16 Japanese beers & 1 Dried Sotong Predator.

Behold, the Great Japanese Beer Pyramid!



It started out with the three of us walking around aimlessly with around Kyoto wondering what to do. Then we stopped by a liquor store and saw this:



OOOOOH, SO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRETTY BEER CANS.. CANNOT RESIST. MUST.. BUY....

So we bought a couple of different beers each to take back to the room to try. At first we only had about 7 beers. Then we ran out of beer, and decided to walk all the way out to the Lawson 24-hour store to get ANOTHER nine different beers. AAAND we finished everything that very night.




As you can see, most of the beers are from the big four of Japanese beer - Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Suntory - though we did manage to get our hands on a few Kyoto craft beers though, so that was interesting.

We didn't try the ones we'd already had before, such as Suntory The Premium Malt's or Asahi Dry, but we tried to get as much variety as possible (though even that was hard, because most of the Japanese commercial beers tend to be lagers and pilsners, or Happoshu, which is a type of 'beer' that has less than 67% malt content.

We even had a run in with a dried sotong that looked like a Predator:



Anyway, what did we learn from this binge... er.. extensive tasting? First of all, most Japanese beers taste the same. The craft beers from Haneda Brewery were interesting, but not exactly distinctive. Secondly, it's hard to distinguish one lager from the other when you've already tried 10 others before it. Third: IF you want a beer with flavour.. don't drink a happoshu.

Anyway, here's what we drank that night, based on what I managed to tag on my Untappd account:


1) Kyoto Kolsch
(Haneda Sake Brewery)
Style: Kölsch
Tasting Notes: Craft beer brewed in Kyoto. Other than the hint of sake rice in the nose, it's light and otherwise unremarkable.

2) Winter Limited Edition
(Kirin Brewery Company)
Style: Pilsner
Tasting Notes: MEH

3) Yebisu Premium
(Sapporo Breweries)
Style: Dortmunder / Export Lager
Tasting Notes: Ngeh. Ordinary. Prefer Suntory Premium Malt's.

4) ICHIBAN 2012 Hop Harvest
(Kirin Brewery Company)
Style: Pilsner
Tasting Notes: Pretty good for a pilsner. Good malty hoppy notes. A 2012 limited edition.

5) Asahi Off
(Asahi Breweries)
Style: Pale Lager
Tasting Notes: Not bad. Slightly more flavour than the normal Asahi Dry. Nothing "off" about it, heh heh.


6) Hokkaido Premium
(Sapporo Breweries)
Style: Happoshu
Tasting: Premium my foot. Sure, it's got slightly more flavor than the usual happoshu, but it's still almost tasteless.

7) Kohaku Yebisu
(Sapporo Breweries)
Style: American Amber / Red Ale
Tasting Notes: This was interesting. A nice departure from the usual Yebisu, and an ALE for a change.

8) Suntory Rich Malt
(Suntory)
Style: Japanese Rice Lager
Tasting Notes: Not bad actually. Hint of rice, and nice distinctive flavor, for a lager.

9) Asahi Style Free
(Asahi Breweries)
Style: Happoshu
Tasting Notes: Er... light and bland


10) The Winter's Tale
(Sapporo Breweries)
Style: Pilsner
Tasting Notes: I think it's a 25 Year Anniversary limited edition or something. Not bad. It's still a lager, but with some nice flavors.

11) Clear Asahi
(Asahi Breweries)
Style: Pale Lager
Tasting Notes: It's like Asahi Dry, but Lite. Which is like saying it has NO TASTE AT ALL.

12) Syuzan Kaido Weizen
(Haneda Sake Brewery)
Style: Kölsch
Tasting Notes: Craft beer from Kyoto. Pretty decent. Good bite, nice malty nose.

13) Asahi Super Dry Dry Black
(Asahi Breweries)
Style: Black Lager
Tasting Notes: No nose at all, hardly any taste. Like Asahi Dry but with more body. Very unlike the Asahi Black I had before.

