Globalmat Soul Kitchen X Laut

When globalmat soul kitchen released a tasting menu for a collab with Laut, I booked it immediately. Had to do it! The small venue seats just  9-10 pax at the counter; so it's fastest fingers first on the reservation page. The menu was fun and I know the husband enjoys this type of food + cocktail experiences. I've never bothered to check out Laut on its own, so this was a great time as any to have a look. 

The menu required diners to buy a drink from Laut, which wasn't an issue to the husband. Laut is a cocktail bar after all, serving up Asian-inspired cocktails. I had a tough time deciding which were the least offensive flavors to my palate. You know me and cocktails. Laut's cocktails are limited, in the sense that it's a whole list curated to the current pop-up food menu for the night. There'll be something whisky, something gin, and one could pick from it. 

I requested for a simple highball, but skipped the lemon. Excellent. It went so well with the spices. At the end of the night, I opted for a liquid dessert in the form of a 'mata kuching' cocktail — malt whisky, lychee and rambutans, and black tea kombucha. The husband was happily drinking all the concoctions. He enjoyed all the different flavors. 

globalmat soul kitchen x Laut's collab over two weekends are sold out. I went for the first weekend lah. Z took us down the memory lane of his childhood memories of food, places and people. It was a sizeable menu of biryani, 'badang' with dried kurau, ceviche and betel leaf, black noodles in the form of squid with calamansi, 'assam pedas' of stingray and belinjo, 'mas ayu' of rice cake and grago sambal, 'banyak lemak' with soft shell crab, lemak padi and coconut rice, and a dessert of 'ngupi' of coconut horchata and espresso. 

I had to laugh at the 'false biryani'. THERE WAS NO RICE. LOLOL Too many people asked why Z's usual biryani holds no papadum. So this menu did. And it was just papadum and vegetarian masala with a quail egg. I felt cheated and died laughing. That worked. 

I shamelessly asked for another serving of belinjo crackers. OMG. These are my kinds of food. The sambal was gorgeous! Z brought out an extra serving of sambal with nasi lemak pulut. I ate them all. SO MUCH CARBS. Never, I can afford it. Sambal firsts. I'd burn them off the next day. 

I couldn't believe that Z generously gave me a tub of sambal grago to take home! What the! Woah! I keeled over from sheer happiness. I appreciated that so much. I really love sambal, and this is a fabulous iteration. 

Whisky & Pork Biryani

Work ended at 9pm and I needed dinner and a whisky. Some colleagues needed the same. It had been a tiring three nights at work. It was absolutely intense. We still have a ton of analysis to do, and a conclusion report to write. We're not that close, and we're not friends. But because we don't actually work in the same office, we oddly don't mind one another's company for a bit. I've worked with them for years, and they're absolutely great people to work with. 

We stopped by Hubs at Siglap for a perk-me-up before bedtime. It was a central location for everyone to get home to after dinner and light drinks. Everyone just wanted whisky and Guinness to wind down, and bar bites to pad the tummy. We didn't even stay till midnight. We left at 11pm. Lovely. 

I didn't make a reservation and simply walked in. There was space for us, but limited portions of pork biryani. Luckily for us, we had enough to go around. The colleagues also wanted other things like pies, and fish and chips. I definitely wanted those fried cuttlefish balls. The sambal belachan that it came with was so spicy-delicious. My soda to whisky ratio was way high. I didn't want that much alcohol. I wanted refreshing! This means 15% whisky and 85% soda. Tehehehee. 

Cheese Toasties & Tomato Soup with Chopsticks?

I had a work social that evening that I couldn't not attend. After the afternoon presentations, small group discussions and drinks, I decided to skip out on dinner (a buffet thing in which no on would miss me) and left. Hopped over to Origin Bar at Shangri-La Hotel for a drink and a bite. This is the one cocktail bar that doesn't kertok me on whisky.

When the husband heard that, he ditched the dog and joined me too. Hahahah. He likes the cocktails at Origin Bar and he would want one. In the end, he had two. The cocktail menu is so pleasurable to flip through. Someone put a lot of effort in doing it up, with 2D holograms of the drinks and all. I wisely stuck to my Talisker 10 y.o highball. I wanted a peated highball tonight, hence my choice of whisky. Absolutely refreshing. 

I didn't bother to sit at the restaurant side. The bar would be better. Lower chances of the restaurants screwing up things for me. The restaurants are always hilarious. They always manage to royally screw up my orders, even for my orders of rice dumplings last month. Tsk tsk. The bar also has a small menu of nibbles; they suffice for a night like this when I don't have cravings and not looking for pasta or a carb bomb.

The husband was hungry, and ordered a burger and ramen. Okaaaay. The bar does these basics very well lah. I had no interest to share his food. Don't like wagyu patties and no like ramen. Hahahah I'm not in a mood to 'try' or compromise on food tonight. I ordered cheese toasties with tomato 'soup'. 

