Glam and Glitz in a bottle

This weekend is awesome! Three great things happened:

1. I receive a comment from Marieke Visser, that she'd like to recommend my blog in the Suriname HOT magazine, which is by the way the best tourism magazine. And no, it's not because of the recommendation that I'm saying this. Let me tell you why I believe they are the best:
- it's for free, so they have a broad coverage
- it's glossy, full color and lots of great pictures in it.
- all articles are in both english and dutch
- and the articles are easy to read.
So, Suriname HOT magazine  crew, you guys are doing an awesome job!! Keep up the good work!

2. My blog has finally hit the 1000 views. When I started in May, I really thought ' Hmm,,,,how long will it take before I get 1000 views'. But it's finally here.....! All thanks to you guys!! :D


3. And as if my wine course instructor knew I had things to celebrate, yesterday we did 'Champagne'!! It's a wine that people link with celebration, romance and all the glamour and glitter in the world.


Some facts about Champagne:

- it's only called Champagne if it's actually produced from grapes from the Champagne region in France. Otherwise, it's called sparkling wine
- this bubbly drink was actually created by accident. Back then, bubbles in your wine meant there was something wrong with it.
- and the the founder of this awesome drink is Dom Perignon ( Yes, the same as the most prestigious bubbly in the world)
- there are about 5 million bubbles in a bottle of Champagne. ( People actually did research this)
- Other names other countries uses for this bubbly:
* the germans call it 'Sekt'
* 'Spumante' is the name the Italians gave it
* For the spanish, they love their 'Cava'

For this evening full of bubbles, the instructor was really giving us a hard time. He gave us 3 different kinds of bubbly to sample, but without showing us the label of the bottle. Ohmigod...I never knew it felt so uneasy to not know what I'm drinking. The curiosity, the anxiety, it was really a reaction I didn't expect myself to have for blind tastings. But ok, so like the tasting, I'll give you guys my opinion first, before I tell you what drink it was.


1. the first bubbly was very light. Both in color and in flavor and as the fluid was in my glass, I hardly see any bubbles unless I shook the glass a bit.

2. the second glass was way better. The color was nearly the same as the first one, but it had a stronger flavor and it even tasted familiar. I could see some bubbles without moving the glass.

3. The third one was more acidic, the color was a bit darker, but for me a bit too acidic. Lots of bubbles for this one.

For me, the 2nd one is the winner!! Are you even curious as me at that moment to know which bubbly was which?? Here are the results:

1.  Villa Teresa Prosecco

2.  Moet & Chandon ( I knew it, I knew it)

3. Heidsieck Monopole


And if you think this was all, you're soo mistaking. We had some Kir Royale, which is a cocktail made normally with cassis and sparkling wine. We got the best of the best: Prosecco + Chambord.
Chambord is a raspberry liqueur in a very fancy bottle. It smelled so sweet and the aroma of raspberry lingers. It made me think of really sweet candy. And surprisingly, the cocktail didn't tasted as sweet as I thought it would.

But of course, it wouldn't be wise to do cocktails with the expensive champagnes. It's an option, and an outcome if you receive a bottle you don't like. If you're in the cocktail mood, try it also respectively with orange juice and mango juice.

As a last surprise of the evening, we even had a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. For those of you who don't know it yet: it is said that New Zealand makes the best Sauvignon Blancs. They have the best terrior for the sauvignon blanc grapes.

I gotta say, it's the best Sauvignon Blanc I've had so far. The flavor was very well combined. Nothing was too overwhelming. It was very well balanced, easy to drink and fresh, crisp.

But back to bubbly, which is your favorite and when do you prefer to drink it?

A glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away

This morning, my colleague actually made remarks in reaction to my blogposts. Her statement was:' So many blogs about wine. I would swear you're an alcoholic'. She means it well though. I gotta admit, only yesterday I posted about my wine course and today I'm writing about another wine event again. I think, it just so happen that in this period I have lots of wine events to attend and I enjoy it. And besides, in the wine catalog I got, it's stated:

" A glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away"

I quess in some way, I'm just trying to stay healthy! :D

So yesterday SAB had a wine tasting event, where most hospitality industry professionals were invited. The main idea is to get them acquainted with the wines SAB has to offer and since most were restaurant owners, the timeframe in which it was held was between 4 and 6 pm. And thanx to my wine course instructor, all participants also received an invitation.

I went there with a friend of mine, John, who has been in the hospitality business for many years. At the gate I also met one of my colleague wine course mates, so we started the wine journey in each other's presence.

The first thing that came into mind was:' Oh my god, it's in the garden!'. For those who don't understand where this statement comes from, it had been awfully hot the last couple of days. Even in the nighttime hours when it's supposed to be somewhat cooler, everybody's still complaining about the heat. So when we saw that it was held in the garden, that automatically means we'll have to enjoy wine under the heat of our Tropical sun.
 