14) Kyoto Amber Ale
(Haneda Sake Brewery)
Style: English Brown Ale
Tasting Notes: Kyoto-brewed craft beer.. Decent hoppy nose, but a bit flat taste-wise.

15) Tanrei Green Label
(Kirin Brewery Company)
Style: Happoshu
Tasting Notes: Light. And er... nothing else

16) Nodogoshi Nama
(Kirin Brewery Company)
Style: Happoshu
Tasting Notes: It's a happoshu, so there really isn't much to shout about in terms of the taste.

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Other than the 16 beers above, I later tried another two beers, just for the heck of it:

17) Asahi Direct Shot 
(Asahi Breweries)
Style: Happoshu
Tasting notes: I think the name says it all. It's just a direct shot of alcohol (5% only though), with hardly any taste.

18) Hitachino Nest Ancient Nipponia
(Kiuchi Brewery)
Style: Golden Ale
Tasting notes: At 6.5%ABV, this was the strongest beer I had throughout the trip, would you believe it. the rest were like 5.5% or less, WTF. Anyway, this is supposedly brewed with two traditional Japanese ingredients: the ancient Japanese Kaneko Golden barley, and Sorachi Ace, a hop that used to be from Japan. It was surprisingly light, but there was a nice hoppy, yeasty nose to it. Not much of a body, but a nice, crisp if a bit strange tasting beer.

Ahhh... A Weekend of Relaxation At The Aryani

Everyone has their own idea of the perfect holiday. Some like to shop a lot, some like to have loads of activities, and others want to hit as many tourists traps as possible. Me? I prefer holidays that require no planning, no stress, no itineraries - just a nice resort, preferably with a beach, some nice trees around, and a nice quiet environment where I can just chill and relax with a book and a beer.

I got my wish recently when Suanie The Great invited LL and I on a holiday to check out the beautiful Royale Aryani Resort at Merang, Terengganu.

The resort is actually a boutique resort with 27 rooms and suites, located quite close to the jetty where you take the ferries to Pulau Perhentian or the other islands. Just about 5 minutes drive, in fact, which makes it the perfect place to stopover on the way to the islands. It's not exactly ON the main road though, so don't go too fast or you'll miss the "gates" that mark the entrance to the resort:



I think we were distracted by the keropok stall opposite this when we were looking for this, but after a few minutes driving up and down looking for it, we finally found it and headed into the resort proper, where we were then greeted by this fantastically tranquil sight:



Now, I'm a real sucker for resorts that incorporate a lot of nature into their designs and landscapes, and The Aryani was the type of place I love - lots of trees, nice quiet surroundings (read: no noisy traffic or loud karaoke centers nearby), and a lovely sea breeze blowing through.

Some of the deco and architecture reminded me of another resort I stayed at in Bali:



According to their website, the architecture of the resort is actually based on authentic Malay architecture, inspired by the Sultan’s Palace of the olden days. Througout our 3 day 2 night stay there, I really felt like I was living in a traditional Malay palace located in a quiet idyllic Malay kampung.

After checking in, this friendly dude came out with one of the most rustic yet awesome luggage carts ever:



The staff at the hotel were pretty friendly, and we didn't have any problems whatsoever. One night, Suan found a tree frog on her hotel room wall and even though it was in the middle of the night, the management sent over someone to get rid of it, no questions asked. Awesome.

Anyway, our rooms were in individual chalets, which were nestled perfectly among a nice grove of trees, and the room itself was pretty damn sweet:



One thing we really liked was the outdoor bathtub:



Though the walls were a little too low for our liking, meaning anyone could have peeked in over the wall while we were in the bath. Not that anyone actually did, of course, but I'm just saying it COULD happen.

Anyway, like I said, this was the perfect holiday place for me, because it was quiet, rustic, and it was great to just sit outside on the porch with a beer (which I brought myself) and just CHILL.



