hic!

i know, i know. been away too long.
yes, i have been. haven't been writing, just drinking.
a bit of tweeting. a lot of drinking.
a lot of photos too.
soon. i promise.
came across beerbeer.org. seems a bit decent of a blog that has been around since may last year.
just about the time i left malaysia actually.
it is completely about beers and pubs in malaysia and has a list of places from cambodia down to singapore.
well, if you are interested.
and i promise i will write more.
cheers.

bilking saint valentine's day

everyone will see red and pink today. not just for the lunar new year around the corner but because it is also saint valentine's day.
who would have thought of such a hoo-ha over one day in the year? flowers, candies, chocolates, diamond-related jewellery and what-have-you for your loved ones. and that's just for the womenfolk. that's crass commercialism and consumerism there.
one friend received a smart-tag device for her car. told her the guy no longer wants a touch-and-go situation but wants to go whole hog. what with it being the year of the pig and all.
so on that note, please continue to bilk and milk all you can from saint valentine's day 2007.
which brings us to this snippet from reuters yesterday.

Japan liquor shop churns out beer from milk

TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Great news for beer and milk lovers: A liquor shop owner in Japan's largest dairy farming region has stopped crying about local spilt milk and started making beer from it instead.
"We came up with the idea after hearing about surplus milk," said Chitoshi Nakahara, head of the Nakahara liquor shop on the northernmost island of Hokkaido. Milk consumption has been declining steadily in Japan, and Hokkaido disposed of nearly 900 tonnes of milk last March due to over-production, according to the Japan Dairy Association.
Nakahara's new brew, "Bilk" -- a combination of "milk" and "beer" -- is about 30 percent milk. It also contains hops, and the production process does not differ much from that of regular beer, he said.
His shop started selling Bilk, which apart from a slight milky scent looks and tastes like ordinary beer, on Feb. 1 after spending about six months developing the product with a local brewer.
Bilk is only available at six local shops or by mail order, but Nakahara is currently out of stock due to heavy media attention.

meanwhile, maybe just maybe a few of us will end up just having beers today. such, as they say, is life!

the macallan madness

the superb macallan 18-year-old single malt was still fresh in our minds when we decided to go for the 12-year-old at the backyard pub in sri hartamas a week ago.
those wonderful malaysian musicians - gerard singh and sherman tan - were hosting open mike tuesday which saw a band of youngsters with a girl on drums belt out three songs.
then this guy who called himself richie castro with long hair and funny funky guitar took to the stage. the boys took over and backed richie on stage.
off stage, mayhem ruled the dance floor as an inebriated pub patron tried to dance the night away with a host of women.
none took the bait so he went on a merry jig with the backyard floor. he swirled and crashed and continued even as we ordered the 12-year-old macallan single malt.
all i had was my trusty camphone and the presence of mind to hide the bottle when desperate dancer ruled the floor near our table. one of his potential partners sought refuge with us but the bottle was much much more important.
we sacrificed her to him while the bottle of whisky we slaughtered for ourselves.
the bouquet came out of the tumbler sweetly and we sighed in agreement over its subtle toffee sweetness.
the speyside single malt was rich in sherry sweetness and dried fruit with a touch of oakiness for just a right long finish.
we drank in the bouquet and the taste of the 40 percent alcohol by volume single malt from the 75 cl bottle.
nice. very nice! and it went well with the music that night too!

no cheers at cheers!

have to get this off my chest!
if you ever make your way to cheers pub over in medan damansara - behind the hock lee's supermarket in jalan batai - just stick to the beers for any cheers!
whatever you drink, don't bother to order a chivas.
they would probably - and almost likely - pass off a white label whisky as a shot of chivas.
while it is a blended whisky like chivas, it is not a premium blended whisky and does not taste as nice or as good as a chivas.
okay, i can drink in peace again now!

think drink

think drink and what do you get, more of drinking actually.
back from singapore a couple of weeks ago and got into the thick of things in kuala lumpur, drinking with friends from near and far.
the drinks ranged from the usual beers of either carlsberg or tiger beer to rounds of kilkenny beer at the various pubs in kuala lumpur. as you would already have known of this beer with 4.3 per cent alcohol by volume, its a reddish irish cream ale.
nice and creamy and available on tap at a few pubs in kuala lumpur and penang, the beer was first brewed in 1710 at the st francis abbey in ireland. now it is brewed by guinness in kilkenny and dublin.
away from that, had lots of rounds of whiskies - most of which have been drunk and reviewed by yours truly. this included the 15-year-old glenfiddich solera reserve and the 12-year-old glenfiddich.
the 15-year-old glenfiddich solera reserve - which goes for 55 ringgit a pop in parts of kuala lumpur - is a sweet speyside whisky with hints of chocolate and honey on the nose.
the 40 percent alcohol by volume honey gold whisky has a certain spiciness that grows with every sip. an evenly balanced whisky, the sweetness is balanced by the oakiness inherent in this wonderful water of life.
i however failed to pick it as my top three whisky during a recent blind-tasting test.
the results of that test will be published in the flavours magazine printed by the star early 2007.
on that note, read about the rare 43 per cent by volume laphroaig at intensecure - another whisky fiend in kuala lumpur - and immediately searched high and low for it in kuala lumpur.
am glad to say that i found one last bottle at single and available sdn bhd, bless their souls for having a great range of whiskies. am eyeing a few more there for christmas and the new year celebrations.
having said that, am planning a few single malt sundays with friends as the year draws to a close.
and that is what life is all about.
cheers!

