Wine Review: Parker Estate Favourite Son Shiraz 2007

I picked this little fella up on the way through customs after a flight from Bangkok to Singapore recently. Pretty much a random pick from their pretty limited wine range; pick was based on label and the fact that the wine region was Wrattonbully - a place I've had good wine from before.

On the nose, black pepper, chalk and mulberry

On the palate, concentrated fruit flavours of mulberry and blackcurrant. Warm spice and integrated vanilla oak punctuate the dense licorice and molasses.

The finish is warm, spicy and long.

Intense and jammy, with a trickle of acidity, this wine could benefit from further ageing. There is a touch too much alcohol on the nose and palate for my liking and even at duty-free prices there is not enough for me to come rushing back for a second bottle.

Satay Night, Sunday Morning

Last Friday we went down to Lau Pa Sat (mentioned here a few blog posts ago), this time for the famous satay. Lau Pa Sat is a food court full to the brim of foodie treats, all jostling for your attention, but on Friday night there's only one place to be, and that's a ring-side seat next to one of the charcoal grills cooking up a storm of satay. We got ourselves a jug of beer and then assumed position adjacent to the alluring smoky wafts emanating from Best Satay.

Wherever I lay my satay, that's my home

The poor guy manning the grill was cooking a constant stream of miniature meat kebabs to the hungry throng; there seemed no danger of him getting a break anytime soon, that was for sure. We started with the $12 plate of 10 of each of chicken and beef. The chicken satay were good but the beef satay beat them hands down; the deep, wood-smoke flavour really complementing the succulent meat.

Don't worry - everthing's under control

Next, I ordered some prawn satay - essentially a massive prawn on a skewer with a salty, lightly spiced dusting on the outside of the shell. Meanwhile, Caroline went in search of some other goodies and I ordered some more beer. It would be rude not to. I de-shelled and devoured the juicy prawns, keeping back a couple for Caroline, hoping that she wouldn't want any. She brought back some chapatis and dips and so I finished off the finger-licking prawns...result! The great thing about these places is that you can try anything, from any of the stalls, and have as much or as little as you like. I usually have too much - it's too tempting.

Saturday was an Ikea-based write off as we were searching for furniture for the new apartment. The real highlight was, and will always be, the chance of scoffing a couple of $1 hot dogs and downing as much Pepsi as you can before circumnavigating the maze that is Ikea. By the end of the assault course you are sooo glad you prepared yourself with fast food sustenance as there is a real chance you will not make it out alive.

Another great tradition, along with Friday Satay and going to Ikea on the busiest day of the week is Sunday Dim Sum. Our destination was not Chinatown, but the Fullerton Hotel, a handsome building overlooking the Singapore river offering an unbeatable $30 per head Dim Sum buffet in their Jade restaurant. What were the idiots thinking? Surely they hadn't planned on the likes of me, scoffing 'til I pop? It turned out they had. Everyone else had the same idea. I've never seen people eat so much in my life, all with the thinnest veil of etiquette. There was certainly no shame in ordering absolutely everything on the menu. And people were.

Photo: http://mocha-mochi.blogspot.com

The astounding thing was that the quality was also very high; each morsel was light and brimming with flavour. The Jade menu consists of 22 Dim Sum, 5 Soups, 7 Appetizers, 8 Main Courses and 8 Noodle/Rice/Congee/Dessert dishes. It was over half way through the meal that we realised that we could also order non-Dim Sum items! We managed 18 dishes out of a total 50 on offer. Pretty good going for beginners. To whet your appetite, here are the 18 we tried:

