My First Drink

I had my first beer today after 60 days of being on the high-and-dry wagon.

I didn’t need it.

Really. I didn’t.

But I took it all the same to show that my period of abstinence had ended.

So there it was, 1 pint and a bit more of dark beer and a golden Tiger: sweet, fizzy and kind of cloying.

It wasn’t as flavourful nor as amazing as I thought it’d be.

In fact, the beer bit into my stomach and it churns and churns and churns (although I think that a meal of ma la beef  麻辣牛肉 might have caused the gurgles). Regardless, the drink was a psychologically satisfying reward.

Best to mark the end of cold turkey days and as good bye to chug-a-lug beers.

Oooo… I Wanna Drink

So I made a bet with a friend to stay high and dry for 60 days. Just day 2 and already I’m tempted to down a cool, tall mug of fizzly beer. After all, there’s nothing like it after a day of meetings, writing and brainstorming.

Jeez, I’ve never known brainstorming to be that tiring!

Obviously I didn’t fall off the wagon. Why? Because I want to win the bet. And I want to look good naked.

How did I hold out then? Well, I rushed to get something to eat (in this case, a rare 200-day Ribeye) to refuel my tired brain. And then I got a haircut with a fine wash. It sounds silly and chicky, but it got my mind off needing booze.

And I’m safe. At least for Day 2.

Where to find a less preppy Sanlitun

This is Sanlitun (三里屯): Beijing’s equivalent of Clarke Quay. And like its Singaporean counterpart, Sanlitun is upmarket with big brands and chi-chi restaurants. The centre is a pretty collection of buildings with full length glass windows while two-storied shophouses make up the fringes.

Naturally this western wonderland in the far east attracts 20- and 30-somethings with yuan to burn. And how they turn up in droves for medium-rare steaks, Hunan food, giant burgers and other nightlife bric-a-brac.

I actually admire the sleek glass-steel architecture. It’s a nice change from the kitschy white tiled buildings with loud golden characters emblazoned across the front. Beautiful, but it lacks spontaneity and a little heart.

That, I found in an alleyway of dingy entrances and crudely lettered promotions; just past the BBQ seller from Kashgar and beyond an army of cigarette vendors.

There’s Shooters, a shots/cocktail bar where wooden, unfinished decor ruled alongside with loud, beaked-faced youth who snatched dice from long tables with black plastic holders.

Here’s another dive bar, Lau Wu (Tapas Bar – House Rum; Sanlitun Bei Jie, Opposite Tongli Studio; Tel: +86 010 6402 5086), with a Cuban theme. There are mojitos, caprinhas, and cigars. But its best lie in the tall cylinders of rum spiced with bananas, cloves, honey, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, or coffee.

Vodka infusions are more common as its neutral palate absorbs flavours well. But with rum, it has a tropical bite that tampers with whatever’s inside it. According to the bartender, a Beijinger, he was taught how to do it by a Frenchman and it takes a month for the flavours to properly seep into the rum.

If you make it there, go for the spicy shot. It’ll put a sweat on you – even in a howling winter night.

Whisky & Food pairing: Infusion @ Dempsey

Burgundy paired with delicately poached quail and a side of sautéed foie gras.

Passé, clichéd, boring.

When everyone’s doing it, it’s no longer mind-blowing; like Waygu beef – good but commonplace now. So restaurateurs have been innovating their alcohol-food pairings. After all, wine goes with dine. 

At Infusion, dining goes with single-malt whiskies. The kind that you’ll only find in Scottish distilleries. I’m not actually sure many types of whiskies that they have – but it’s a lot.

There’s Highland, Lowland, and Island whiskies. Each with their own characteristic bouquet, bite on the tongue, and fire down the throat – which makes it quite challenging to create a menu around.

Infusion interior

John See, corporate chef, says “In alcohol-food pairings, either the food goes with the alcohol or vice-versa. Whisky has about 40% alcohol which can overpower the food. Thus I’ve created a menu where the food accompanies the whisky.”

In some cases, John’s menu works extremely well.

Such as the Starter which cleanses the palate with rice (weird but it works) before imbibing the whisky, and the Main course where the duck fat nicely complements the Isle of Jura’s “wok-hei” flavour – reminiscent of excellent char kway teow.

While the soup was great on its own, but its gust-of-sea-breeze aroma blew away the whisky’s nose...and that’s a huge loss to the alcohol. The flowery  Bruadar Whisky Liquer would certainly excite folks with a nose for Bai Jiu, but I’d much prefer the whisky-vanilla cream. 

In all, it’s a fun menu which would appeal to drinkers and experimental diners.

The Menu

Starter

Whisky: Dalmore (Highlands)

Food: Wild Brown Rice Salad with semi-dry tomatoes, baby quail egg, Dalmore Whisky aspic and citrus orange dressing.

Soup

Whisky: Glenfarclas (Speyside)

Food: Seafood Bouillabaisse, Glenfarclas whisky creme, bouquet of Shiso mix

Main

Whisky: The Isle of Jura (island)

Food: Confit of salt-herbed crusted duck leg timbale, caramelized onion potatoes, arugula leaf and whisky-malted vinegar glaze

Desert

Whisky: Bruadar Whisky Liquer

Food: Rich fruit cake with a shot glass of whisky-vanilla ice-cream

Where

Infusion @ Dempsey
Add: 16A Dempsey Road
Tel: +65 6479 6188

Photo gallery

Exterior	The View
Canape	Canape
Whiskies	Whiskies

Chupitos: Interactive Shots Bar

Billed as an “interactive shots bar”, Chupitos, hopes to corner the “by-the-way, let’s grab a shot before going to the disco” niche. It’s cosy, and the best part about it are their innovative shots.

The bar’s run by two lovely ladies, Cherilyn and Jamie, who won the Martell VSOP Ultimate Startup Space Contest. That gives them a rent-free space for six months and S$20,000 seed money to start up their bar.

Being a shots bar, it has a variety of shooters that range from sweetness and all things nice to really potent MFs such as the Absinthe Bohemian where a sugar cube is set on fire and left to drip into green Absinthe.

Or the Milo Godzilla which comes in a milo coated shot glass. It’s milky and alcoholic – but I really don’t see how we’re going to lick the milo powder off the glass.

One of the bar’s highlights would be the Mister Jay, the fire-flairing bartender who hails from the Philippines with his bag of cheeky magic tricks. He’s a fun chap, especially with the ladies. But then, who wouldn’t love a man who makes them laugh?

 

If Chupitos in Singapore is anything like the hole-in-the-wall shooter bar in Spain, then I’ll loving this place for some time to come.

Chupitos is at #01-02B Clarke Quay, 3C River Valley Road.

Pandan Cake	Pumpkin Pie
Kiss of Death	Molecular B-52