Patrick Javillier Puligny-Montrachet Les Levrons 2012

Date of Tasting: 23 December 2015

Wine Type: White

Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay

Alcohol: 13%

Origin: Burgundy, France

Appellation: Puligny-Montrachet AOC

Expect to Pay: ~ EUR70

Web: http://www.patrickjavillier.com/
Chubby Appreciation: 93/100
Critics' Opinion: ST - 92/100, CT - 90/100

Appearance: Yellow straw.

Aroma: Nutty and citrusy. Granny Smith and peach. Limestone.

Palate: Creamy mouth-feel. Ripe white fruits and lemon. Fine acidity and minerality. Persistent.

Excellent concentration of Village white wine at Premier quality. Aromatic one with early consumption. A tat expensive but lovely. So fine as aperitif or pairing with white fish. Fresh and elegant are the keys here. Like it.

Namon Nomwan @ Mueang, Chon Buri - หน้ามน หนมหวาน @ อำเภอเมือง ชลบุรี

Cuisine: Cafe

Map: Namon Nomwan @ Mueang, Chon Buri - หน้ามน หนมหวาน @ อำเภอเมือง ชลบุรี

Charged Price: THB100 per person without alcohol

Visited: 30 April 2016

Food: 5/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Value for money: 5/10

Services: 4/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Often we visit Chon Buri and every time we tend to find a new place to visit for afternoon coffee / tea / dessert as there seem to be many of them around nowadays. This time we accidentally popped by Namon Nomwan in Mueang District. When we had arrived at the destination, we were rather surprise with its large scale area. Plenty of parking spaces and seating areas. On a good day, you may choose to sit outside enjoying al fresco. You might be irritating with heat and mosquito, then go for indoor seats with air conditioning.

Namon Nomwan @ Chon Buri

the entrance

al fresco???

just another corner

Make sure you read the instruction before going in. You will need to follow this rule when ordering. Basically, you will have to find a table yourself: no staff assisting for this task. For ordering, just tick what you like in the menu board and hand in and pay at the cashier. For cake and other things in cake display, just order at the cashier. Then just wait for your order to arrive.

rules

pay counter and cake display

interior

ducks in monochrome

menu

Generally speaking, nothing here is great but they are enjoyable. Rather nicely presented with ok taste. Pricing is not excessive too. Order come fast. Below are what we had. I personally enjoyed Toast with Cocoa Powder. Overall, this is quite a good place for afternoon hanging out with friends in Mueang District of Chon Buri.

Classic Thai Drink - เครื่องดื่มแบบไทย ๆ (~ THB60)

Brownie - บราวนี่ (THB45)

Jam Ba - ปังเย็นน้ำแดงจั้มบ๊ะ (THB75)

Toast with Cocoa Powder - ปังคลุกฝุ่น (THB25)

Pan Reaung (French Toast with Caramel) - ปังเหลือง (THB50)

the caramel filling

Brownie display

Namon Nomwan @ Mueang, Chon Buri - หน้ามน หนมหวาน @ อำเภอเมือง ชลบุรี

Thanon Mab Mayom
Saen Suk, Mueang
Chon Buri 20130
Thailand

Open Hours: daily from 12:00pm - 11:00pm

Tel: +66 (0) 82 526 6651, +66 (0) 95 731 0395
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Namon.nomwan

Cordero di Montezemolo Barolo Monfalletto 2010

Date of Tasting: 18 December 2015

Wine Type: Red

Grape Varieties: 100% Nebbiolo

Alcohol: 14%

Origin: La Morra, Italy

Appellation: Barolo DOCG

Expect to Pay: ~ EUR45

Web: http://www.corderodimontezemolo.com/
Chubby Appreciation: 92/100
Critics' Opinion: WE - 94/100, JS - 93/100, WA - 93/100, AG - 92/100, WS - 92/100, ST - 90/100, JR - 16.5/20, CT - 92/100

Appearance: Garnet.

Aroma: Rose petal, balsamic, herbs, berries, a bit of smoke and oak essences.

Palate: Full and rich. Cherry and red berries. Mild vanilla and cocoa. Smooth and structured with nice acidity. Well balanced.

Opulent bottle of Barolo that is ready for drinking since its early stage. Matured in various size of barrels. Not exactly modern nor traditional. I wouldn't say it is elegant but would be happy to consume this wine regularly. Nice work.

Kobe Wine Beef at Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant @ Pullman Bangkok Hotel G - เนื้อโกเบไวน์ ร้านสการ์เลตต์ ไวน์บาร์แอนด์เรสเตอรองท์

Cuisine: International

Map: Kobe Wine Beef at Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant @ Pullman Bangkok Hotel G - เนื้อโกเบไวน์ ร้านสการ์เลตต์ ไวน์บาร์แอนด์เรสเตอรองท์

Charged Price: n.a.