Golden cheese dumpling (cheesy)
Deep-fried taro paste wrapped with truffle & mushroom (truffley!)
Pan-fried radish cake (bubble & squeak?)
Pan-fried minced pork & chives (moist and delicious)
Baked BBQ pork pie (not a Melton Mowbray but all the better for it)
Steamed glutinous rice with chicken & mushroom wrapped in a lotus leaf (nice enough...)
Oven-baked egg tart (saved til pudding-time - warm, light as a feather pastry)
Steamed crystal shrimp dumpling (luxurious)
Steamed abalone siew mai (sea snail - a new experience - not unpleasant - a local delicacy)
Steamed squid & coriander dumpling (silky)
Steamed char siew pau (big bready dumpling with sweet meaty sauce - great)
Braised shark's fin soup with crabmeat, truffle, egg white in a chicken broth (a stand-out dish - Michelin-tastic) PS. hoping that this was mock-shark's fin not the real thing
Hot & sour soup with chicken (good but boring after the shark's fin soup)
Roasted pork belly with 5-spice (tasty)
Honey glazed BBQ pork (nice but on the dry side)
Deep fried prawn coated with wasabi mayo (yum)
Stir-fried prawn with celery (much more inspiring than it sounds)
Stewed beef brisket with bean sauce (soft slow cooked beef, melt in your mouth)

I think there might have been more.... but I can't remember!

This was all complemented by lashings of jasmine tea and a rather lovely glass of Moet et Chandon NV. The Moet went really well with the Dim Sum; there were flavours of baked apple, almond and tangerine. Moet is a great food Champagne it seems.

Hail the Cab

I find myself in a Singapore back street, upstairs in an old shop-house, with 13 bottles wrapped in aluminium foil. It could only be Brown Bag Night! This irregular, generally monthly, meeting of wine minds is the brain child of Robert Rees from Wine Exchange Asia. The venue is Speakeasy, 54 Blair Rd near Outram Park. But shhhh...keep your voice down; this is the kind of place that you want to keep to yourself. As the website, proclaims, it is Singapore's 'best kept secret' and there is something mysterious about it. With no signage out front and just a smattering of tables and chairs spilling onto the narrow pavement, you have the feeling you've walked in on someone's private party. But no...they are smiling and not telling you to go away..they want you here! Tonight we are here for wine but my eyes wander momentarily around the drinks menu. " Prohibition-era cocktails" are advertised. Either these are potently alcoholic, made with red-neck moonshine or they're devoid of any booze at all. I decide to order a bottle of beer.

Not taken by me. And obviously not taken at night.

Introductions & pleasantries over, we are soon sniffing wines and scribbling notes about the 1st 3 wines of the evening. Robert makes the group feel very at ease as he is no wine snob. He is enthusiastic and amiable and really keen to pass on as much knowledge as possible. The main theme of the blind tasting is Australian Coonawarra Cabernet but apparently a couple of rogue bottles have crept in so we're to expect an odd Shiraz or something at some point. In my confusion, I haven't even brought a bottle (as is the rule) so I have to hastily purchase one from the bar near the end of the night to keep face. My turns out to be one of the rogue bottles as, although it does contain Cabernet it does also contain Merlot and Malbec. Plus it's from New Zealand. My wine is eventually numbered 14. This marks it out very obviously as my wine. Nevermind.

Blind tasting is really tough as you have no reference point except your own senses. At the same time, you have no preconceived ideas from the label, good or bad. The first thing that hits you when tasting Coonawarra Cabernet is the green pepper / capsicum aroma combined with mint and eucalyptus. These three do not disappoint, but on tasting Wine No.1 I start getting the overriding smell of Imperial Leather soap! It could be the black pepper spice and oak. Some might call it Sandalwood, but it is not something I've associated with wine before. It is this smell association that keeps popping back in my head of the course of the evening.

Anyway, here are the wines we tried with my thoughts attached. They are very loose tasting notes but are a true reflection of what I felt on the night. There was a lot of consensus on the night but also some serious disagreement. But that's wine; one man's meat is another man's poison. The wines were tasted in groups of 3 and the result was announced at the end of each round.

Wine No.1 
Zema Estate Coonawarra Cabernet 2004

This one had the Imperial Leather nose; peppery and spicy, but, well, a bit soapy.
Some licorice, waxy red apple and mint on the palate.
The finish was spoilt by some hot alcohol burn on the throat.

Wine No.2

Reynella McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004

A curve-ball! A Shiraz and not from Coonawarra.

Real depth of flavour here with raisin, cinnamon & clove.

Creamy vanilla oak complementing baked fruit crumble.

*My fave of the 3 - but not a Cab

Pic stolen from a random blogger

 

Wine No.3

Rymill Coonawarra Cabernet 1998

Powerful scent of green pepper and chilli.

