Sunday, August 9, 2015

Champagne Philipponnat Grand Blanc 2006

Date of Tasting: 10 April 2015
Wine Type: Sparkling White
Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Alcohol: 12%
Origin: Mareuil-Sur-Ay, France
Appellation: Champagne
Expect to Pay: ~ EUR50
Web: http://www.philipponnat.com/
Chubby Appreciation: 92/100
Critics' Opinion: WA - 88/100, WS - 92/100, ST - 93/100


Appearance: Light golden yellow
Aroma: Toasty nutty chalky with scent of orchid 
Palate: Flavour of fresh apple and pear. Mild chalky creamy touch. Fine citrus and minerality. Full and complex with fairly minerality but yet velvety.

This is a Blanc de Blancs version of Philipponnat aka 100% chardonnay. Personally, Blanc de Blancs is my kind of champagne, though some might not like it. This Champagne Philipponnat Grand Blanc 2006 is a fine one. So much joy exhibits out of each glass. What I love about this champagne is the concentration that bursts out and elegant personality. Highly recommended now and especially on a hot Summer day. Keep raising the glass!!!!

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Build Your Own Burger at BarSu @ Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok

Cuisine: Pub / Bar food
Charged Price: THB440 per person without alcohol
Visited: 23 May 2015
Burger: 7/10
Atmosphere: 6/10
Value for money: 6/10
Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Burger, burger, and burger!!! It is occupying streets of Bangkok these days. You can find grill bar in this corner and perhaps a burger truck a few block away. It is just everywhere. Even in a 5-star hotel like Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit also offers "Build Your Own Burger" now at its gastro bar: BarSu. Just briefly about BarSu first. Though I am a regular at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, it was my first time at BarSu though. The place indeed offers those pub foods as you may expect: fish and chips,  bite foods, pizza, prosciutto, terrines, sandwiches, and etc. The ambient it offers is kind of relax and chill. I believe it is a nice place to hang around and chitchatting with friends and even customers: friendly atmosphere, open until late night (1am though it is close on Sunday), decent food, and variety of drinks. For non-residence, it is also convenient to pop by Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit with a path connected directly to BTS Asoke Station.

BarSu menu

preparation counter and grill station

For "Build Your Own Burger", you get to choose the combination of your liking to pair with a side dish, and a standard drink such as soft drink, local beer, and house wine. All of these is priced at THB440 net. Not bad at all in my view. To create your burger, you start off with choosing a patty (200 grams): beef vs. chicken. Feel like more, tick it for double at some additional cost. There are 4 choices of cheese: cheddar, emmenthal, brie, and blue cheese. Then pick your fillings and sauce, avocado, lettuce, bacon, ketchup, truffle mayo, and etc. Lastly, finish off with your choice of buns: between regular bun, beatroot red bun, and charcoal black bun. Honestly, these buns are just for fancy colour. They are hardly any difference in taste.

For example, I chose to go with beef and charcoal black bun with fillings of avocado, fried onion, lettuce, pickles, brie, and truffle mayo. These were to go with curly fries. Simply and full. Highly recommend. By the way, don't forget to tell them how you'd like your patty cooked, otherwise, it will be well done.

As said, they are so many burger joints around Bangkok nowadays. You better go judge it yourself to see if you like it. For me, I did enjoy it. Fatilicious!!!!

Charcoal Black version

Beetroot Red burger

square cut view

Water Melon Frappe and Pineapple Juice

Build Your Own Burger at BarSu @ Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok
250 Sukhumvit Road
Khlong Toei
Bangkok 10110
Thailand

Open Hours: Mon-Sat from 05:30pm - 01:00pm

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Chateau Montelena Chardonnay Napa Valley 2010

Date of Tasting: 3 April 2015
Wine Type: White
Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Alcohol: 14.1%
Origin: California, USA
Appellation: Napa Valley
Expect to Pay: ~ EUR40
Web: http://montelena.com/
Chubby Appreciation: 91/100
Critics' Opinion: WA - 92/100, ST - 91/100, CT - 91/100


Appearance: Pale golden straw
Aroma: Citrus aroma and white flowers
Palate: Lingering acidity presented. Medium-full on the touch with oil-like softness. Notes of sweet and sour grapefruit and honey lemon. Very mild oakiness on the finish.

It was a nice one in which I could enjoy with food and solely as aperitif. It's not big nor light. The penetration of acidity comes into play a little too much for my liking. Though Chateau Montelena Chardonnay shows its gorgeous side, I wish there were more of complexity wave of notes. Chablis-like in the form of Napa Valley chardonnay in my point of view. Not sure if it would develop anything further but if you like this kind of style, drinking now won't harm you.

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