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"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful we must carry it with us or we find it not."

R. W. Emerrson

Entries in Bring Back Cocktail Hour (15)

Sunday
May182014

Bringing Back Cocktail Hour – Asakusa Neighborhood, Tokyo, Japan

Hidden Jem in TokyoDiane recently surprised us by sponsoring “Bring Back Cocktail Hour”, requesting that we “Enjoy the Local Brew”.  We located a tiny restaurant with a lot of personality in a very well lit building where we secured two of the seven bar stools.  The friendly, casually dressed cook directed our attention to a colorful machine near the entrance.  It turned out to be a handy device which receives food orders, prints coupons for the selected items, accepts cash, and makes change.  After studying the device for several moments we secured our coupons and passed them to the man behind the counter.

Simple and affordable food is often some of the most enjoyable.  We devoured a plate of wontons topped with onions, scallions, peppers, and a pesto-style sauce before we moved on to succulent, boneless fried chicken which came with a cabbage slaw and a dollop of mayonnaise.  We toasted Diane’s generosity with Suntory Premium Malt draft, the perfect libation to go with tasty Japanese comfort food.

Saturday
May032014

Bringing Back Cocktail Hour – Seoul, South Korea

Goal:  Find a unique way to allocate Laura’s recent “Have Seconds” sponsorship of “Bring Back Cocktail Hour” while traveling in Seoul, South Korea.

Steps we followed to accomplish the goal:

  1. Find a small, inviting restaurant lacking English-language signs.
  2. Enter with a smile and extend a confident and hearty Korean-language “Hello” (AN-YOUNG-HA-SAY-YO) to the staff.
  3. Select a unique looking item on the menu and deliver a friendly Korean-language “Please” (JOM-CHOO-SAY-YO).
  4. Toast our generous friend Laura who sponsored an affordable and enjoyable two rounds of beer along with this amazing appetizer.  After some analysis we determined that the tasty treat was an asian-style pancake or omelet with bonita (fish) flakes that dance atop the dish as it lets off steam - Watch the action in this 12 second video:

We extend thanks to Laura in our best Korean (COM-SAH-HAAM-NEE-DAH) for helping us find this gem of a restaurant - We liked it so much, we returned a few days later for a spicy noodle bowl and wontons.  Delicious!

Saturday
May032014

Bringing Back Cocktail Hour – Krabi, Thailand

Bringing it Back Krabi Style!Our good friend Matt is quite travel-savvy and has passed along many wonderful trip tips for our consideration.  Most recently, we’ve consulted his recommendations while visiting Thailand and were pleased to apply his “Bring Back Cocktail Hour” sponsorship to an authentic Thai dinner.

The proprietor of the Frog & Catfish Restaurant and Country Inn provided thoughtful recommendations and we were pleased with each dish made with fresh, local ingredients.  We started with Tod Man Pu (crab cake) and Yum Pla Duk Foo (crispy catfish serviced with sliced mango spicy salad).  For our entrée, we shared a whole fish plate (tubtim) served with an “old-style” sauce containing red onion, lemongrass, garlic, and too many local herbs to count.  We paired the dinner with a two glasses of smooth South African white wine.

What makes this venue special is the ambiance.  Our table was set within an open-air hut which overlooked a garden and several koi ponds.  The warm night air was alive with the sounds of nature and a few curious tree frogs hopped onto nearby leaves to show off their bright coloring.

With no room for desert we called it an evening and offered a final toast to Matt who made this memorable night possible.

Thursday
Apr242014

Bringing Back Cocktail Hour - Hong Kong

Bringing it Back Hong Kong Style!

Nearly every Hong Kong travel guide recommends eating dim sum, the quintessential local meal.  Thanks to Curt’s gracious sponsorship of Dinner and Drinks for Two, we headed to the Din Tai Fung restaurant where we were in for a real treat!

The event began with a quick review of the Guide to Enjoy the XiaoLongBao.  Armed with this newly found knowledge, we feasted on a delicious selection of dishes such as steamed chicken dumplings, steamed shrimp and pork Shao-Mai, pork buns, and deep-fried sweet and sour chicken with chili.  To ensure we covered the core food groups, we added a wonderfully crispy and flavorful order of sautéed Chinese kale as our vegetable.

The meal was delectable and went well with our choice of beverages, refreshing Tsingtao beer and Chinese hot tea. 

We extend our appreciation to Curt for his generous funding of fine food and drink in one of our favorite cities, Hong Kong.

Wednesday
Apr092014

Bringing Back Cocktail Hour - Rotorua, New Zealand

Bringing Back Cocktail Hour in Rotorua!People do not tend to give the North Island of New Zealand enough credit.  It possesses a different kind of beauty and allure than its neighbor to the south.  One North Island town we loved is Rotorua, an "active" town...Active with geothermal activity.  Bubbling hot springs and steam vents can be found next to the streets, in parks, and by homes; it's literally everywhere you look.  One other thing Rotorua has going for it is a selection of great restaurants.

Scott, our Bring Back Cocktail Hour sponsor, helped us end a hectic day with rewarding food and drink at the Leonardo's Pure Italian, a top spot in the heart of this hot town.  While enjoying a delectable bottle of 2011 Renzo Masi Chianti we read through a bit of Italian trivia - Did you know that in Italy the primary lucky number is 17 and if you order a pizza with pepperoni you will receive a pie with peppers?

We were in the mood for healthier, heartier fare, so we ordered a large Italian salad bursting with peppers, olives and 2 giant mozzarella/prosciutto rolls.  We then moved on to a main course of lamb stuffed with spinach placed atop of variety of vegetables.  It was a filling meal and with no room left for dessert we closed the evening enjoying the last sips of wine.

We would like to thank Scott for feeding our bodies with a delicious dinner and scrumptious wine while also topping off our minds with fun trivia-Italiano.