Showing signs of aging - tomato ketchup and Worcester sauce.

Nice acidity balancing but creeping alcohol presence.

Time to drink up - but no.2 choice of the 3

 

Wine No.4

Rietine Tiziano, Tuscany 2004

Another one sent to throw us! Italian!

Really herby nose with some leather and cedar-spice.

Soft tannins, salty chocolate and bay.

A contender - but confusing until unmasked as non-Coonawarra

Wine No.5

 Kilikanoon Killerman's Run 2007

Cabernet, but not specified as Coonawarra (regional blend?)

The Imperial Leather has given way to washing powder: is it the waiter?

Cedar oak on the nose and tobacco leaf (more Marlboro that cigarbox)

Flavours of cranberry, blueberry and sloeberry

A touch of cocoa but grainy texture reminds of powder not chocolate block.

 

Wine No.6

Reschke  Empyrean Coonawarra Cabernet 2002

Straight away this is stand out: a powerhouse of a nose - pow!

The aromas of well made Bloody Mary and Gazpacho pack a real punch and 

keep you smiling.

Tomato & Worcester sauce flavours are smooth & attractive with hints of chocolate.

Good acidity, countering the richness of the wine, means this would be great with food.

Lovely wine - wine of the night so far?

Wine No.7

The Musician (Majella) Coonawarra Cab 2009

Afterwards we learn this a critically acclaimed wine, hailed by the Wine Advocate  - I thought it was odd! Each to their own I say

 It certainly has a lot going on, that's for sure;

Lavender, violets and creamy coconut (oak) on the nose.

Very herbal - coriander also on the nose combining with the coconut.

This is starting to smell like a Thai curry!

There's green pepper and creamy oak on the palate with some spicy bay and black pepper.

The finish is chocolatey, with a hint of violets.

*An odd one for sure

 

Wine No.8

Parker Terra Rossa First Growth, Coonawarra - Bordeaux Blend 1998

This does taste Bordeaux-like - Oak, smoke and tomato from the aging.

Dark chocolate flavours mingle with the mellow fruit.

Best of the 3

Wine No.9

Tapanappa Wrattonbully Cab Shiraz 2004

We discover after that this is made by Brian Croser, top winemaker. However, in 2 blind tastings i've done, I have not enjoyed his wines...oops

Port-like on the nose and palate - a little sweet.

Raisins and currants,violets, cloves and thyme with a touch of chocolate

Lighter in body than most tonight with a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Wine No.10
Majella Coonawarra Cab 2008 
Green pepper and white pepper on the nose
Juicy fruit shows well balanced acidity and tannin
A much more rounded experience than the other Majella wine here tonight (No.7)
*Best out of the 3











Wine No.11
Leconfield Coonawarra Cab 2008
Overriding aromas of stewed coffee and alcohol with very concentrated jammy fruit on the palate.
Maybe one to watch to see if it can bear fruit?

Distinctly un-Coonawarra

Wine No.12
Jacob's Creek Reserve
Coonawarra Cab 2009
I had my money on this not being from Coonawarra. And not being a Cab!
Almost Rhone-like with black pepper and a beef twang.
Interesting acidity and red apple fruit.
On re-tasting,  the red apple fruit was a little more like raw potato.
What is this?





 




Wine No.13
D'Arenberg Coppermine Rd McLaren Vale Cab 2001
Lovely menthol and cherry spice on the nose, continuing on the palate with almond and chocolate.
Delicious acidity and subtle integrated oak
This is still going strong!
Ah...This could be wine of the night!





Wine No.14
Stony Corner Newton Forrest, Gimblett Gravels NZ 2007
(A last minute purchase!)
After the Coppermine, the competition has been dynamited!
This just tastes too concentrated, too high in alcohol and strangely like Mackerel.
It has been blown out of the water!