whisky frisky

the festivities were over but the holidays still had a week to go in malaysia.
decided to kill a few bottles around town but ended up in ronnie q's in bangsar after this pantun - four line malay poem - was sent out for an evening of drinks.
satu syawal dah lama tiba,
selamat hari raya aidil fitri,
gelas ais dah lama sedia,
bila kita nak minum wiski!
the quorum was five.
so we went for the easy option and took a bottle of chivas regal. well, i have drunk and written about it so let's just say it still tasted the same.
although days earlier, i did imbibe it with green tea as a mixer. interesting green tea after-taste and not quite unlike having after-eight mint chocolates after a heady heavy curry dinner. try it, you might like it - the chivas-green tea mix i mean.
well, almost a week later some of us met up again at ronnie q's and decided to sacrifice another bottle to our decadent lifestyle. out came the standard chivas regal bottle but we decided against it.
instead, the three of us at the pub went for a bottle of bowmore 12 years old, for about one hundred ringgit more.
having extensively tried a few other bowmore variants, decided that it was time to drink and talk about the basic bowmore, an entry-level single malt in the world of rich peaty bowmore single malts.
well, the bouquet of this standard islay whisky brought a smile to our faces with its chocolate and citrus notes. awakened the senses it did, said the resident sith. took the tumbler to the lip and took a sip for a taste of peatiness.
it is not that peaty compared to other bowmores and it had a smokiness delicately balanced by a honeyed sweetness. the auburn liquid swirled around the palate with a long and very satisfying finish. this 40 percent alcohol by volume whisky is indeed pretty good.
it was so good that conversation flowed as well as the whisky and we ended up somewhere in the middle of kuala lumpur at a dangdut club, dancing the night away amongst a cohort of courteous courtesans and men with their silky dancefloor skills.
that is a story for another time. or never as the case may be.
in between the ronnie q whisky meetings, the few of us also met up at an open house where we finished off the remnants of a wonderful macallan 18 year old fine oak. the fine oak series came out in 2004 where the single malt is mellowed in bourbon oak casks as well as the standard sherry oak casks from jerez in spain.
that is not to say the sherry-casked whiskies are not bad. they are excellent of course but the bourbon adds a sparkle to the peatiness inherent in single malts.
the speyside whisky is 43 percent alcohol by volume and is sweet and smoky with a peppery finish. as all of us thirsted for the blonde whisky, there was not enough to go around but quite enough for us to hanker for more.
soon.

the beer run

have been on the road for the better part of the month, hence the lack of postings. be that as it may, have been having beers for the better part of the month.
they are the usual bottled beers and draught beers available in the market of which most are familiar with but also some found and brewed in some cities across the region.
no photos okay, not that things got hazy and drunk but fishing out the camera and snapping away in a pub is not exactly a pukka thing to do in civilised and even uncivilised company.
and i am not the generic foodie blogger armed with camera, with a hunger for action and a thirst for adventure in the realms of gourmet cuisine and beverages.
back to the froth and foam that is the beer run.
the first stop was paulaner brauhaus in singapore, the microbrewery at millenia walk specialising in german beer and food.
was expecting an array of beers but all they had was the munich lager and the munich dark that they brewed in house.
according to notices around the pub, the signature beers are strictly brewed according to the "the german law of purity" established in 1516 by duke wilhelm. nothing at all to do with incidents in the first half of the 20th century.
anyway, the amber liquid comes in 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 litre mugs.
it was happy hours and we had one for one of the 1.0 litre mug of munich dark. with a rich dark golden colour reminiscient of library rooms of old, the beer slashed in with an intense malt flavour and a full body with a hint of sweetness in the bold bitterness.
it was strong and it was very nice though with 4.8 percent alcohol by volume, it did not really give that much of a buzz initially and prompted a wolfing down of sorts to chase and catch the particular beer high.
the second mug repaired the situation quite well and left a few slightly sloshed.
the rest of us walked away hungry for curry. but that is a story for another day.
from singapore, made my way to bangkok for a few days and found myself in the londoner brew pub along sukhumvit soi 33. of course there was a military putsch but that did not stop the partying in bangkok.
expatriates and locals were out in full force and the phrase "i love you long long time" entered my lexicon too as ladies of the night went looking for company and coition. figure that out!
back to beer time.
the londoner brew pub serves ales brewed in-house among the other beers available in an ornate traditional english pub in the middle of sukhumvit. the pub grub looked inviting too but we stuck to the beers, particularly the pilsner.
its called the london pilsner 33, in honour of the soi or lane running by the pub. cold, fresh and light, the beer tasted just right in the early hours of the night.
had a couple of pints before leaving to explore the rest of bangkok and its array of bottled beers.
not much to report on that front as the sights and sounds of one night in bangkok is quite familiar to all.
cheers!