The server set small plates and cutlery (fork, spoon, knife) in front of us. We ordered the burger and ramen first. We had to ask for chopsticks for the ramen. Only after the husband's done with the food and the used cutlery and plates were cleared, I ordered the cheese toasties with tomato soup. The server returned with a plate and a pair of chopsticks. For my cheese toasties and soup. I blinked. It didn't make sense. 

When my food arrived, I LOL. Sure, one could kiap the slim toasties to dip in the soup, then eat without dirtying the fingers. But I'll pass. Even as deft I am with chopsticks and it's always my utensil of choice, it's weird lah. We're not in China or a Chinese restaurant! Anyway, I used my fingers and left the chopsticks alone. I didn't even bother asking for a fork. It wouldn't be too greasy. Luckily those cheese toasties were still as delicious as I remember from a few weeks back. 

A Glass of Peat Away from the Sugar

I'm never keen on cocktail bars because I'm not interested in cocktails. It's just a lot of hype and showmanship. I'm not keen on the sugar and the mix of flavors. If I go, that's for the company of friends who enjoy cocktails. 

I like my drinks plain and boring. I stick to whisky, or a glass of classic, non-inventive gin and tonic. I've learnt (the expensive way) to check prices of whisky at cocktail bars because they tend to jack it up for no good reason. Come on, S$29 for a standard pour of Lagavulin 16 y.o or S$49 for a miserly glass of Hibiki Harmony is too much. 

Popped by Taylor Adam that night since the friends like it and wouldn't mind their cocktails. No floofs came along, of course. It was very nice to sit in air-conditioning. Music was terrible, but at least th volume was okay and non-intrusive. 

Many cocktails were had, alongside whisky. Also had an easy bottle of red wine since WP and M don't do whisky and they weren't in the mood for cocktails. Hibiki Harmony was the bottle of the night. I'm not a big fan of Japanese whisky. It's a tad too sweet for me. After a while, I toddled off to the bar to look for a glass of peat. This bar doesn't stock much peat. The Bowmore 15 y.o isn't the 'darkest', so I decided against it. I settled for a lovely Caol Ila 12 y.o. 

Sake at Kizuna!

Kizuna turns 5 this year and they've got a number of events lined up to celebrate it. I can't believe we've been hanging out at Kizuna for so many years, from its time as a cafe to its current iteration as an izakaya. 

Popped into Kizuna for first of their special anniversary events. It was a night of sake tasting and food pairing. The izakaya created five courses to be paired with four glasses of sake and one highball, in partnership with Tōji Rumiko Moriki of 'Rumiko no Sake' from Moriki Sake Brewery (森喜酒造 株式会社) and organized by Whistler Wine & Spirits. 

The izakaya suspended their usual menu, and presented a five-course menu to pair with the bottles of sake brought out. Marinated amela tomatoes were paired with ankimo on a toasted base. The usual negitoro canapés had a fancier tart base instead of seaweed, and included a topper of raw quail egg! Then there was a gyu-don in the form of Kagoshima M4 wagyu squares. I gave most of my beef to the friends. 

There were desserts of melon and ham on cream cheese, and sasa mochi (with custard) wrapped in a bamboo leaf. Heh. There was sake tasting right? But there was also a complimentary glass of highball, and we continued having a few more highballs to go with the food. Highballs are simply refreshing! 

We tasted four types of sake tonight, including an aged sake at the end. I gained a slight understanding of this new-to-me brewery and their styles. I really liked the first two expressions. I enjoyed the 'Riestyle', created by Tōji Rie Toyomoto of Moriki Shuzo. 

What stood out for me was the Suppin Rumiko no Sake Tokubetsu Junmaishu Namagenshu. I think they change the colors of the label every year. But it is this line under the brand that I prefer the flavors of — the entire line of 'Rumiko no Sake'.

Rumiko-san was present too. She took the trouble to come all the way here to do this in an izakaya that's not even a big restaurant! I'm in all of her achievements, her knowledge and her demeanor. She was the loveliest. Choya was absolutely stoked to hang out with her. The little floof was very happy tonight too. She walked around, checked out everyone and then went back to her corner to snooze and calmly observed all the going-ons.

Whisky Shots at Kizuna!

I've gotten used to being in town over Christmas and New Year. It's a choice that I have made, and I'm still feeling okay about it. I'm not willing to compromise my dog's welfare and mental well-being, so I'm willing to compromise for her.  

Popped out to Kizuna to say hi to the friends who wanted to meet before everyone pops out for their ski trips and winter break. The stir-fry chef was ill, unfortunately, so there were no garlic fried rice, goya chanpuru or mapo tofu. LOL Never mind, there're plenty of other things on the menu that the other chefs could prep and serve up.

I had fluffy steamed rice with furikake, and pork jowl, as well as oden (no daikon today). Those were happy things for me. The man got his pidan-tofu, fried chicken, ankimo mousse thingy, and cured gizzard shard. We were all satiated. The friends got their niku-jaga and such.

