Relaxing Friday wine tasting with friend @ Extra Space Boon Keng

After the Viva Vino wine tasting at Syed Alwi, it was time to move to another tasting held by owner of Wine Caviar and wine loving friends at Extra Space, Boon Keng. 5 minutes cab and I have reached destination.

Great. Everyone had already finished half bottles of 3 sweet wines, sparkling, sparkling rose and Sauvignon blanc. Food were arranged nicely on the table, we have simple pasta with olive and sun-dried tomatoes, 3 varieties of cheese, baguette from Cedele and some Parma hams.

There were five reds, arranged by Kevin by order because he was the organiser and had tasted these wines several times. However, Marcus felt that it was better if it did not arrange by order to have more fun in tasting in the light and rich order to lower prediction and avoid disappoint or unnecessary judgment.

From the left:

Elio Perrone ‘Tas Mor Can,’ Barbera d’Asti, Italy, 2008 - which I was told by Wendy to be the most approachable one. It did and it was so close to the Beaujolais from France. Smooth, low tannin and bright red fruits, definitely good for appetizers and asian foods.

Second - Tsantali, Rapsani Reserve, 2006, Greece.

Produced at the Southern slope of Mount Olympus, mountain of gods. This is my pick of the day because it has an approachable firm tannin structure and light-oaky palate. I think Zeus will also endorse this is good wine. Overall palate was well-balanced and uniqueness lies in the use of Greek grape variety - Xinomavro.

2006 (Vintage) it too quite long for this wine to open up, it was definitely worth waiting. I think I will use a decanter the next time if I open one. (Laughs)

Third - Domaine Claudia Papayianni, Nikolas, Merlot 2009

This is a wine that I brought home after the tasting because it was still 3/4 full, seems not popular.

Clear ruby colour, medium body, red fruits (cherry/plum), slightly acidic. I did a second tasting after opened for 3 days and it did not evolve further.

Fourth - IL VASSALLO, Bosso Del Lazio, Colle Picchioni, 2009, Italy.

While sipping this red, I heard from Kevin that this wine cannot sell well in Singapore. This red is clean and smooth, medium body with a well-balanced structure, many red fruits and rounded tannin. The reason we found that it did not sell well was because of its price, it tasted more like a table wine than a premium.

Fifth - Alpha Estate A1, "Alpha One", Amyndeo, Greece

This is the winner of the day, selected by most of the guest. If you have tasted many Greek wines, you will definitely know that Alpha One Estate, region of Macedonia, produced one of the best wines in Greece. This blended red is well-structured with many layers of taste, round, medium to full bodied. Every single penny worth as a premium red wine that matches an important business dining for hosting guests.

The day ended with many good knowledge about Greek Italian wines, exchanging of friendships and own discovered recipes. I like the Rapsani so much and will definitely get some from Kevin someday.

Extra Space

http://www.extraspace.com.sg

Wine Tasting by Viva Vino

Friday for most people is a day where evening is a time for relaxation.

Today, I had two wine tasting to attend to. I am grateful to be able to attend a Portugal wine tasting by Viva Vino. With special thanks to friend, Morgun Pathi, blogger of Spice In Wine. It was also my first time getting to taste and hear the explanation of Portugal wines. Like many other people there, we are more exposed to Portugal Port wines.

 We have our humble wine hosts Mr. James E. Harrison and wife, Ms. Jennifer Spelman Harrison who prepared awesome finger food. I like her Pate so much and will definitely get the special recipe from her someday.

We started of with a white wine, Quinta De Bons Ventos Bianco 2010, easy-going white almost like a CA Chardonnay. Followed by Bons Ventos Tinto-Red 2008, also another easy drinking one.

The third wine I had, a vintage - Fiuza, Premium 2005, I fell in love with this red because it gives a very elegant spiciness at end of the palate, comfortable kind of spicy. Definitely a good wine to bring alot for any relax Friday wine gathering. I had another wine gathering to be at and I had my last wine at the event with - Vinho Alentejano Cortes de Cima Syrah 2010, more red fruits and well-balanced.

In summary, Portugal wines seems to be more sweet than the usual wines.

Like what Mr. James like to said: Italian makes wines to boost about, Chilean makes wines to sell and Portuguese makes wine for: "Can I have another glass, Please."

It is definitely worth time and effort to explore fine wines of Portugal especially with great host like James. This evening was a fun-filled events with quizzes and many wines to be bought at bin-end price.

VIVA VINO (S) PTE LTD

214 Syed Alwi Road, Singapore 207747

Tel: +65 6291 7688

Fax: +65 6291 7366

Email: general@vivavino.com.sg

http://www.vivavino.com.sg/

Spice In Wine

http://www.spiceinwine.com/

Light Dinner @ Alkaff Mansion

Alkaff Mansion Ristorante - Bar - Cafe

Situated somewhere in the Telok Blangah Green, not very visible to the the public until someone mentioned Alfakff Mansion. This Italian theme restaurant just open last year, 2011.

A short walk along the Henderson Waves as one of the hot spot of Southern Ridges trail before heading to this restaurant will be my suggested way of relaxation.