So, to conclude, a great exercise. The overall winners were:

3rd -Parker Terra Rossa First Growth 1998
2nd - Reschke  Empyrean Coonawarra Cabernet 2002
1st - Coppermine Rd McLaren Vale Cab 2001

See Robert's report here via You Tube  

Brown Bag Night's can be arranged through  http://www.wineexchangeasia.com/

 

So Nahm Good

I fast forward 4 frenetic days, ignoring momentarily tuk tuk racing, dancing lady-boys and ping pong shows to tell you about something even more exciting: Nahm restaurant in Bangkok's Metropolitan Hotel. The surroundings are tranquil and the hotel impeccable. A retreat from the assault-on-the-senses that is Bangkok. Any other hotel restaurant in this setting would deliver either staid, pedestrian tourist food or high-calibre French-inspired cuisine with a desperate Monty Python-esque waiter about to commit suicide over the presence of a dirty fork. Here the decor is tasteful, maybe a little plain, but when the food arrives you know why. Like walking down Bangkok's notorious main drag, the senses are so whipped back and forth (this time by the layers of heightened flavour compounds) that the room's lack of excitement is necessary to calm the soul.

The meal itself does not start perfectly when the wine waiter brings us a tepid bottle of Grosset Watervale Riesling. On complaining about the warmth of the wine, the waiter enquires as to whether we want it warmer! Er, no thanks. However, at this temperature the wine shows it's strength, and there is not an ounce of residual sugar spoiling the crisp, appley, lemongrass and lime flavours on the palate and the touch of petrol and rubber on the nose. After a gentle chill in the ice bucket the wine is just right. Grosset is one of the shining lights of the Australian wine making industry and this is bench-mark Clare Valley Riesling.

An amuse bouche arrives, with compliments of the chef. This is often the time when you should get your coat and leave the restaurant because the amuse normally leaves one not amused. At Nahm this is just the beginning of a mouth-tingling food-trip that you find hard to come down from. A little triangle of pineapple with a caramelised onion and black pepper sauce (i'm guessing here) slaps you to attention and the lesson begins. David Thompson is the master, the teacher - you have to sit back, stop chewing gum and take some notes.

The wine, although great, can barely compete with the multitude of flavours in Thompson's food. Each course or even mouthful requires a different wine to compliment it! Next is a selection of appetisers: pomelo and grilled prawns with toasted coconut, peanuts, palm sugar sauce and betel leaves; southern grilled mussels; blue swimmer crab, peanuts and pickled garlic on rice cakes; smoky chiang mai chilli relish with pork scratchings and quail egg.

This is like Charlie and The Chocolate Factory without the chocolate. There could be chocolate! Heaven knows! Flavours explode, bounce around, fall away, pop back again. This is elevating stuff.

You can normally tell when a restaurant is amazing - the only conversation you hear is about the food. You can't even think about anything else. let alone talk about anything else.

Next comes the main course(s) and boy, is there a lot of food..... You get to choose 1 or 2 dishes from different sections of the menu;

Our salad choice is lemongrass salad of prawns, crispy squid and pork with toasted coconut and it is so fresh and invigorating.
We have 2 soups; clear soup of roast duck with Thai basil and young coconut & hot and sour soup of chicken with straw mushrooms, lemongrass, chilli and lime. Both are refreshing and vibrant and made with a lightness of touch.
A real stand-out is from the relish menu  (not sure exactly what that means);  yellow beans and crab meat dressed with ginger, kaffir lime and shallots served with crispy fish cakes. 3 plates arrive, 1 containing the crab meat, 1 with crispy fish skin and another with lettuce, coriander and cucumber. You assemble the ingredients, piling high the crab on top of the lettuce then topping off with the crispy skin. So good.

In addition we get to choose a curry (red curry of red claw crayfish with ginger, peanuts and holy basil) and 2 stir-frys (stir-fried bean curd with prawns and pork & spicy stir-fried frog with chillies, turmeric, holy basil and cumin leaves).

By now you could have sensory overload, but the movement back and forth between dishes means that you can take a breather from the flavour intensity by trying something else. I really do like frog's legs so it's great to see that they're a Thai delicacy too. The red curry leaves all the namby-pamby coconut-creamy imitations behind; it is so intense and concentrated, but still has that fresh, light touch.