I wisely stuck to highballs all night. Some opted for gin and the others also had an eggnog to round up the night. I was busy chatting, then there was one final tray of shots. I didn't even know what I was drinking. Someone said 'whisky'. Fine. 

I didn't even drink that much. But that shot killed me. I didn't get drunk or throw up. I was perfectly fine when I went to bed. But I woke up with a splitting headache. I swore I was hungover for two days after.

TEP Bar at Charoenkrung

Flew out to Krung Thep for 48 hours to see the friends for a quick bit. I'm always a tourist in Bangkok, but on this trip, I'm not a tourist, except for the staying in a hotel bit. 

I was going to stay outskirts at the motel nearer to their family homes, but they would be in town when I was there, so a hotel works. I didn't need to bunk in with the friends in their city apartment even. My preference is never to stay with friends even if it's for a night. Unless all I need is a hot shower and a quick sleep, and they have the space for me.

I ate easy and yummy six meals at very local restaurants. I had great filter coffee at local joints. I went to nowhere on TikTok or IG or Xiaohongshu popular lists. I did what I came here to do — reconnect with friends and check in with them after the passing of their 10-year-old dog. I know the dog too. It was all the more poignant because the dog passed on the same day as he was born, albeit 10 years later.

The friends insisted on taking me to TEP BAR. I was like... WHY. I don't need to go a bar! They said that I would love it. "We'll get you fried silkworms." They didn't tell me anything more about it and they told me not to google, and be pleasantly surprised. I tell you, only long-time friends could do this to me. They do know my preferences. I actually thought they're taking me to a metal gig. 

I could always hang out in bar, but I'm not a fan of cocktails. So none of these fancy bars or hip joints are memorable to me. However, TEP BAR left an impression. It has been around for nine years. It's very Thai and their IG posts and announcements are pretty much all in Thai. The best part — the live music bar hosts experimental Thai bands, and many of these bands play traditional Thai musical instruments and making new sounds to them. Which is awesome. So the new-to-me band tonight was Khamvisedth. I love their energy and enthusiasm tonight. Absolutely enjoyable! 

The best signage of the short trip came from tonight too, at the bar. LOLOLOL They wanted everyone to drink and party and have a good time, but FFS, hold your liquor well. NO PUKING. The bar is a tiny alley in hip Charoenkrung in Chinatown (Yaowarat), but this is not a get-drunk kind of place. They're not joking. I'm fairly sure that they would collected many 3500THB over the years. What a great way to pay the cleaning crew or add on bonuses for them. 

It's a very tiny bar and you gotta be comfortable with people knocking into you half the time you'd be there. I was like, whatever. Just don't bump me too hard or be rude. Also I had earplugs (as I always do), so I wasn't too bothered by the conversations or sounds. I could isolate the music, the conversation at my table, and focus on that. I also wisely avoided all award-winning cocktails made with Thai herbal liquor and stuck to gin all night. 

Sautéed Pork with Garlic Shoots

When I find gems of a quirky neighborhood izakaya that fits all my requirements and tastebuds, I try to keep them a secret. All the more so if I am friends with the owners, and would prefer to bring like-minded friends there instead of telling it to all and sundry who might just pick a bone with whatever standards they deem as the bistro/izakaya being unable to meet.  

That night at Kizuna, I knew what I wanted to eat to satisfy a few cravings — steamed white rice and grilled pork jowl. They don't usually do the pork jowl in an overly fatty cut, so I appreciated that. Skipped the goya chanpuru (ゴーヤチャンプルー, bittergourd stir-fry Okinawan style) in favor of more pork in the form of sautéed pork with garlic shoots (ニンニクの芽と豚肉炒め). 

We had a full table that night. The others continued with cocktails, chrysanthemum gin and such. I stuck to my highballs. No sake. I didn't want to mix alcohol. The kitchen also kindly gave us a few slices of pickled daikon to go along with dinner and drinks. 

A thunderstorm had rolled in at dinnertime, just as we were all setting out to head to Potong Pasir. But the rain passed within the hour, and that kept the evening really cool. It made sitting outdoors very bearable. It was a lovely night chatting with friends over delicious food and super decent drinks. 

Chartreuse, the Liquor, and Its Carthusian Makers

I vaguely read about the origins of the green and yellow Chartreuse used in cocktails, and the monks of Chartreuse in their self-imposed isolation. Then I heard about the worldwide shortage of Chartreuse, and how it came to be so.

Chartreuse is an herbal, bitter liqueur product made using a blend of 130 plants, herbs and flowers. The original recipe this dates back to 1605 when a manuscript k own as the 'Elixir of Long Life' was bestowed upon the Carthusian monks by François Hannibal d’Estrées.

Green Chartreuse is an essential ingredient in the cocktail aptly named 'The End of the Road'. That's a simple mixture of a peated whisky (usually Laphroaig), Campari and Green Chartreuse. Yes, only three 'ingredients'. 

