Thursday 27 March 2014

Craft beers

I was recently introduced to the interesting world of craft beers by my watch buddies and it was such a pleasant surprise for me. I've never known that craft beers can be so much fun! It can also be pretty complex...the fermentation process, the hop content, the best temperature to serve the beer etc. Just like wine, we can start light and move your way up to the stronger stuff. I still can't tell the difference between ales, double ales, triple ales, IPAs and double IPAs yet. But I'm not fretting...I just need to drink more to learn the ropes (guffaw!)! One thing is for sure, after drinking these craft beers, Heineken and Tiger seem so amateurish (they taste more like water now!)!

As I enjoy all things big (wines, b@@bs etc), my preferred craft beers are triple ales, IPAs and double IPAs :-P

Unlike mass produced beers etc which you can easily get, the hole in the wall that offers these craft beers doesn't bring much in. What you see is what you get. So, if you like certain bottles, quickly drink up and/or buy home! 
 
Below are some pics of the craft beers that I've tried. My favs are Victory Golden Monkey, Anderson Valley IPA, Ninkasi Total Domination IPA, Victory Hop Wallop, Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA and Ninkasi Oatis. Unfortunately, most of my favs are no longer available :-(


Property of Mr Flabby Less

Property of Mr Flabby Less

Property of Mr Flabby Less

Property of Mr Flabby Less

Property of Mr Flabby Less

Property of Mr Flabby Less

Property of Mr Flabby Less

Property of Mr Flabby Less

Property of Mr Flabby Less

Property of Mr Flabby Less


Property of Mr Flabby Less

Property of Mr Flabby Less

Property of Mr Flabby Less


Sunday 23 March 2014

Benefits of red wine


All my friends know I love wine, especially red wine (actually that's a cover-up...I love all types of alcohol!!!). I enjoy drinking red wine as I get to experience many interesting tastes and flavours in my mouth every time I take a sip of wine.


Drinking red wine has many benefits (I always use this as a convenient excuse, guffaw!):-

1. increases levels of beneficial bacteria in your intestines and lower levels of pathogenic bad bacteria in your intestines for improved digestion, immunity, metabolism, skin health etc;
2. decreases systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, and CRP (C-reactive protein);
3. contains antioxidants, polyphenols and resveratrol that reduce inflammationin your body; and
4. moderates blood sugar response from your meals thus keeps your hormones balanced, controls insulin levels, controls appetite and enables you to stay lean.


It is interesting to note that white wine also has some health benefits but not nearly as powerful as red wine due to the lower antioxidant levels.


As parting words, I recommend drinking red wine in moderation, i.e. 1 to 2 glasses per day max (and not 1 to 2 bottles per person per day) to reap the benefits as shared above. 


Cheers and let's drink to a better health! :-P



Thursday 13 March 2014

Top 5 banned ingredients



I hate to be the bearer of bad news but we consume dangerous banned ingredients in our daily meals!
What are these banned ingredients?
The top 5 banned ingredients in our daily meals are as follows:-

1) Ractopamine (in pork)

2) rBGH (in milk)

3) GMOs (in almost everything)

4) Potassium Bromate (in bread)
5) Chloramphenicol (in honey)
The above are your daily staples. Scary, I know. You need to make the right choices. 

Thursday 6 March 2014

Panerai Pam 116F with titanium case and tobacco base dial

Property of Mr Flabby Less
Panerai Pam116F with titanium/tobacco base dial

I've always wanted a nice watch but since the arrival of Sonny and Girlie, my priorities have changed and I've decided to put this interest on hold for the time being. Buying a luxury watch is not as important as meeting the needs of my kids, especially saving money for their education.

That was until I was introduced to a buddy of my buddy at our favourite wine place. Both of them are watch aficionados. I decided to make some enquiries in relation to Rolexes and Panerais, and almost instantly we started exchanging ideas and sharing information in relation to these and other watches.

We must have started off very well (perhaps the few bottles of Bordeaux red that we had helped too!) and the buddy of my buddy offered to sell me some of his watches. I jumped at the opportunity and started making more enquiries!

He made a very friendly and generous offer to me. As I was getting my first "proper" watch, he offered to sell me his rare Panerai Pam 116F at his previous purchase price. His watch was in excellent condition as he didn't wear it much (he had 49 watches in total!!!). 

Panerai only made 300 pieces of this watch (F series) and this watch beared the number F02X/300. Pam 116F was the last batch of watches made by Panerai with titanium case and tobacco dial pieces. The numbers and markers on the dial are hand-painted and that makes this watch even more special as Panerai no longer produced hand-painted dials. These days the dials are "sandwiched". Its opened case back displays the beautiful and no longer produced "Panerai Stamped" movement. The first batch of this model called the E series, yielded only 1200 pieces. So in total, there are only 1,500 Pam 116s produced in the entire history of Officine Panerai. 

This is such an excellent 1st watch for me and I'm thoroughly pleased! ;-)


Sunday 2 March 2014

Chateau La Garde, 2005, Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux

Property of Mr Flabby Less
Chateau La Garde, 2005, Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux

This chateau is a rising star of the Pessac-Leognan wine appellation in Bordeaux. 2005 was a very good vintage and it's drinking well now. I find this wine rich and concentrated, just the way I love my wines! 

It was a bit closed at the beginning but after breathing for slightly over an hour, it opens up beautifully. I enjoy the complex notes of metal, mineral, dark berries and cassis. I was enticed by the wine's dark red hue. Acidity was firm and tannins are quite rounded. There was a hint of sweet aftertaste.

This wine can still be cellared for a few more years and I think the result will be even better! Definitely worth the wait but it's also very good to be enjoyed now.