Almost forgot... the dessert! What chef can take crispy onion and apply it to a dish with a soft crumble textured cake, milk and fruit and give you something entirely new in concept but entirely comforting in flavour?
We also have fruit dipped in spicy sugar which has the same effect as popping candy - great fun.

I was going to report back on all the other great dishes we had on Saturday & Sunday in Bangkok in much less refined places but there seems no point now! This is the pinnacle. If you've ever dined at Marcus Wareing's restaurant in London you'll know all about what a chef can do with flavour. Thompson has done this here and deserves the recognition he's got, not only through his Michelin star but also through the respect of the Thai-born chefs he teaches.

Nahm, Bangkok - worth the trip, as this is a journey

Spicy Lamb Chops

I could never be a proper food blogger; I woke up this morning in a haze and couldn't remember what I'd eaten! I think this is why most food bloggers take a picture of the food. Not to add interest to their blog but as evidence. My method of recall is simple; however squiffy I feel at the end of the night I still manage to go through the bill with a fine toothcomb and then file it away neatly in my wallet. I now know what we ate last night!

Went to Ex-Pat street again and to Once Upon A Bar....again. That's cos it's GOOD. It was comforting, but equally worrying that they recognised me from last time. I suppose it's not too weird: a jobless, scruffy, size 11 footed, flip-flop wearing English bloke in the middle of the Central Business District. I did try to hide behind a twinkly tree but they still spotted me. Plus, I'm the bloke who has to drink 2 pints, looking like he's trying to work out the meaning of life whilst waiting 45 mins for his missus to turn up! This is why I need an iPhone, so I can blog away and Tweet while waiting for El Jacko to get outta work. I'll sort that next week.

Right, yeah, so we had the obligatory Chicken Tikka starter, obviously. To add to this we had the best tandoori lamb chops ever! Better than in Tayyabs in London's trendy east end! They were so tender. They were an off-menu request after I saw an Indian bloke raving about them on another table. It turned out that he was the owner of the Indian food kitchen at the back of the bar. He went on to give me his business card. His name was Surender Singh; like a call to arms for the karaoke generation. I will definitely surrender to his spicy lamb chops at one of his other branches around town. And that is not a euphemism.

To the main course: Butter Chicken - plump chicken breast in a rich, creamy, lightly spiced sauce and Nali Gosht - soft, deep-flavoured lamb in a thick, fragrant sauce; all mopped up with light, smoky nan breads and onion rice. Delicious stuff.

Of course we'll be back: love it.

Reasonably Social Media

Things are on the up! The bank now know my mobile number too! I can now wait expectantly by the phone hoping that they might ring...might just check it now to see if I've missed a call.......er, no.

Actually, through the power of Twitter I have a couple of new contacts in Singapore for wine-related activities. @jetrobins introduced me to@RexWineCo who told me about Wine Exchange Asia who have occasional blind tastings dubiously called "Brown Bag Nights". There's one next Thursday so i'm going to go along to see what it's all about - should be a good laugh I think.

Apart from that, I've been getting to grips with the online classroom for the WSET Diploma. So far there's been no spitting, swearing or running in the corridor, but it's only a matter of time!

Great lunch at a food court in the city called Lau A Sat. Had amazing roast belly pork and noodles from Shao La stall. Super crispy skin and moist melty flesh - yummy. And only £1.75. On the weekend they have loads of Satay stalls lined up along side and they close the road off. Should be worth a visit one weekend to challenge Caroline to a satay-eating contest. I think the record is 100 in 20 mins. That seems pathetic!

A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall

Went shopping earlier and was overcome by a Monsoon - and I don't mean the British-based clothing chain. Torrential rain for ages.... still hot though - yippee.

Also got a Sim card for my phone today, so I can now phone all my friends in Singapore! Sadly, I only know one person: my wife... 

3 Nights In Bangkok

Looks like we're going to Thailand for three nights instead! Couldn't book any of the 3 places recommended previously as it's one of the busiest times of year so as an alternative I've managed to book a couple of nights at the Metropolitan Bangkok. It didn't quite click when I clicked OK on the online booking form, but afterwards I realised that it is the sister hotel to the famous London hotel of the same name! It too has an exclusive Met Bar but I don't expect to see Madonna or Lady Ga Ga there. Maybe Lady Boy Ga Ga?