The recipes of both green and yellow Chartreuse are kept highly secret. I read the information again with renewed interest as stocks of Chartreuse dwindled and its impact felt across all bars in the world. 

In 1840, they formulated a milder, 55 percent alcohol version, Green Chartreuse, and a sweeter, 40 percent Yellow Chartreuse. Both have become popular cocktail ingredients, while the Elixir continues to be sold medicinally for ailments such as indigestion, sore throat and nausea. 

Today, the order sells about 1.5 million bottles of its three hallmark products annually, with the yellow and green liqueurs going for about $60, and cask-aged versions for $180 or more. About half its production run is sold in France, with the United States the largest export market. 

Royalties go back to 380-some Carthusian monks and nuns residing in 22 charter houses spread across the globe, including Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain and the United States. 

Remarkably, among them, only two monks know the full 130-ingredient recipe.

The monks of Chartreuse, also known as the Carthusians, survived 900 years of external turmoil, from avalanches to religious wars, fires, plagues and of course, COVID-19 lockdowns. They make Chartreuse, the liquor. Their business arm Chartreuse Diffusion oversees the operations and logistics of selling to the world. The sales of the liquor Chartreuse sustain this lifestyle. 

But I think the troubles of the modern world is encroaching on the order. And although the order doesn't seem to need that much to survive and for continuity, they decided to make a business decision that that is incoherent, yet so right for the environment. They simply refused to increase the volume of production of the liquor and quietly scaled back the production itself. 

“There’s only so much Chartreuse you can make without ruining the balance of monastic life,” said the Rev. Michael K. Holleran, a former monk who oversaw Chartreuse production from 1986 to 1990.  

This shortage of Chartreuse isn't unexpected. Older stocks have been sold out and current stocks depleted. It's a conscious decision undertaken by the monastic order to not meet the demand. In January 2023, the order sent a letter their partners to explain their collective decision to brew less, protect their monastic life, and focus more on their solitude and prayer. Wow.

Right now, the demand for Chartreuse from retailers, restaurants, bars, consumers outstrip the supply from the monastic order. Still, distributors support and stand by the order's decision. Let the waiting lists grow and the world will understand scarcity a little more, perhaps. At the very least, it's friendlier to the environment.  

“They’re thinking about the long term,” said the German filmmaker Philip Gröning, who waited 16 years while the monks pondered his request to capture life at the Grande Chartreuse monastery, “what’s going to be best for us, and for the planet, over the next thousand years.”

At bars that still stock green Chartreuse, the husband would ask for a glass of 'The End of the Road'. He saw a bottle of green Chartreuse at Kizuna that night when we had dinner and sake there, and couldn't resist asking for a glass. I passed. I'm very much not a cocktails person.

One could choose not to use peated whisky, but even a non-cocktail drinker like me would prefer it peated. Much more 'herbal' that way. Heh. Kizuna made a good mix. Well-balanced ratios. The husband enjoyed his drink loads.

“The Carthusians have a wonderful perspective,” Father Holleran said. “The days pass very quickly when you’re immersed in the shadow of eternity.”

Shiny Fish at 'Izakaya Kizuna'

Had to keep the floofs calm and away from the major fireworks on the 9th as well as tonight when the fireworks go off in the five heartland locations. Went up to Potong Pasir to escape the booms at the Parade venue in town. Headed out to Kizuna for dinner on the 9th.  

The izakaya was up and running. Tonight's menu offered had shiny fish! There was an easy appetiser of marinated gizzard shad (コハダの酢〆), and a main as grilled silver beltfish (太刀鱼). Noms. These aren't served in big portions. Bite-sized, I'd call it. Just nice for our stomachs.

I also needed something more substantial. Since I ordered the goya chanpuru (ゴーヤチャンプルー / bittergourd, bits of pork belly, egg and tofu), and pork jowl, I went for broke and had a bowl of steamed Japanese white rice sprinkled with furikake. Teeheehheeh. These go so well together.

The man also couldn't resist the garlic fried rice. He had loads of it with the fish, corn, eggplant and pickled cucumbers. He also ordered a second serving of marinated kohada. The izakaya's rice cooker ran out of rice by 9pm. LOL Loads of highballs accompanied the meal. Ahh...dinner was absolutely satisfying. 'Izakaya Kizuna' is always a good way for us to spend an easy happy night. 

Mid-Way Through This Series of Leadership Workshops

We're at the halfway mark of a series of Leadership Development Workshops that S has put together. While I'm absolutely familiar with the tiers of a leadership program, I lend neither help nor expertise to this workshop. That is entirely on S. I'm the notetaker and am simply... assisting.

This week, we completed the third set of the series. The two-day workshop ran smoothly without much hiccups. The participants were interested and engaged. Behind the scenes was all of S's hard work. I didn't even help her do up the deck of slides.

