite Vintage Sling ($188++), made with private collection vintage spirits from the 1950s — when the Singapore Sling was becoming a global icon.

Long Bar is now open from 4pm to 10pm, Thursdays to Saturdays. For reservations, call 6412 1816 or email [email protected]

ARTS

Now playing: Live music

Esplanade Recital Studio

Live performances return to the Esplanade with even greater gusto this month, featuring two homegrown instrumental groups playing the Recital Studio a week apart.

Darryl Ervin - THE EDGE SINGAPORE

Darryl Ervin Quintet [Sold Out]

Jan 23, 5.30pm & 8.30pm

$25

Local jazz stalwart Darryl Ervin brings together a powerhouse quintet to perform the great music of the hard-bop and post-bop eras — Alex Sipiagin on trumpet, Sean Hong Wei on saxophone, Weixiang Tan on piano and Christy Smith on double bass. The quintet will take on the compositions of genre legends like trumpeter Woody Shaw, pianist McCoy Tyner and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson — all names who have defined the exciting sound of jazz of the 1960s and early 1970s.

More Lions - THE EDGE SINGAPORE

More Lions

Jan 30, 5.30pm & 8.30pm

$25

The Greg Lyons Quartet were a regular weekend feature at Bali Lane’s Blu Jaz Cafe. Out front on the chalkboard, the band’s name would often be plagued by spelling mistakes — from missing letters to their name to being called the ‘Grey Lions Quartet’ at one point.

That aside, the group is back at what they do best — performing. More Lions is a collaborative compositional project between longtime collaborators Greg Lyons and Darren Moore which pre-emptively adorns a misnomer to the ‘Moore-Lyons’ partnership.

They will be joined by pianist Eivind Lodemel and bassist Fabian Lee for a night of rhythm and group interplay.

GAJAH GALLERY - THE EDGE SINGAPORE

Heresy or Codswallop — Ashley Bickerton Solo Show

Gajah Gallery

Gajah Gallery will host Heresy or Codswallop, the second solo exhibition here by Bali-based American artist Ashley Bickerton. Presenting one of the most comprehensive surveys of his work to date, Heresy or Codswallop brings together the last decade of Bickerton’s practice, featuring works from 2011 to the present day.

Known for his work in the early 1980s New York East Village arts scene, Bickerton worked alongside Jeff Koons, Peter Halley, and Meyer Vaisman among others to spearhead an alternative to the Neo-Expressionist, commercially lucrative SoHo — a neighbourhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City — mainstream.

In 1993, Bickerton left New York for the Indonesian island of Bali, watching it transform from a remote community to an international tourist destination.

Bickerton draws from the cross-pollination of culture to explore the reality of the ‘island utopia’ as a touristic locale that has been reconstructed to feed the westernised paradise ideal.

Running from Jan 20 to Feb 14 and held in conjunction with Singapore Art Week, the exhibition will bring together the last decade of his practice, including 19 works from six of his most celebrated series: Blue Man, Mitochondrial Eve, Silver Ladies, Coral, Wall-Wall and Flotsam.

Located at 39 Keppel Road, Gajah Gallery is open from 11am to 7pm on weekdays and from 12pm to 6pm on weekends and public holidays. Admission is free. For details, visit www.facebook.com/gajahgallery