Visited: 8 June 2016

Food: 6/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Value for money: 5/10

Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

It has been long since my very last visit to this wine bar, Scarlett. I, personally, admire the atmosphere of this place: the view of Bangkok is wonderful and the ambient is friendly. Food is as well decent and enjoyable. It is not those so-damn-good joint but nice enough to fulfill your casual Friday night with your party. If you like al fresco, they do have spaces for you too. Selection of food is varied from AOC cheese range to Iberico ham to classic pasta dishes and to everyone favourite steak cuts. By the way, their choice of wine and beverage is quite good as well, both in term of range and pricing. If you are to visit this 37th-floor-restaurant of Pullman Bangkok Hotel G, I would recommend advance booking to avoid disappointment.

Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant @ Pullman Bangkok Hotel G

entrance

wine pleaseeee!!!!

excellent wine bar atmosphere

This time we had been invited to try dishes made from Kobe Wine Beef which is available until June 30th 2016. Just a bit about Kobe Wine Beef. It is called Kobe Wine Beef because these cattles (Tajima Gyu) are fed with grapes pomace (marc) in addition to typical corns, oats, and wheat and are raised in Hyogo Prefecture. During the night, Takeshi Yamada, who is the guy behind these little good things, also presented the insight of his production himself. In my humble opinion, Kobe Wine Beef gives excellent texture as in other Japanese wagyu but with a little firmer texture and sweet juicy palate.

cheese selection

ham station

Kobe Wine Beef month

dry aged refrigerator

the crowd favourite

The very first one to arrive was not beef but it's something to boost appetite: Paleta Iberica de Bellota (6/10) (I think I heard it rightly, fingers crossed). It came along with pickles. I do like the texture of this iberico ham but the flavour was somewhat too salty to my liking. Then it came the first Kobe Wine Beef dish: Kobe Wine Beef Carpaccio, Imperial Caviar and Turnip Mousse (6/10) from rump. The flavour of this carpaccio was excellent and when combined with spiciness of the mousse and saltiness of carviar, it came out balance nicely. The bit that let this dish down was the choice of beef part in my opinion. The rump was the choice instead of tenderloin. Thus, it was a little chewy on the part connected with fat lines. Kobe Wine Beef Tartare with Soft Quail Boiled Egg (7/10) was next from the raw range. I, personally, particularly like this one. It brought out the natural flavour of Kobe Wine Beef in a lovely way. Tender and rich on the palate. The seasoning was not too sumptuous that it would overwhelm beef flavour. Nevertheless, the boiled egg did not keep up with the overall picture. I would prefer it raw in this case.

Paleta Iberica de Bellota (THB650 for 100 grams)

Kobe Wine Beef Carpaccio, Imperial Caviar and Turnip Mousse (THB660)

Kobe Wine Beef Tartare with Soft Quail Boiled Egg (THB680)

Next one was a disappointment in my view. It was Kobe Wine Beef Sate with Peanut Sauce (3/10) and this was the chuck part. When thinking of satay / sate, the very first 3 words that would pop up in my mind would be tenderness, spices, and peanut. Here it lacked tenderness. With beef, it simply has to be medium / medium-rare. When it is overcooked, it would utterly be chewy. As for flavour, beef flavour here seemed to play a bigger role than spices. Oh yes, the juicy fatty thing that ran out tasted wonderfully but it didn't answer the character of the dish. Lastly, the peanut sauce lacked texture and a bit too sweet. On the other hand, Kobe Wine Beef Burger (6/10) was rather nice. This came with red wine caramelised onions, roasted garlic aioli, Cheddar cheese, and served alongside truffle fries. Love the juiciness of the patty. Only problem for me for this burger would be the bun. It was too fluffy as though it was not the typical brioche, which should be soft and buttery. Otherwise, a nice one.

Kobe Wine Beef Sate with Peanut Sauce (THB990)

zooming kobe sate

Kobe Wine Beef Burger (THB1,100)

Shabu-style Kobe Wine Beef, Double Boiled Beef Consomme, Porcini, and Baby Roots (6/10) was next and it was made with rump. This looked definitely like Japanese but it didn't taste as expected. If I were asked whether this was nice. I would say enjoyable but confused. The flavour that exploded out extremely was mushroom and this overshadowed beef taste. Nevertheless, the texture of rump with this Japanese shabu style was lovely. As for the last one, it surely must be steak. Tasting beef without steak, there surely must be something wrong. For this case we fortunately had a chance to try Rib-eye Kobe Wine Beef Steak (7/10). Tender?, yes. Juicy?, yes. Full of rich flavour on the palate. The smokiness technique of the chef added another dimension of aroma. Nice one. Ones would not deny about deliciousness of this steak. For me, it would still be US beef as the top choice for steak. This type of beef gives too fattily tender kind of texture and exhibits too much oil. The part that would be just right for steak is perhaps tenderloin in my humble view. By the way, they have many choices of salt and pepper to go with steak. Excellent indeed.