I'm picky about facilitators I work with because everyone has a different approach and manner to a workshop, and I have preferences, depending on the clients and their intended audience as well. I generally don't tell facilitators why I picked them or not, because I'm mindful of their feelings. It’s unnecessary to have to overthink. What I'm looking for, is someone who doesn't come across as snooty, patronizing or middling. I don’t want them to do juvenile or silly activities. The facilitator’s tone of voice and cadence of language are most important to me. Some facilitators are just great, and some simply suck.

When I watched S lead the workshop, the image of her as my friend dissipated. In place, she had put on a facilitator's hat. It was a pleasure watching S do her job so beautifully. Each workshop takes a lot out of her. It isn't just about the content. It's the interaction with the participants and how genuine she is. 

When the workshop was successfully completed, we breathed a sigh of relief. Hurrah. We adjourned to The Elephant Room for some excellent cocktails. Since we were hungry, we also had an early dinner. The bar serves up some really decent reinterpreted Indian food. The lamb shank and shredded Kerala beef were excellent, and we were hoping for a portion of carbs to go along with them, but the kitchen doesn't offer basmati rice or naan.  

Nikujaga at Kizuna

When I miss casual comfort food at an izakaya, I come to Kizuna for its night menu. It morphs into a cocktail bar and izakaya in the nights, especially fun on Fridays and Saturdays. Of course I always skip the cocktails and order the easy highballs. Its cafe hours don't match my schedule anymore. I haven't had a coffee here for ages. I stop by in the nights instead. 

I was here for the nikujaga / 肉じゃが and Okinawa-style stir-fry of pork, eggs, tofu and bittergourd (goya-chanpuru ゴーヤーチャンプルー). I was quite thankful that they ran out of rice at 9pm, so I didn't have any rice, not that I needed the carbs. Hurhurhur. But it would be nice to have stew with rice. I also couldn't resist a grilled stick of tontoro. Heh! 

Of course the man shared my stew and stir-fried dishes. But he also had extra protein in the form of tsukune and grilled chicken thighs. There was randomly a mapo-tofu with beef, but less spicy. Perfect. We couldn't resist trying out the cured hamachi drizzled in sauce of Bloody Mary. It was rather delicious! Ooof.

Washed down the food with refreshing highballs. It was another good night. Casual chats, good food and easy nights — these are all the things I was hoping to find in an izakaya that we come by often. Glad we have Kizuna. 

The Last Night in Tokyo

For our final night in Tokyo, I ditched a planned dinner at a 'famous' restaurant, and opted for a casual night out in Aoyama. I wasn't quite feeling it to dine out like this. I had already ditched an earlier table at a three-starred Michelin restaurant the other night. I enjoy fine-dining, but mostly, I don't need my food to be done this fancy. 

I can do fancy on another trip to Tokyo. This trip, I want to taste flavors that can come out of a home kitchen, and be reacquainted with everything that I've missed. 

The man was indulgent and didn't mind me ditching our reservations. (Thank goodness I didn't need to pay the cancellation fees because the restaurant waived it.) He did wonder about fresh fruit cocktail bars or one of those rooftop lounges. I'm like, let's go to a basement bar please. Cocktail bars are just wasted on me. I don't care about cocktails (walao the sugar). Just give me whisky. 

I wanted to go to Aoyama, an old haunt, just to see how much it has changed. Had a lovely stroll by the huge Aoyama Cemetery that's open to the public. I like this quiet cemetery loads; I only avoid it in spring since it has cherry blossoms lining the paths, and people crowd it for viewing parties and picnics. The cemetery has been around since 1874. Think of how many ghosts haunt the area. Hehheh. Did you know that Hachiko the Akita's actual grave is here? The loyal dog is buried right next to his loving owner Professor Hidesaburo Ueno.

Once the sun set, we headed to the bar for drinks first. We were still stuffed from dinner, so food would come later. Took a slow stroll and meandered through the streets. Grinned when I saw the almost-iconic Sunnyhills shop at the corner; it's designed by Kengo Kuma and the building was completed in December 2013. 

There're random clothing shops and such, many carrying labels in the designs I love. But they were closed when I walked by. I didn't bother factoring time to shop; I didn't give retail shops a chance. I preferred to spend all that time at the cemetery, watching the shadows lengthen as the sun set.

We hung out at Bar Lasile / バー ラズィール that just celebrated its 18th anniversary last week. I've been coming here for years, and it felt sooo comfortable to just be having two glasses of whisky this trip. The bar makes its little snacks for patrons, and while it has some sort of weird finger food, I wouldn't suggest you order those. Just get the drinks here. It's not a fancy bar. It's just a regular cocktail bar, and it offers a decent selection of whisky. Importantly, it doesn't over-price its drinks. 

Then we hopped across to a little izakaya for dinner. Went to 料理倶楽部. We didn't make a reservation and it was packed out. But they accommodated us. Wheeeee. That was awesome. It was exactly what I hoped to do for dinner on this final night in the city.

