Soon after the opening of the Regent Hotel, now the InterContinental Hong Kong, then-vice-president of sales and marketing Michael Matthews was asked by a visiting journalist why the plate glass windows commanding the superb view of Victoria Harbour were so tall.
Struck by the stupidity of the question, Matthews decided to make up the answer. He said the Chinese believed dragons could pass through glass, and sufficient room had been left to allow the nine dragons of Kowloon to walk through the windows and bathe in the harbour each morning.
Pointing to the white-uniformed ladies busy polishing the marble floor, he added, "Water drips off them when they come back through, and we clear it up so the guests won't slip on it."
She took him at his word. The tall story about the tall windows went into print, then around the world, and eventually made its way into the hotel's official marketing literature.
It appears again in a new list of nine "V-Sips" (V for Victoria) cocktails launched last week for the reopening of the refurbished Lobby Lounge. The Nine Dragons are there, as is a Victoria Sunset, while the Batman II - an "alcoholic tea" - commemorates Two IFC's supporting role in .
Smoke & Mirrors is a rueful acknowledgement of the pollution that sometimes clouds the view through all that polished glass. It is a good after-dinner cocktail with a rich sweetness and a smoky aroma. Those without a cold smoker to hand - and that would be most of us - could get a similar aromatic effect by substituting the Chivas Regal with a smoky Islay single malt such as Laphroaig or Ardbeg.
Recipe
