1. Single & Available's Monthly Wednesday Whisky Fling - Glenglassaugh
Oh man. This monthly thing at Single & Available is getting more and more packed! Not sure if it's because it's a new flight of whiskies to taste at only RM20 per flight of 3 or the monthly whisky fling programme is gaining traction by you drunkards. :) Either way, it was a good night. If you missed it, well, you can read about the new whisky on my most recent post here > CLICK!
2. Drinking in Bangkok
So I was away all of last weekend in Bangkok. Unfortunately, I didn't get to visit ANY cocktail bars this round for 3 reasons 1) am usually too tired by night time from all the walking in the day time 2) the cocktail bars I wanted to go were mostly out of the way (ie, not along the BTS route) 3) the horribly weak Ringgit Malaysia vs Thai Baht (1:8) didn't quite compel me to want to have cocktails. Mind you, having cocktails can set you back RM40 and ABOVE per glass.
For a cheaper and refreshing alternative which is easily attainable at any 7-11, we stuck with beer. Let me give you the break down of prices: THB56 for a big bottle in 7-11, THB105 per large pint of draught Singha for happy hours at our hotel, THB75 per large bottle of Chang at a nearby local restaurant. Not too bank breaking at all right? That's why we stuck with it. :)
We did however, chanced upon a craft beer bar called Hair of the Dog near the Phloen Chit BTS station. 13 beers on tap, umpteen bottles and cans too. Goes from THB200 and up for a glass, though they do run happy hour promotions too. Check them out here: facebook.com/hairofthedogbkk
3. 44 Bar feat. Guest Chef Chester Low
Chester came back last weekend to present us a brand new menu inspired by the flavours of Thailand - fresh herbs, spices and lemon tang together with 44 Bar. From left to right:
- Salmon cured in gin skewered with a dehydrated pineapple in a smoking jar - literally served with smoke still inside, delicious!
- Liquid somtam with gin, papaya, lime, fish sauce, tomato and cili - it really tasted like somtam, though a tad too spicy for this weakling.
- Jasmine sake jelly with white pearls and popping candy - that sail was the crunchiest, yummiest, chicken skin ever. And those popping candy were such a surprise!
- pineapple infused rum, lychee, lime and fresh thai herbs - a refreshing, easy-drinking cocktail.
- spiced coconut rum ice crease with mango & rice pops - mmmmmm....
RM98 for a set of these 5 delectable goodies is quite a good price especially when you know how much work and care that went into every single item. I hope he comes back again with another palate adventure.
4. Wine wine wine!
Was given the opportunity to try several lovely Italian wines last week -
- Carpineto & Canaletto at Eight Gourmets Gala's (EGG) wine tasting dinner event. These wines were delicious, easy-to-drink, soft wines which were paired beautifully with the food spread provided by EGG. It was an excellent evening. EGG does these wine tasting dinners quite often so follow them on Facebook if you wanna be updated about it: facebook.com/8gourmetsgala
- Michele Chiarlo at Jason's Food Hall's wine tasting session. Because I came late, I could only try these wines on their own as all the canapes were finished. On its own, their reds were generally drier, had more tannins, strongly flavoured on my tongue. The white was drier too, and sweeter. I'm not into dessert wines but I'm pretty sure many ladies would enjoy their moscato. Jason's Food Hall hosts such FOC wine tastings very regularly too and always have it up on their facebook: facebook.com/JasonsFoodHall
Also took the opportunity to enjoy some house wines at Sheraton Imperial Hotel KL while being introduced to their brand new lounge band - a rare opportunity for me to catch a glimpse of the life of a lady of leisure. Sigh.
5. A Taste of Elegantology's New Food Menu & Chef
Missyblurkit very kindly extended a couple of invites for us to tag along for a preview of Elegantology's new menu by Chef Pele. The gallery side of the shop has been streamlined a little to make way for an up and coming cocktail area which will cater for happy hour customers and regular imbibers alike. The food menu will still feature a mix of Western fusion cuisine with beautiful plating, lots of colours and great flavours, invigorated by the new chef. On the beverage front, cocktails are all priced at RM30 (try the Martell cocktails - each with at least 30ml shot of VSOP in) and you can expect usual Pernod Ricard brands served.
We got to sample 3 mains, a salad, a soup and a dessert to finish. The 3 dishes that really stood out for me was the 24 hours sous vide lamb ribs (so soft and sinful, RM80), soya glazed cod (the soy permeates through the fresh sweet fish flesh, RM85) and the salmon confit salad (all that colours, fresh crispy greens and juicy salmon cubes, RM40). If the preview of the new menu is anything to go by, it's going to be quite a promising new start for Chef Pele. Thank you so much for having us! For more: www.facebook.com/elegantologypublika
6. Imbibing on Long-Haul Flights
I don't know about you, but when I get on MAB (then MAS), I always take the opportunity to have a good ol' gin and tonic. I would usually pair the food with their white wines (I'm not sure if it's the altitude or what, but the white consistently tastes better vs the red on the plane for me). When not having a meal, it's G&T. I mean, they even add in some slices of lemons - just like a proper G&T! Of course one could order other stuff like a screwdriver or coke and bourbon and etc... but I always always go back to the G&T. Sounds weird, but ordering it allows me to pretend like I'm this classy traveller from the 70s, you know? Hehe. What do you enjoy drinking while you're board? I'd really like to know!
Until next week, drink safe!
Insta Weekly is a weekly summary of boozy updates from my Instagram.com/fireangel80 with the hashtag #angeltini. Feel free to follow me if you enjoy daily updates on booze, food and other random stuff by a girl from Malaysia. Cheers!