I wanted comfort food and familiar flavors. Had to have our last few highballs here too. The man wanted the beef tendon stew / 牛筋煮込み, a few grilled skewers of chicken momo and tsukune. I decided to have two sticks of grilled chicken hearts and a nikujaga /肉じゃが. Took me all of my strength to resist ordering rice to go with this meal.

Made the last connecting trains back to the hotel just past midnight. Heheheh. We didn't stay out too late on this trip and kept the alcohol intake moderate. Tonight was probably the most that we drank. Ooof. Well, we're not driving, so that makes it much easier to have drinks with our meals or randomly spread out through the day. Heh.

Yebisu Brewery Tokyo

I normally wouldn't bother to go to Ebisu Garden Place, not even to see the Christmas lights; unless there's an event there. This afternoon, I went to the area to visit the newly reopened Yebisu Brewery. The brewery at this venue was previously known as the Museum of Yebisu Beer that closed in October 2022 to be renovated and rebranded and reopened in April 2024 as Yebisu Brewery Tokyo. 

We ran smack into  an Aloha Tokyo Festival happening this weekend just at the huge atrium outside the Yebisu Brewery. Lots of booths selling odd Hawaiian-themed things, with straw bags and beach wraps and such. I guess it's a prep for summer holidays in Hawaii! So I saw hula performances, and many dogs. Hahahaha. 

The timing is wonderful for us. Yebisu has a smaller market reach in Singapore. It's hard to find Yebisu beer at the restaurants. The expression(s) found at Donki or Meidi-ya is usually just ONE. Damn sad. It would be awesome to taste the beers at their taproom. There're other bars/taprooms in the Ebisu area, but why not visit the brewery since we're in town.

We didn't buy any tickets or make a reservation since I read somewhere that it's an 'open' weekend. This information is in Japanese articles though. I don't know when they require you to pre-book tickets for the brewery since there's a beer fest usually held in September. Anyway, we walked in and nobody said we needed tickets and easily secured seats. LOL 

This is a most impressive space! Gorgeously built, planned and set up. The brewing vats are here too, not just for display. These are working vats. There's a little gallery area where tours are conducted. We didn't need a tour. We simply walked through the display detailing the history of Yebisu and how the bottles and cans and their designs have evolved through the years. There's also a little shop selling Yebisu souvenirs, like socks. Hahahah.

The beer hall is done up so nicely. The lighting. Smart use of it. Bright but subtle — it's perfect for a beer at any time of the day. There's no food served at this taproom except for snacks and finger food. I wasn't hungry but the potato salad was delicious. So I had seconds. HAHAHAH.

The tasting plate of four types of beers included, Infinity (a wheat beer of sorts), Foggy Ale 2024 (a light IPA), Black (self-explanatory), and Elite Hop (something with light hops), There wasn't Black today. So they replaced it with a regular version, which literally read 'Yebisu Beer'. Not exactly helpful. It tasted like a typical lager.

We stayed for a bit and ended up chatting with the couple from Saitama who were seated next to us, and kinda marveled at how much beer we were drinking. Oops. There're many domestic tourists this afternoon. After I was done with my samplers, I ordered a full pint of Foggy Ale. I really liked it! *burrrrrrp

GODZ Shinjuku

There aren't any gigs in particular that we wanted to catch. This is a quiet week for shows, although there  were a number of gigs the week before we came, and a few the week after we leave. But we had to stop by a rock bar smack in the middle of Shinjuku called GODZ. The bar has been around since 2002 and it's just a short walk from Shinjuku station in bar alley. (Do they call it Golden Gai?) I've never been here. The man hasn't either. But he knows the owner and a friend wanted to meet him here tonight. 

Music over the speakers was GREAT. They even have little pieces of paper for you to write your desired song; they just spotify it and play it for you. Nice. Metal and rock. Awesome. The man had a great time listening to all the songs and chatting with the friends old and new.  

The counter ordered a round of beer. I passed. I couldn't stomach any beer. Too gassy for my already-at-risk-of-indigestion stomach. Whisky it was. Their Bowmore 12 y.o was priced decently and I had three glasses on the rocks. 

We were so stuffed that we weren't even thinking about food. Till about 9pm when we were done with drinks. I thought I would just stop by any of the ramen or random restaurants in the area. It's Shinjuku and late night dining is always available. I couldn't afford to eat much or indigestion would hit the next day. I needed something low-carb or no carbs.

Went into Moyan Curry. Hahahahaah. Worst choice for me. How to eat curry with no rice? Goodness. Carbs. I know Moyan is a chain of curry shops like CoCo Ichibanya. But I didn't know what this brand is about. I'm not a fan of Japanese curry. To me, it's like those Hong Kong beef curries. They're sooooo weird. 

