Draft versus bottle

During the years in the liquor industry, I frequently being asked if draft beers are better than bottle (and can beer) and why. Well, even my seven weeks baby knows that draft milk (breastfeeding) taste better than bottle milk. I am sure us adults can do better than the seven weeks old.

Doctor

This is the doctor who deliver baby Hong-Yi, therefore the first person Hong-Yi ever seen in his life (although I do see his hair before the doctor does).

Dooodolls Snapshot competition

We have submitted this photo for best dooodolls snap shot competition. Please vote for Baby Hong Yi and his dooodolls "Siao Bing" at http://apps.facebook.com/snapyourdooodolls

Welcome baby

The baby is too anxious to meet us and decided to greet us 13 days in advance. August 15th is the date and we are not quite prepared but welcome him with great happiness. I am very amazed with (1) the delivery process, which is much faster than I anticipated (2) the baby can open his eyes in ten minutes after born and (3) his eyes expression that is so similar to mine and I thought mine is rather unique.

D-day minus 18

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D day as in Daddy day count down. 18 days, assuming the expected day being accurate. The doctor said that based on his experience, 30% is early, 65% is late and only 5% being punctual, however, I received way too many comments that it is more likely to be early than late. Nonetheless, we are always happy to received great news in advance, aren’t we.

Burgundy Wines

I have the pleasure of consuming the following three Burgundy Wines today.

The Chambole Musigni (mid) is about RM 450, rated 88 points.
The Nuits St George 1er (left) is around RM 350, rated 86 points.
The Bourgogne Rouge vv (right) is about RM 150. Although a village wine but still very good quality (84 points), and by far the most value for money wine for the day.

Double Parking

I hate those idiots who double park their cars. They are selfish and totally inconsiderate. To stop people from doing that to me, I shall double park people first (hahaha..). However, things are not always work out as plan. Alas… here comes triple parking champion (the white vehicle)!! Welcome to Malaysia.

Talking about finishing

It has been 7 days since I last tasted the bottle of Chateau Canon-la-Gaffeliere 2004 but the sensation feeling still lingered around my palette, nose & memories. The wine, which I rated 92 points compared to Wine Spectator 91 and Robert Parker 91, is not the best wine I have tasted. In terms of pricing, it’s nowhere close to being the most expensive wine I have tasted. In fact, it’s not even half the price of the most expensive wine I have tasted this year alone, at RM 358 retail price. However, having said that, none of the better wines can continue to refresh my memories on its greatness days after the incident. I wonder why.

It refreshes my memories back in the year 2008 when I first tasted the Chateau Cantemerle. I enjoy it so much that I still remember what it tasted like the following morning. Some think I am insane when I share the feeling with them; wait till I tell them about Canon-la-Gaffeliere.

Wine for Father’s bday

I am scratching my head over the wines to be consumed during father’s 70th birthday weekend. Perhaps the following combination is worth consideration:

First up, a Champagne Lombard Brut to celebrate the big event and to get things started. I can imagine it’s not exactly everybody’s favorite as it is not sweet in nature, but hey good sparkling are not meant to be sweet. Next up, a Spanish red wine – Initium, a blend of Tempranillo and Merlot. Good easy to drink wine perhaps suitable to enjoy during the day or with light meals.
A Chilean red – De Martino Shiraz, This 89 pointer wine has a heavier body and is perfect match for red meats. This could make things interesting. An Italian Tua Rita Tuscana 2003 might be chosen. I am longing to taste this interesting bottle of wine. Last but not the least a bottle Prosecco Grappa. A 40% alcohol sparkling wine that bound to makes everybody drunk high. I do wonder if these are sufficient for 8 adults over two nights, however.

Food and Wine Pairing Tips

Food and Wine Pairing Tips 101: Salty Food should pair with High Acidity wine.

We tasted this Western Australia Margaret River wine last night – Semillon 2010. A light body wine, dry and crisp with very strong harsh acidity. Initial rating 69 points. However, using the food and wine pairing tips 101, we were fortunate to be having Salty Baked Chicken (盐炬鸡) for dinner. The combination is excellent, the wine suddenly rates closer to 80 points. Great pairing. Upon finishing the chicken, the wine quickly decline back to its 69 points. That’s unfortunate. :)

Tasting Notes for the wine: Click here

Al Passo 2007

We tasted this bottle of wine last night (father day’s dinner). It’s an interesting bottle that requires a rather long time to decant for the taste to excel. When first open, the smell is rather insignificant. Feeling rather disappointed, I first tasted the wine about 30 minutes after decant and it is rather rough with poor stringent finishing. During the interval of dinner, i.e. 45 – 70 minutes of decant, the wine is good with dark fruits flavor, earthy chocolate flavor and complement our food (pork). After 75 minutes or so, the wine has finally blossom with both smell and taste being intense, rounded and sensational finishing, however, just when the wine reach its prime, the bottle reach its bottom. One must be wondering that they should have bought the magnum size bottle.