I managed to actually finish an entire book sitting outside the porch (And on the beach, more on that later). It's been a while since I've managed to get some nice quiet reading time like this.

Anyway, later the friendly hotel manager took us for a little tour around the hotel, which included the Honeymoon Suite, which as pretty well, sweet. It's located right on the corner of the resort grounds, with a great view of the sea:



And the inside was pretty nice too:



And at least the walls surrounding the outdoor bathtub was a lot taller, so it's a lot easier to get up to all sorts of hanky-pank... ahem... er... bath in peace.



Speaking of bathtubs, the Honeymoon Suite also had an indoor bathtub... which was just next to the bed. Hmmm, how convenient... hur hur.



There's also a nice little seaside hut just on the edge of the resort ground, which I think used to be a bar:



The manager said they plan to fix this place up into another room for guests, and if they really do, then this would be a GREAT place for a holiday:



I mean come on, who wouldn't want to wake up to a view like this, and then just sit and chill by the beach first thing in the morning?



I really loved the beach. While LL checked out the spa, I went to the beach with my iPAd, and sat there reading my book for almost an hour. At 2pm in the afternoon. The breeze at the time was just perfect, the sun wasn't shining too brightly, and there was not a soul in sight on the entire beach. It was like having my own little private beach, which is something you won't get in most of the beaches on the islands.

Oooh, check it out, The Aryani actually won an award for Best Beach Resort by Expatriate Lifestyle in 2007!



One of the places I would have loved to stay in was the crown jewel of The Aryani, the Heritage Suite:



This is a hundred-year-old traditional Malay timber palace that was moved to the resort, and according to their officia lwebsite, the house used to be part of the original timber Palaces Complex of Royal households from the previous Century.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to look inside the place because there were guests, but boy, does it look like a great place to holiday in:



The Aryani also has a nice little on-site Heritage Spa that offers traditional Malay massages, facials, hair treatments and so on. Here's Suan at the entrance to the spa:



You can even have a nice little bath in this awesome little bathtub:



Now that's what I call a View to A Chill. Heh heh.

Oh, and they have a pool too, which looked really inviting:



While we were there, we mostly ate at The Serai restaurant, which was an open air, casual dining place that served mostly Traditional Terengganu cuisine. The Nasi Dagang we had one morning for breakfast was especially awesome, and their Roti Canai was also great:



Still, my favorite part of my stay at The Aryani has to be the time I spent just sitting on my front porch with a plate of awesome keropok lekor, and a cold beer. For me, this was almost the perfect holiday. I got to relax, chill out, and The Aryani provided a nice, quiet environment for me to do it. Thanks Suanie for arranging the trip, and to The Aryani for hosting us!



For more information about The Royale Aryani, go check out their website!

20 Observations of a Poor Guy in Monaco

1) The view from the top of the hill while you're entering Monaco is BEAUTIFUL. The weather is awesome too. Sunny, cool, low humidity and lots of nice seaside breezes. Awesome.

2) What do you call people who come from Monaco? Monacans? Monocans? Monacoese? Monacish? Mohicans?

3) There is NO WAY I'd be able to afford a holiday here.

4) Does EVERYONE here wear Louis Vuitton, Prada, Hermes etc etc? Heck, even the BUS KILANG is Versace...

5) They are REALLY proud of and REALLY respect their Royal Family here.

6) That said, One of the most frequently asked questions tourists ask must be: "Is that Grace Kelly?"

7) Oooh look, the famous Monte Carlo casino! But I went inside the casino, and it er... wasn't really that happening lor.

8) I didn't see a single 7-Eleven there. Maybe there is one somewhere, but I get the feeling that the people who live in Monaco aren't the type who would NEED to go to a 7-Eleven for ANYTHING anyway...

9) On that note, I didn't see a single fast food restaurant there either. No McD, no KFC... just a lot of bakeries. Expensive ones.