Randomly ordered a portion of katsu for me, and beef for the man. When the curries came, we were pleasantly surprised by how tasty it was. The curry was actually spicy instead of sweet. It is degrees better than CoCo Ichibanya's nonsense. Other places use curry powder, which is quite the standard. I could actually taste blended vegetables in Moyan's curry. Wow. Had to google it. OHHhhHH. It said it's gluten-free, MSG-free, low calories, and using loads of vegetables. Wow. I still ditched the rice. I had asked for a smaller portion of rice. It was just a bit smaller and not really even half. Ah well. 

Whisky & Cocktails in Seoul

Feather, Seoul.

From what I've seen so far, alcohol isn't cheaper in Seoul. Soju and makgeolli are super cheap per bottle. Beer is cheap. But I refuse to do soju or makgeolli because they're quite sweet and for some odd reason, they give me a gigantic headache. However, whisky and cocktails aren't easy on the pocket at all. Their cocktails at cocktail bars average ₩27,000-32,000. Hotel bars are insane when they price everything in USD. Liquor tax is at 72% per liter. 

At one bar, I simply refused to have whisky when all the single malts I want are priced minimally at ₩50,000 a generous dram. The three cheaper and kinda eeky whisky are priced at ₩36,000 a dram. Grrrrr. I don't care about the free nibbles that usually come along. If you get out to the other less fancy bars, an Oban 14 y.o could be about ₩22,000-26,000. That's super acceptable. I like these bars. Heh!

I really like OUL Four Seasons Hotel for keeping some brand identity in their menu. They offer traditional Korean spirits and liqueurs as cocktails. That's delightful. I ended up with a 'Goosoo Highball' at ₩29,000. It was surprisingly good! It uses Won soju classic with toasted barley, crust of overcooked brown rice and demerara syrup seltzer. Delicious! Skip the food here. It's overpriced and not that great.

Otherwise, I didn't go mad drinking here. Light drinking — a glass or two at most. I also wanted to keep awake to make it to the gym the next day without being dehydrated. Hello, alcohol = sugar = fats. I must control alcohol portions lah!

OUL and Charles H at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul.

Different Prices for a Lagavulin 16 y.o at a Diner and at A Bar

I like burgers and steaks at the casual and fuss-free The Feather Blade. We were here for its Jett Barbecue X The Feather Blade smoked beef cheek burger and the wagyu hanging tender from Hancock Agriculture, and of course its dependable 200-g feather blade steak.

The kitchen is ridiculously fast here. Our meats and sides came out within 15 minutes of putting in our orders. I didn't dare to do most of the sides because they're flavored heavier than I would have liked them. And no creamed spinach ever, thanks — that's an immediate laosai dish. I did take a spoonful of mac and cheese though. Hehhh.

We had whisky and cocktails. My nice dram of Lagavulin 16 y.o with a proper square of ice (made with distilled water) was S$21++. That's a super decent price. The right price for the distillery and year, so to speak. It's not difficult to want to return to this diner at all.

The friends wanted to end the night with a cocktail at Last Word. Okaay. Owned by the same people of Nutmeg & Clove downstairs, it's just much quieter. Last Word is a decent bar,  except that it's all about cocktails. And I really don't fancy cocktails. Zzzzz. 

Now, most cocktail bars priced their cocktails reasonably. Even a bespoke cocktail is between S$27 - S$32++. But they tend to charge a premium for a dram of whisky. I'm like, whyyyy. It's not as if you'll use good single malts for mixes in cocktails. So If we're at a cocktail bar, it's usually two glasses of cocktails for the friends, and just one whisky for me. Nothing more. 

During happy hour, Last Word seems to offer welcome drinks and complimentary oden. At 9pm, of course everything on the menu is on regular prices. I'm sure the prices included the price of my cold towel and random nuts. Tonight, my regular dram of Lagavulin 16 y.o is S$42++. 

My mistake was in not asking for the prices of the whisky I wanted. Come on, your ambience is an extra S$20++?!!! Okaaaaaay. Last Word completely overpriced their whisky. This square of ice wasn't superior to The Feather Blade's. I was quite disgruntled, tbh. Not coming back here if I can help it.

Whisky & Highballs

The friends were in town on a work trip, and came over for drinks because they wanted to say hi to Choya. Win lor. I hadn't seen them for almost five years and they wanted to see Choya before seeing me. Ha! Of course Choya charmed all of them. Ryo was at home with us too, and the friends were quite taken by how handsome he is. Choya was very confused as to why all our issued commands to her were in Japanese tonight. She's bilingual anyway, not an issue. Cheese and chizu チーズ are the same to her. Heh.

While I wasn't going to cook dinner for them, I didn't mind getting dinner for everyone at Nobu-ya. The friends wanted a casual venue, but I have no idea why they would be so enthusiastic about going to an izakaya when they have better ones at home. There were eight of us in total. Nobu-ya had space at 8pm! Hurrah. The izakaya imposes a strict policy of alcohol for every diner. Never a problem. We would simply carry on from where we left off. Highballs for the first round for all of us!