single malt march

the chivas regal, neat as it was, didn't quite cut it.
it didn't assuage the pain.
it didn't make us drunk.
it did go well with the spicy mutton pizza at the national press club.
it also made us poorer at d'vine in plaza damansara.
it also led us to go on a single malt march in kuala lumpur over a few nights this week.
so we - a mate with a heart shattered to shards and i - beat a path to the rib shop for the single malt to soothe our souls. we found it in a bottle of 12-year-old bunnahabhain single malt whisky. and let's just say it was a bargain to boot - considering the prices of drinks these days.
bunnahabhain, which means mouth of the river, comes from the isle of islay that is famous for a few other single malts such as bowmore, lagavulin, ardbeg and laphroaig - some of which have been tasted, drunk, enjoyed and reviewed by yours truly.
the bunnahabhain, neat or with a wee cube of ice in a tumbler, warmly caressed our palate and surprisingly teased us with its lighter-than-usual sweet and smooth Islay taste but long and full-flavoured finish.
apparently bunnahabhain's water is piped from streams in the surrounding hills and is less peaty than might be expected.
all was good with the world. especially with a tumbler of bunnahabhain at hand. and good conversation and good company.
the single malt march continued the next night at the finnegan's pub in jalan sultan ismail. the drink du jour being the bowmore single malt whisky.
we settled on the bowmore cask strength, as the bowmore darkest - the ruby red and ravishing revelation of a drink - was no more in stock.
the auburn cask strength was creamy and rather peaty and more than warmed an otherwise chilly night in kuala lumpur. the brawny beast in a dram of the drink went on a quiet riot through the palate and reinvigorated the spirit, and more than anything, the soul.
the price was nice and even better than some places that placed a premium on plonk they call blended whiskies.
our soul revived, our pockets still jingling with change, we made our way to no black tie - the good music place that has just reopened five doors away from its old spot in lorong mesui, off jalan nagasari in kuala lumpur (near hotel istana-lah).
we strode in as recorded jazz music filtered through the bar and an awesome performance area all decked out in parquet. the place was more than nice and the range of drinks pretty awesome.
there was no bowmore darkest here too. so we ordered the bowmore 17 years old. almost as nice as some of the 18-year-olds i know. whiskies i mean.
we cupped the wonderfully oval tumblers that held the 17-year-old mellow nectar. it was not as brawny as the cask strength but complex with peat smoke and some toffee for a lingering and satisfying finish.
satisfying enough for us to order a couple more each. the bill brought us back to earth though. it was 45 ringgit a pop - affordable if you consider a 15-year-old glenfiddich going for 55 ringgit a tumbler in d'vine.
on that note about prices, no black tie is a great place for good jazz but the cover price of 45 ringgit plus a standard drink is a lot too much to pay for performers that regularly perform elsewhere and where there is no cover charge.
the whisky can be expensive but the music... well, at least one can just sit at the no black tie bar and imbibe the spirits and listen to the music without paying the cover.
or buy some great jazz cds and take it to the ribshop or finnegan's - the drinks are affordable and the management can always be persuaded to play your kind of music.
on that note, slainte mhath!

the bottle battle

does anyone remember the 99 Bottles of Rum song?
99 bottles of rum on the wall, 99 bottles of rum; Take one down, pass it along, 98 bottles of rum on the wall!
98 bottles of rum on the wall, 98 bottles of rum; Take one down, pass it along, 97 bottles of rum on the wall!
97 bottles of rum on the wall, 97 bottles of rum; Take one down, pass it along, 96 bottles of rum on the wall!... and on and on the song goes...
it felt like that at the bulldog pub in quiet sri hartamas on sunday. the occasion was a birthday party and six bottles of chivas regal 12-year-olds came and went in six hours. not bad for the crowd of reprobates in the circle of friends there.
we put away our chasers of beer as the first bottle appeared. haven't had a tumbler of chivas in a long long time and it felt pretty good, of course with a mix of either ale or soda water. sweet and fizzy, it went down like a shot.
and many a shot was fired from the bow as chips and cake added to the revelry.
but what does chivas, a blended whisky at 40 percent alcohol by volume, actually taste like?
since i couldn't really remember, i decided to take shots of the amber liquid to jog my memory and palate, quench the thirst for knowledge, so to speak.
well, its pretty sweet with honey and long lingering rich finish in the throat. well, honeyed firewater or something like a punjabi sweetmeat - that's the nearest approximation for me.
well, that was that. more shots taken, with a tequila in between, and day turned to night before we shuffled out of the bulldog around half nine, to quote a good friend.
a double burger special from across the pub cleansed the palate and settled the gut.
and off to bed i went at 10pm.
great party, great drinks and most of all, great friends. what a day it was!
the bulldog pub is at 31 and 31-1, jalan sri hartamas 7, sri hartamas, kuala lumpur. its open seven days a week.
chivas regal is available in most pubs, bars and clubs. so are my friends.