Wineshark Weekly - 3 June 2012

Getting restless nowadays, and it requires a lot of self-control to remain sane on my job. Really think the company should give me a lot more to compensate for what I am doing... Not just handling two jobs together, but to deliver a lot of extra needs also. I have to adjust myself from now on...

 I could not write this weekly blog for the last couple of weeks, simply because there are too many things to do. But I promise myself not to give in the excuse anymore. So here we are. This week we went to a nondescript noodle restaurant in TST, called Wei Yi Noodle.

Ivy got some hesitation before we went in, claiming that she heard it was not particularly clean. Once we sat down I agreed totally with her. It was not providing me a lot of comfort and I hoped the food would be good.

We ordered a Stir-fry Shanghai Thick Noodle, a pan-fried dumpling, Beijing dumpling in soup and a soy milk. The noodle was not very good, quite of bland which is a surprise considering the Shanghai cuisine is famous for its strong taste.

The two dumplings are acceptable, but personally I don't like the dough being too thick and you can understand my quality standards are very high since I got Wanchai Ferry in my company's product portfolio. The stuffing was fairly juicy though.

The soy milk was nice, but seeing how the waitress got that out of a bucket lying on the floor did not help to increase my appetite. Overall it cost $70 so very cheap but given all the worries on hygiene and not particularly great food quality, I won't return to this restaurant.

This week I went to Philippines for business (as usual) and did take a picture of my office scenary. This job really did not allow me the time to enjoy and understand better the local culture. So I have decided to make an effort to do something about it.

I went to Palawan (a famous resort island in Philippines) in the latter part of the week, to conduct some business meetings. Maybe I got too much expectation but it turned out not very attractive to me. Yes, I did not go to the Underground River (a new 7 wonder in the world) but going to the resorts and beach to take a look, it was nothing compared with other places like Phuket or Bali. But one of the resorts was very nice.

My sales team persuaded me to try one of the local delicacy, a tree worm called tamilok. The worm is very long and slimy, and the local said it tasted like oyster. I braved myself to try one. Not something I fancy and the taste was nothing like oyster either. But maybe good to show off your courage to someone.

I did have some good seafood in Palawan, in a relatively remote part of the town (I rode a tricycle there!). Walking all the way to the seafront, located right inside a forest of mangrove trees in the wetland, I could see very clear water down under. We ordered grilled prawns, sizzling squid, steamed lapu-lapu and a mixed vegetable. With 9 bottles of beer to share among the three of us, overall only costing PHP2,000. A fantastic meal and good atmosphere!

Returning home yesterday I cooked two dishes: Vegetable Potato Kugel and Fillet of Pork Mozzarella. Detailed recipe is available on my blog. The pork is good and the sauce is also nice to go with sphagetti. Since I made more sauce the extra was preserved.

I also got my WSET level 4 sparkling wine exam result. Can't believe I failed the theory part! Even though my tasting got a distinction the overall is just a Pass. I am thinking whether to appeal and check the papers. It really hurt my confidence... I should need to work doubly hard and drink more also!

I just opened a bottle this week:

Albert Bichot Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis Grand Cru Bougros 2006

Appearance

Bright and clear, medium intensity gold colour, with watery rims and legs.

Nose

Clean, medium (+) intensity and developing aromas of lemon, pear, apple, honey, hazelnut, butter and lees.

Palate

Dry, with medium (+) and lively acidity, medium in alcohol level. This wine has a medium (-) body with medium intensity flavors of lime, pear, grapefruit, brioche and stony. Medium in length.

Conclusion

Very good quality Chablis with the intensity pinpointing its grand cru level. Intense nose of good complexity, the wine is well balanced and having a firm structure, with lively acidity and reasonably complex on palate. Even though less rich in flavors, it finishes with a reasonable length, and is high enjoyable. Ready to drink now though it would benefit from further ageing of 4-6 years.

Next week I will go to Seoul, and going to miss out a lot of fun as I cannot attend the birthday party for some of my best friends. Here let me wish them happy birthday, healthy and crazy as always!