At 8pm, the kitchen was out of many items. I think it was more like they didn't bother to prep much because they were closed over New Year's. They didn't stock up on Asahi Black. Dohhhh. No oden, but there was daikon in dashi available. Fine. They didn't even have my favorite pork and chives. Grrrr. 

Ordered a four portions of zaru-soba and four bowls of gyu-don for people to share. Had additional beef and potato, a steak, a mountain of beansprouts and loads of side fried dishes. Everyone was happy.  

As the dishes arrived in quick succession, I gave up with the photos. HUNGRY. I simply wanted to eat. It was fun seeing the friends and hanging out tonight. We drank loads and all got back home/to the hotel by 11pm. What a good night.

Nobu-ya
190 Middle Rd Fortune Center #01-05
Singapore 188979 
Hours: 6pm to 11pm. Closed on Mondays and public holidays 
Phone: 6338 3450 (Reservations required.)

Two Pet Socials This November

At 'The Good Pet Fair'.

If pet events don't offer alcohol and food, I won't be there. I'm so not there for the shopping. For one, I'm not decking out Choya like a Christmas tree, so I needn't bother shopping for floof accessories, clothes, etc. I don't want her to be uncomfortable to have to wear so many things around her neck. Imho, shoes and clothes for dogs are just silly (if they aren't used to protect paws and skin; allergies, hotspots and such) and get in the way of the really fun stuff like pooping and peeing. 

1) Two weeks ago, we popped by a rather large-scale event called 'The Good Pet Fair' at Bukit Panjang Power Station. Pets were allowed into the venue. There was air-conditioning and giant cooler fans for ventilation. I decided to take a look at some brands that we support, and also because they had Pink Blossom Brewing and Ye Olde Cow. You could have limited food and beverage vendors, but if they suit my taste, then that's all good. Beer and burgers? I'm there for them. 

We literally went at happy hour. My 'shopping' or lackthereof, was done while walking through the booths to see what was new. It was pretty much IG-shopping that was now 3D. There wasn't anything I really wanted. Choya has enough of everything. When it comes down to it, all I want for her is solid poop, a balanced GI tract, good skin and an easing of her storm anxiety.

Went to the end of the hall where the three human food and beverage vendors were. Got food and beer. Loads of beer. Plonked our butts at a bench, and gradually occupied the whole table when our friends and acquaintances stopped by to hang out. That was a pretty good meet with many people.

2) Clocked in at Cheese Lads' fundraising event (to be donated to SPCA this round) themed 'Cheese Mongrels'. It was a small event, but there was cheese! Hahahah. The $18 Cheeselads cheese platter hit a spot. I had one small platter to myself. But Choya took all the Gruyere. Hurhurhurhur. Well, that was the only cheese in the mix she could have with mushy brown repercussions. 

The easy choices of food meant that we could sort out lunch right there. The event started at noon, we turned up at 12.15pm. It's an outdoor event. While they put up tentage, that's not going to help in a storm. I wanted to avoid the afternoon rains. 

It was a cloudy day, but it was still too hot to do a bottle of red. Opted for a brainless Bel Star Prosecco to go with all the food and heat. Abundance set up a table to do dumplings. They didn't offer the whole menu. They had small bites. I wasn't keen on the Taiwanese-style gua bao (割包), but I didn't mind the prawn dumplings. Champagne brunch? Sure, this would be our idea of it — sparkling whites and easy foods with Choya in tow. 

Dogs aren't allowed into the shop and AC seating, I'm afraid. But we weren't uncomfortable. Give me a stool and a dry floor, and Choya and I are good. Had a nice corner to ourselves, away from all the legs and feet. Choya was perfectly fine. Met so many known humans and floof-fwens. Quite a lovely outing.

'Cheese Mongrels' at Cheeselads.

Champagne & Oysters

Hung out with N for a little bit in the early evening. Hadn't seen her for a bit and wanted to pop in for a short visit. She does love her champagne, so she finds any excuse to open up a bottle. Heh. Split a bottle of champagne with her. That was super welcomed. I do love a crisp glass of bubbly.

Told N I didn't need food, but she insisted on having oysters with our champagne. Alrighty! How very decadent. She's super hospitable and is one of those who really enjoys having people over at her home. I totally appreciate that, but it isn't something I can reciprocate because I'm not fond of prepping the house and home to have a party. Heh! N knows. She simply told me to hop over to hers anytime. Awwwwww.

She had the loveliest pack of frozen de-shelled Japanese oysters from Ishikawa いしかわ. She had earlier gifted me a pack too. I forgot to ask, but from its packaging and all, I think it should have been bought from 百万石物語・江戸本店. I love that shop! It sells all sorts of delicious things.

Eight oysters thawed out quick. Then N rustled up a super tasty snack. We had lightly steamed oysters layered in a ton of garlic and spring onions, and a dash of garlic oil used to crisp the garlic. These oysters were totally not for the faint-hearted. Ooh I loved the piquant mix!