Even so, take a look:


http://www.metropolitan.bangkok.como.bz

Will report back with findings....

Orchard Road, Head Freeze & Japanese BBQ

Ended up watching some freakish horror movie last night until about 2 am called The Haunting Of Connecticut...still slept like a baby until 10.30 though! Pottered around for ages, taking full advantage of the weekend then off shopping in Orchard Road which is the shopping mecca of Singapore. I'm not that into shopping particularly but Orchard Road is such a pleasure in comparison to Oxford Street (mind you, what isn't?!). It's massive, like a boulevard in Paris, with some of the most presigious names in fashion. The Gucci shop is enourmous; you feel like you've spent a grand just looking at the building.

Of course, we were ravenous as usual and so headed straight for one of the food courts below the shops. Even in this street, the prices are still dead cheap. The Kopitian Food Hall is slightly anaesthetic in comparison to some of the food courts but that is no bad thing. We did the usual wandering 'round in circles staring at the pictures of food on the front of each stall, pointing with awe at some and pointing in disbelief at some of the others. I don't think I'm ever going to find the idea of Pig Organ Soup that appealing even if it's flippin lush! We settled on 1 dish of Crispy Pork Belly and noodles and 1 of Roast Duck and noodles. While I was waiting, Caroline went off in search of a cold drink to have with lunch. She eventually appeared after waiting an age while a woman hand-squeezed the ingredients for our fruit-based drinkies. Mine was lime-based and pretty subtle - nice and refreshing. Caroline's drink was insane; it was orangey coloured with 2 sour cherries in it, a lot of ice and about 25 spoons of sugar in it. Strangely addictive it was too. I took a real blast on the straw only to give myself "Head-Freeze". Strangers to this condition have obviously never tried sucking a Maccy D's Milkshake through a straw without waiting for it to melt properly. It's quite painful.

Avoided medical treatment for Head Freeze by sitting with a pained expression for about a minute and then going shopping. Aim today was shorts and pair of jesus-creepers for me. For Caroline it was probably a whole load of jewels, gold and shoes like most girls. I decided not to ask - it's easier not to know. Luckily she only got a pair of flipflops, a scalfy thing, some trousers, a couple of tops & some trainers. I managed 2 pairs of shorts but for love nor money I could not buy any shoes. It seems that my size 11 clod-hoppers are a little bigger than the average Chinese person.

That evening we had planned to go to a Japanese BBQ so, by golly we went there. We were told there was a good one 'round the corner from us and there was. There was also another one. As we were not sure which one was the good one, we opted for the one with the most outside seating. You see, we've become slighty acclimatised to the heat. The over air-conditioning of places is too much of a reminder of the winter we've left behind.
I was slightly dubious at first as to the whole concept of the Japanese BBQ at Gyu-Kaku, UE Square. You buy your meat but then you BBQ it yourself...surely a mistake? When I go to a restaurant I want someone to cook it for me, especially as I have a history of ruining good steaks with overcooking. We were "persuaded" to go for some Wagyu beef (i was twisting my own arm behind my back), lamb neck, salmon wrapped in foil with a marinade and a side salad of spinach with an incredible sesame dressing. The waiter offered to barbeque the first lot for us which was, quite frankly, the least he could have done....but then, like the succulent Wagyu beef, I melted... and actually really got into it! Like most blokes and barbeques I couldn't wait to get me hands on the tongs and cook up some serious meat.
This was of course washed down with obligatory jugs of Asahi beer which went down rather too quickly. I was very content. That was until I was given the bill. In Singapore eating terms it was very pricey for what it was. By London standards it was also very pricey! But...Wagyu is Wagyu, and it is good. It just comes at a price.

Next time I'm forgoing the salad and beer and I'm just gonna to have a Wagyu Sirloin. I'll wait 'til my steak-eating partner @baconchop comes to town in September to find out though.