10) There was a beer place though - Brasserie De Monaco. I say A beer place because it is apparently the only place in Monaco that brews its own beers. Trust ME to be the one who finds it, eh? heh heh. Anyway. it brews organic craft beers, to be exact. I tried all three of them - the lager, the wheat and the amber, and my favorite was the Amber.

11) THAT'S what you call a "shopping center"? One row of five shops on the ground floor of an apartment building? Oh wait, there's one near Monte Carlo.... OMG HOW MUCH DID YOU SAY THAT COSTS???

12) Do people have babies here? Do the babies grow up here? Because I seriously didn't see that many kids around, besides the ones belonging to tourists...

13) OH MY GOD, a TINTIN SHOP! (*cue much spending of money*) What's a TINTIN shop doing in Monaco??!!?? Do people in Monaco love Tintin THAT much?

14) The public access elevators that go from street to street and allow you to go from the very top of the hill to the port in a matter of minutes are AWESOME.

15) Oh my, those are some REALLY BIG BOATS. And is that a HELICOPTER on one of them???

16) Then again, it just LOOKS nice. Everything seems a little... well, superficial. Everyone seems a little put-on. Reminds me of Singapore, but richer and with nicer weather. Heh heh.

17) Speaking of Singapore, THIS street race would definitely kick THAT street race's ass ANYTIME. And I didn't even get to see THIS street race.

18) For once I wish I had a Ferrari to drive around. Just so I can pretend I'm in the Monaco F1 GP and take the SAME CORNERS as the ones in the race, and go through the tunnel. WHEEE!

19) I'd LOVE to know what that poor guard marching up and down non-stop for hours in front of the Royal Palace is thinking. "My arms are killing me"? "Left, right, left, right, left right hup!"? "Those Buckingham Palace Redhats have it easy. All they do is STAND there."?

20) Oh look, a seagull. And there's another one! and another one. And another, and another, and AIEEE GO AWAY AND LET ME EAT MY BREAKFAST IN PEACE!!!!

I'm Off Again!

PS: No I'm not going for an HP event. But those in the know will understand why that particular thumbdrive is there. :-D

The Beer-Flavoured Carbonated Sparkling Water vs. The Balinese Hai.

While you're reading this, I'm probably wandering around the Beerfest Asia 2010 right now, sampling some of the finest beers in the world and having a ball of a time; while you're stuck in the office wishing you had a nice cold pint of beer in front of you right now.

Too bad! HAHAHA!

Anyway, I was in Bali last week, and the two most prominent beers there were Bintang and Bali-Hai. OF COURSE I tried them. DUH.



I found Bintang to be a little weak though. A quick check of the bottle label found a TINY print saying it contains less than 5.5% alcohol, which could mean anything from Shandy-like levels to well, 5.4%; which is pretty standard.

The taste was not bad, but I found it to be bloody gassy. I felt bloated after one or two, and after four or five, I still didn't feel a thing. It was like drinking a beer-flavoured carbonated sparkling water. (It's not as bad as my current vote for WORSE BEER EVER though...) I'd drink it only if I didn't have a choice, which brings me to...



Other than the rather unfortunate name (to a Malaysian, that is. "Mister you want to drink some of my Bali Hai?" oh dear.), the beer was actually pretty good. It had more flavor to it than Bintang, and it certainly had a lot more kick.

Funnily enough, the small bottle I had at a restaurant stated that it has 6% alcohol; but the big bottle I bought at a mini mart later had only 5.5% ABV. Hmmm... Still, it was a lot more satisfying to drink than Bintang, that's for sure... I just wish it had a better sounding name...

Rice Fields In The Morning...

Woke up this morning to the above view, breakfasts on the table, the sounds of birds chirping, insects buzzing and a foot long lizard er.. farting in the rafters.

Yay Bali!

The Hangzhou Hangout: A Preview

Hello!

I'm back from Hangzhou, China, where I ate a lot of pork:



Met a Shaolin monk on a Segway:



And met a fellow Malaysian superstar!



Oh, and I saw a lion in a tea garden!



More on the Hangzhou Hangout later!