 Main entrance into Alkaff Mansion and it looks magnificent, a hot spot for wedding shoot.

 Outdoor open bar makes that serves cocktails and drinks.

 I was told that they made good pizza and therefore ordered a typical Margherita. It tasted fantastic. I like the fruity acidic tomato sauce and a good amount of mozzarella cheese. Their pizza crust was thin and crispy but gives a nice chewy texture at the middle.

 Dessert: Lemongrass Panna Cotta

I like it because it has an Asian fusion in it which is the lemongrass and it gives a very refreshing after palate especially matching to the hot climate in Singapore. The other aspect that it was good was because it had all the elements of a good panna cotta.

 I feel like have a Sunday brunch without my footwear so that I can step on the soft patches of carpet grass.

Evening stroll along Henderson waves where I found many tourist and local shutter bugs with their dslr(s) and tripods.

In summary, I enjoyed the food as well as the ambience and I will definitely make another way down for a dinner at their ristorante. It is also an ideal place a high teas with a group of friends or family.

ALKAFF MANSION Ristorante.Bar.Cafe.Events

Cuisine: Western, Italian

10 Telok Blangah Green, Singapore 109178

Tel: +65 6510 3068

Opening Hours

Mon–Sun: 11.30am–2.30pm, 6pm–10.30pm
Mon–Sun: 11.30am till late [Bar]

http://www.lhngroup.com.sg/en/

Dim Sum Hunting at Geylang

Being a Singaporean, I have always know Geylang is a place that held the the most infamous red light district and also the good foods. However, I seldom prowl this street for good food. With Good Friday evening dim sum discussion brewing, a friend suggested going there to try out 126 Dim Sum at Geylang. I agreed and we made our move at 7pm, the right timing where most of the foodies will get dressed and ready for a night long of feast.
We headed immediately to 搵到食 aka 126 and to our surprised, it was an old eateries that opens 24 hour. I proposed an idea to try out some dim sum shops along Geylang, that was why I strictly chose few selected dim sum to judge the overall score of each dim sum.
Selected dim sum were: har kow 虾饺 & siew mai 烧卖.

126: A friend recommended the fried tau pok with squid paste, I was quite impressed that the squid paste are made fresh with real squid. The chilli came in two version using the same chilli sauce, light and thick; I was actually quite impressed that the chilli was good. Then, har kow and siew mai were served. Har kow skin was thin but I was disappointed that the fillings of both har kow and siew mai were same. (Siew mai should be made fully using pork but a little prawn is still acceptable) Goof thing was that the prawns are not overly soaked into the soda water for too long that was what most places did to give an extra crunch to the prawns and usually prawns will lost its natural taste. A quick tasting of 126, we headed downwards to next dim sum shop.

Ho Kee Pau (和记包): This is a shop with many franchises at places in Singapore. I remembered passing by these shops before in some hawker centres and shopping malls. (The main attraction was their large chive dumplings) This time, I left the ordering to my friends. We ordered a little more this round, not forgetting including har kow and siew mai. Overall taste of the har kow and siew mai was somewhat a commercial taste where the production will be produce at a centralised kitchen. However, I must commend that the chive dumplings were exceptional as it is well filled with a good amount of chives. Web surfing on my HTC touch brought another dim sum attraction called MongKok Dim Sum. We made a U-Turn to the even number street of Geylang to MongKok Dim Sum.




































MongKok Dim Sum (旺角点心): A dim sum shop that might be mistaken for a Zi Char store for the arrangement. We managed to find a table above the platform, and we get to enjoy the night view of Geylang with cool breeze from the fan blowing. Cool. We order, yam dumpling and crystal dumpling in addition of the selected dim sum. First came the yam dumpling, I tasted it and freshness of ingredients indicate to me that the rest of the dim sum will be good as well and it did. Yam dumpling is crispy with fillings of savoury shredded carrot and minced pork, crystal dumpling transluccent on the skin showing the green chives tasted not too bad, har kow made with thin and smooth skin almost like a 5-star dim sum restaurant and prawns were crucnhy too. Lastly, the siew mai which is made almost purely with pork which a siew mai should be tasted good. As we part, I saw utensils and ingredients for making 'chee chong fun' aka 猪肠粉 and I regretted for not ordering it. (Probably next trip)


In summary, I am quite impressed that Geylang actually serve dim sum and in fact there are few dim sum stores. So, I can say it is not difficult to find reasonable priced dim sum in Geylang moreover we have some that operate till quite late and also 24/7. MongKok Dim Sum left a good impression for me and will definitely pay them a visit again someday.


搵到食 (126) Dim Sum

126 Sims Avenue
Opening Hours: 24 Hour, Daily

Ho Keep Pau (和记包)

No. 43 Geylang Lorong 27 Tel: +65 6742 1468 Opening Hours: 24 Hour, Daily
http://www.hokeepau.com


MongKok Dim Sum (旺角点心)

214 Geylang Road Lor 8, Singapore
Tel: +65 6841 5133
Opening Hour: Weekdays (4pm - 5am), Weekends (10am - 5am)