Ex-Pat Street

Met up with Caza to celebrate the start of the weekend and her 1st week at work in Singapore. Decided to head to what we lovingly call "Ex-Pat Street", Pekin Street in the Business District. We discovered it purely by chance on our brief trip to Singapore about 2 months ago and thought we'd never find it again as it seems so hidden away. It's full to the brim with bars and eateries and has a great ambience with twinkling lights suspended in the trees up and down the street. Once Upon A Bar was our destination of choice as we'd had such tasty food there last time and the beer prices are not too bad for Singapore. They do ice-cold San Miguel pints for approx $8 during Happy Hour(s) - this is like Wetherspoon's prices in Singapore terms. Food-wise they serve up great bar snacks and we delved into first class moist and barbequey Chicken Tikka,  enormous pie-like Veggie Samosas, classic Thai Fish Cakes and an amazing Crispy Battered Squid which you plunge into a green chilli & coriander dip. They seem to do lots of different cuisines from the specialist kitchens to the back of the bar so you know you're getting something authentic. The beer slips down a treat too and we managed to sup several pints before slipping away into the night.

We decided to pop into one of the bars local to us in Robertson Quay on the way back to have one more Tiger for the road. Bizarrely, we were still slightly peckish so we decided to sample a pizza as well! The bar-restaurant is called The Sailors and is one of many Italian restaurants in town. It's not the most amazing bar around but the pizza was actually pretty darn good with a  lovely crispy base. The only thing it lacked was a bit of a chilli kick, but that's my problem not theirs! Great little late-night haunt overlooking the river playing very chilled music, just right before bedtime.....

Windows Vista vs iTunes

Flippin heck...after having a fun morning trawling through Thai websites (for accomodation, not filth I might add) I made the mistake of trying to sort out a problem that appeared just before Crimbo. The problem occured when I foolishly pressed OK to a software update. We've all been there, haven't we? Everything's working hunky dory but oh, there it is, the offer of something for nothing so we take it. Mind you, we know if we don't take it, somewhere down the line we'll be paying for an update because the old version will cease to work anyway! The update looked great when it started to download and I couldn't wait to get it all sorted ready for making some choice playlists for my wedding reception music. Well of course it all went horribly wrong didn't it? In the end I had to get the Fiancee's computer all set up and remember not to press yes to the accursed update on her one. This took hours and made me stressed as only computers can; if you discount humans that is. Hey, cos you need that extra stress just before you get married, leave your job and move to Singapore, don't ya?

So, 3 weeks later I decide that i'm relaxed enough to patiently sort out this pain in the bum problem.

It's taken me 6 hours to sort it out - still not sure how or why it now works but I think it could be something to do with taking down the Firewall momentarily. I have fixed one problem; I now have iTunes again - hooray! However, I have probably released an army of Trogan virus' on my poor laptop. I'm sure it's a conspriracy by Apple to make me want to buy an iPad. Either that or Vista is a load of rubbish. Surely not!

To make myself feel better I made a steaming hot bowl of Tom Yum soup again and drank a cup of tea that I found an ant in...mmmm

Here's a picture of the soup and a view from the window....

One Night In Bangkok? Maybe TWO

Can't help having this song running 'round my head: it's been in there since we started planning this trip a couple of months ago.

Am now planning TWO nights in Bangkok over next weekend!

Choices so far are...

http://www.arunresidence.com/
http://www.oldbangkokinn.com/about.php
http://www.phranakorn-nornlen.com/

All look good actually.

We are planning to catch up with Gayle and Andy from back home - they're there as part of a Far East tour they are doing over this month. This will be great!

Hot in the City

Last night I decided it was time to cook something, well, when I say cook I mean prepare a salad. I was on for something really plain and bland to counter the exotic tastes that we've experienced so far but I got to the supermarket (FairPrice) and crumbled straight away. After picking up some boring chicken breast, an iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes and a cucumber I felt like a right saddo ex-pat! Plus, by that point I'd seen what else was on offer next to the boring white breads and jams; rows and rows of jars of Chinese and Thai sauces that were just crying out to be used. I must admit that it was no different than a trip to London's Chinatown in array but the difference was that I became overcome by the sense that whatever I eat here will have to be SPICY and full of flavour. I kept the chicken and salad in the basket but filled the gaping hole next to it with sweet chilli, soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, limes, coriander, basil and my pièce de résistance, Tom Yum Soup paste.

