Cocktail and Movie Pairing: Million Dollar Wedding
Yes, that song is also stuck in my head now.
We have another first here at Brunello Bombshell - a cocktail pairing! Let’s dive into another fun summer movie with Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and a classic Singaporean concoction.
Based on the 2013 novel by Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians offers the audience a glimpse into the lifestyles of the richest and most famous (fictional) people in Asia. Chinese-American Rachel Chu (played by Constance Wu) is dating Nick Young (Henry Golding) in New York when he is invited to a friend’s wedding back home in Singapore. Nick takes the opportunity to invite Rachel to meet his family abroad… only for Rachel to learn that Nick’s family is one of the wealthiest in Asia, and her boyfriend is a very public figure. The movie follows the young couple as they navigate public snafus and the tests of their own relationship as Rachel fights for the approval of Nick’s intimidating mother (Michelle Yeoh).
Crazy Rich Asians is a frothy, romantic summer spectacle that has defined financial abundance on screen. Author Kevin Kwan is still tagged in wedding setups inspired by the beautiful wedding scene in the movie. The costumes incorporated unique pieces from both European haute couture houses and established Asian designers, giving an extra layer of luxe to the world the characters inhabit. And the emerald ring/door knocker that plays a central role in the movie? That came from Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh’s personal jewelry collection.
I saw this movie for the first time when I was in the early courtship days of my relationship with my now-husband, who comes from a large Filipino family. We went into the movie thinking it would just be something fun and careless, and we emerged from the movie thinking about familial politics and the “village mentality” that is common in many Asian families. One of the most beautiful things about Crazy Rich Asians is its topical screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim. The characters in the movie are often asked to confront what it means to keep hundreds or thousands of years of tradition alive in a rapidly changing world, and how a new addition to the family alters the course of family history. The mahjong scene in the third act delves into this topic head on, and without spoiling it, this scene is the most impactful of the movie. While we may come for the beautiful spectacle on screen, audiences definitely leave with a changed perspective on family ties.
While there is a lot of champagne popped on camera (like, a lot), I decided to buck the expected choice for a beverage pairing and run with something classic, locally made, and easy to drink. The Raffles Hotel was featured prominently in the movie as a location, so my first thought went to pairing the movie with a traditional Singapore Sling. After a little bit of digging, I found something even better that captures the soul of the movie - The Million Dollar Cocktail.
In 1915, Raffles bartender Ngiam Tong Boon created the Singapore Sling for the Long Bar, a place where peanut shells litter the ground and the public could comfortably enjoy a tipple or two. The Singapore Sling, with a hearty amount of pineapple juice and grenadine to disguise the gin, cherry brandy, and benedictine, was created as a “ladies’ drink” at a time when it was a social faux pas for women to drink alcohol in public. Served in a hurricane glass, the Singapore Sling’s recipe is always pink and fruity, but never consistent with ingredients or ratios. The history of the cocktail’s creation is still in question, but the Raffles Hotel maintains that it was born at the Long Bar.
The same year, Ngiam Tong Boon made another signature cocktail for the second bar at the Raffles Hotel. Using similar ingredients (gin, pineapple, and grenadine, with the additions of red vermouth and egg white), the Million Dollar Cocktail is still pink and easy to drink, but frothier and slightly more refined than its sling sister. Instead of serving the Million Dollar Cocktail at the Long Bar, where it would face major competition with the Singapore Sling, Ngiam Tong Boon poured the Million Dollar Cocktail exclusively at the sophisticated Writers Bar (named in homage to the many illustrious writers who have written in and about the Raffles Hotel). In 1926, the Million Dollar Cocktail was name-checked in Somerset Maugham’s short story The Letter, causing an increase in popularity and elevating the cocktail to a local classic.
So if the Singapore Sling has a wider following and is more easily accessible, why choose the Million Dollar Cocktail instead? The name has it all, really. (Just kidding. But that was a major factor.) Where the Singapore Sling is the intro cocktail, the Million Dollar Cocktail is the regal follow-up. If Peik Lin Goh (Awkwafina) and her nouveau-riche family are drinking Singapore Slings, the Young family will be sipping Million Dollar Cocktails. Both are feasts for the eyes, but the egg white in the Million Dollar Cocktail feels like a ribbon of luxurious pink velvet passing the lips.
Cocktails are wonderful because they don’t necessarily require a food pairing, but there’s so much good food in the movie that would work well with the Million Dollar Cocktail. Violet Oona’s pork dumpling recipe inspired by Crazy Rich Asians would be a great family bonding activity. My food of choice? Anything and everything from the food market scene, especially the chili crab and the stir-fried noodles.
The Original Million Dollar Cocktail is available at The Writers Bar at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Without booking a flight, you can make your own version of the Million Dollar Cocktail with ingredients sold at your local grocer and liquor store.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) is available to stream on Netflix or rent on Hulu, Apple TV, and Prime Video. You can purchase the movie on Blu-Ray or DVD wherever movies are sold.
Further Reading
Singaporean chef and culinary consultant John See talks through the food (both real and styled) for Crazy Rich Asians. (Kenneth Goh/Michelin Guide)
Take an inside look at the newly renovated Raffles Hotel, comparing the two on-site bars and their signature drinks. (Steve King/Conde Nast Traveler)