All in all, it is a good experience if Kobe Beef is something you crave for. A good opportunity indeed to compare another type of Kobe Beef that has been fed somewhat differently from the standard one.

Shabu-style Kobe Wine Beef (THB720)

Rib-eye Kobe Wine Beef Steak (THB2,800 for 200 grams portion)

selection of salt and pepper

Kobe Wine Beef at Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant @ Pullman Bangkok Hotel G - เนื้อโกเบไวน์ ร้านสการ์เลตต์ ไวน์บาร์แอนด์เรสเตอรองท์

37th floor, Pullman Bangkok Hotel G
188 Thanon Silom Road
Bangrak
Bangkok 10500
Thailand

Open Hours: daily from 06:00pm - 01:00am

Tel: +66 (0) 2238 1991
Web: http://www.pullmanbangkokhotelg.com/restaurants-bars/scarlett-wine-bar-restaurant/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/scarlettwinebarbangkok/

33 Seafood @ Sri Racha, Chon Buri - 33 ซีฟู้ด @ ศรีราชา ชลบุรี

Cuisine: Seafood / Thai

Map: 33 Seafood @ Sri Racha, Chon Buri - 33 ซีฟู้ด @ ศรีราชา ชลบุรี

Charged Price: THB300 per person without alcohol

Visited: 30 April 2016

Food: 4/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Value for money: 4/10

Services: 5/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Another overrated seafood restaurant in Chon Buri in my humble opinion, this is. There are so many seafood restaurants, most of which are pretty similar, in Chon Buri but hardly any of them keeps up with the standard like in the past. 33 Seafood in Sri Racha is no exception. The atmosphere is certainly great during non-public vacation days. However, during public vacation I believe this place can be totally opposite despite its large area. On a cool evening, al fresco at this restaurant can be lovely. Arriving this place is easy enough. It is only a few kilometers from Nong Mon Market and is near Thanon Sukhumvit.

33 Seafood @ Sri Racha, Chon Buri

seaside dining (not during Summer for me)

The menu at this place is as aforementioned not different from other seafood places around. As for pricing wise, it is not very expensive nor valuable. The first one for us was Fried Salted Squid - หมึกอาบแดด (2/10). Ways too salty in my view. It was as well over-fried. Portion was small too. Next was Oyster Omelette - ออส่วนหอยนางรม (7/10). I kind of like this one: crisp and flavourful. The overall picture of this oyster omelette was delicious. If there were more of bean sprout, it would even be better.

Then Hot and Spicy Sea Clam - หอยตลับผัดฉ่า (5/10) arrived. Usually this is a dish that everyone likes. However, it was so-so here. It seemed to be lack of spices. Lastly, Baked White Prawn with Salt - กุ้งแชบ๊วยอบเกลือ (5/10) was the choice. Good but not great. Too expensive in fact. THB500 for half a kilo which came around 6-7 prawns. Anyway, 33 Seafood is not at all a bad place to visit. Just bear in mind that you are not visiting for food but overall picture instead: seaside view on a good day with ok food.

Fried Salted Squid - หมึกอาบแดด (THB180)

Oyster Omelette - ออส่วนหอยนางรม (THB200)

Hot and Spicy Sea Clam - หอยตลับผัดฉ่า (THB180)

Baked White Prawn with Salt - กุ้งแชบ๊วยอบเกลือ (THB1,000 / kg.)

33 Seafood @ Sri Racha, Chon Buri - 33 ซีฟู้ด @ ศรีราชา ชลบุรี

340 Thanon Sukhumvit
Moo 2
Bang Phra, Sri Racha
Chon Buri 20110
Thailand

Open Hours: daily from 11:00am - 11:00pm

Tel: +66 (0) 38 776 228
FB: https://www.facebook.com/33seafoodrestaurant

Coup de Foudre Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2009

Date of Tasting: 21 August 2015

Wine Type: Red

Grape Varieties: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc

Alcohol: 14.8%

Origin: California, USA

Appellation: Napa Valley

Expect to Pay: ~ EUR100

Web: http://www.coupdefoudrewine.com/
Chubby Appreciation: 93/100
Critics' Opinion: WS - 94/100, AG - 92/100, WE - 92/100, CT - 92/100

Appearance: Dark crimson.

Aroma: Oak essence. Sweet fruits aroma. Violet.  

Palate: Creamy, dense, and full. Smooth sweet tannins. Forward and fruity: ripe black fruits. A bit of spices. Long finish.

Surely Napa style of straight forward and flashy US cult Cabernet Sauvignon. Big, ripe, and sweet are the definition. So just pop now, why wait? Have something equally big to go along too. Roasted rack of lambs or venison will do, I suppose.