I could barely contain myself from running back to the apartment with the spicy goodies, but as this is Singapore one has to amble and shuffle due to the very real chance of turning into a sweaty red blob if hurrying at all. One also has to careful of fizzing up one's Singha beer cans.

Well, what a taste sensation! The Tom Yum paste here is much better than the stuff you get in Chinatown in London. Normally I have to add plenty of other ingredients to bring it to life but not this time. 4 or 5 teaspoons of the firey mix added to 2 to 3 cups of water was enough, the only additions being sliced chicken, mushroom, cucumber, tomato and coriander. It was super-hot but not in the Friday night Vindaloo sense. It was Invigorating and mesmerising like the time I first tried it with a Russian con-artist in Tel Aviv Israel (don't ask...).

The salad was a no-brainer; lime, sweet chilli, fish sauce as a dressing to the salad but with the addition of basil and coriander and a few snow-peas (mange tout to you). The chicken was briefly fried with a bit of soy and chilli sauce just for extra flavour (if it needed any!).

What could have been a Caesar-inspired disaster was avoided by Singapore's spicy spell. This is Singapore. It's got to be HOT!

Rain That Looks Appealing

This is the only place I've been where you actually want to go out in the rain! I'm looking out of the window here and can see people jumping in the swimming pool - I want a piece of that!

A pattern is definitely forming: it gets steadily hotter thru out the day (usually coinciding with when I go out) and then the lightning kicks in with a bit of thunder in the mix. Then comes the rain - yeahhhh

Today have done boring things like banking, washing and learning how to open a mov. file and edit it without having to pay any cash for a conversion package. Spent ages trying lots of things til I realised that the solution was staring me in the face. Stupid Windows Movie Maker (free with Windows) actually does this! A miracle, I tell you.

Would really like to go in the pool but am feeling a little bit self conscious as it looks like I'm still wearing a T Shirt even when topless due to unhealthy "tan" from yesterday's stroll in the midday sun. When will the Brits ever learn eh? I'm sure even Stamford Raffles must have made a right ass out of himself when he got to Singapore in the 1800's and forgot his sun screen...

The new Alan Wicker Not!

V dull for anyone other than my mum who requested a virtual tour of our temporary accomodation... Sorry!

Singapore Through The Lens Of A Pink Camera Held Sheepishly

Sun & Wine

I've been here 24 hours so far and have got a bit sun burnt already! Oops

Have checked out the price of wine and it is confirmed: it's ruddy expensive here as tax is approx $8 per bottle:
However, there's still no excuse though for selling Neblina Merlot (Majestic UK Price about £4.50 http://www.majestic.co.uk/find/keyword-is-neblina/product-is-39138) for $19.99 in Cold Storage supermarket Singapore!

Ouch...

So remember folks in the UK: despite the VAT hike to 20%, wine is still well cheap so get drinking, but just drink better wines than those at £5 per bottle. See http://bit.ly/fBBFQt for details

As for sun tan lotion, the irony is that the UK is one of the cheapest places to buy that too...

BapSHOUT takes on Singapore

As I was unable to have the time to blog, or even take a picture of some food or wine to throw onto the Internet over the last few months, I've decided to bore you all by recounting virtually everything I'm doing over the next 2 years! This will be the story of a man on a mission to get a great wine job in Singapore whilst studying for his wine diploma and trying to eat as much food as possible.

To get you up to speed with my situation, I leave a rather cold UK behind me while I start this quest in Singapore. Right now I am acclimatising by going shopping miles from the apartment to test my mettle. My mettle is now a little sweaty.But I do now have Marmite (one of life's necessities I'm afraid).

Beer is expensive here so I will have to cut down; this can only be a good thing. Beer is part of the national diet of the UK. It contributes to the 5-a-day fruit and vegetable govt guidelines I'm told. It is also essential in winter to get a nice big beer belly to keep you warm.

I've tried Grass Jelly Drink as an alternative but it tastes a bit rank.

Will let you know more alternatives soon!

Right, that's the 1st one - phew, I did it - just in time for lunch..yum
See ya soon PopTarts