But nonetheless, it was a great event. We were like 10 minutes late and I already saw many red faces, don't know if it was from the sun or the wine ( I believe the latter). And it was like a scene out of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". I felt like a kid in a candy store and everything was for free. The decoration team did a great job with the setting: they set up a tent in the garden, with all the wine brands on different tables, a table with a variety of cheeses on the side and lounge chairs
in-between the tent and the terrace, where Lavazza coffee was being promoted.

We didn't know where to start and Ivo, one of the SAB employee's, came immediately to greet us and explain to us the how, what and where. So we all took a glass and started our wine tour at the Frontera section.


Frontera is a Chilean wine. This is from their site: www(dot)fronterawines(dot)com:

"Frontera is the best selling Chilean wine in the World, born in the fertile Central Valley where the vineyards are naturally protected by the four frontiers (Frontera in Spanish) of Chile".

I've had several encounters already with Frontera wines and till now, they haven't disappointed me yet and I don't hope they ever will. It's actually the only brand, which we tried all their varietals.

This is my opinion of all the wines I've tasted:

Brand	Frontera
Varietal	Introduction (translated from dutch)	My opinion
Sauvignon Blanc	wine with aromas of ripe peach and citrus. Ideal to combine with stewed fish, light sauces and salads	acidic and dry
Chardonnay	wine with fresh apple flavor. Ideal to combine with poultry, seafood, creamy sauces and salads	it was a bit too acidic for me
Merlot Rose	light and soft wine with a natural palate of cherries and floral aromas. Ideal to serve with Asian dishes, fruit and cakes.	light, dry, but I did smell the cherry flavor in it
Frontera Blush	(Cabernet Sauvignon):                                                  Clear rose with hints of strawberry, raspberry, cherry and apple. Delicious with dishes from the Latin American kitchen or as a aperitif	this one was very fruity. It was like having all kinds of berries in my mouth with every gulp. This sure is a winner.
Late Harvest	(Muscat or Alexandria):                                                  Gold colored wine with aromas of dried flowers and the sweet flavor of honey. Great with cakes, flan and fresh fruit.	The first time I had this wine some months ago, I liked it. But for this tasting, it was too fruity! It even tasted like overripe fruit. But my friend actually told me that she loves it in such hot weather and with some ice. Maybe I should try that next time.
Brand	Casillero del Diablo
Varietal	Introduction	My opinion
Shiraz	Fullbodied red wine with surprising variety of intense flavors like black currant, ceder and oak. Ideally to combine with spicy seasoned dishes and red meat platter	I was kinda confused with this one. It was smooth, but at the same time strong aromas and tasted lots of tannin in it, but still fruity. This was really a complexed wine for me.
Cabernet Sauvignon	A bodied wine with an intense bouquet of cherry, plums and vanilla aromas. Heavenly with peppersteak, lamb chops and pot roast.	This was very strong, dry and I do believe it would go very well with a good steak!
Pinot Noir	Lightbodied red wine with delicious aromas of strawberries, raspberries and hints of oak. Ideal wine to go with BBQ, but also great with vegetarian dishes.	This one was very oaky and didn't like it so much. Probably I had too much flavors in my mouth already, but I do believe I got to try it again.
Brand	Concha y Toro
Varietal	Introduction	My opinion
Demic Sec	a sparkling wine	This was the last one I've tasted. It was very good. Not too sweet, but still fruity. Very crisp and I could've had another glass of it.

Of course, there was still the cheese stand from Keurslager, where they had cubes of spicy cheese, olive cheese and all kinds of other cheeses I've never had before. Unfortunately with the heat, they went all soft and the softer cheeses kinda sticked to each other.
 
Don't forget the Lavazza coffee. It was smooth and something else than my daily cup of coffee, but unless my employer buys such a machine, I think I'll enjoy it whenever I'm at one of their outlets. Yeah I know, I'm complaining about the heat and still I'm having hot coffee. But after all the wine I had, I sure needed it!

Sorry guys that it turned out to be such a long piece. I hope I didn't bore you guys, but I think I'm finally getting the hang of it!

Blush or Rose? They are just the same

Last saturday, my friend messaged me why she still hadn't seen my blog about the 2nd wine lesson yet. And you know, that really felt good. The knowledge of people really enjoying what I have to say (write). So from this blog out, I would like to thank all my readers for enjoying my posts.

So last friday, I had my 2nd wine lesson and it was about blush or rose. It's not white nor red, and many believe that winemakers actually mixed these two to get the pink color. However that is a possibility, but most winemakers use other techniques. Two of the techniques are:


1. leaving the grape skin in the pressed juice for just long enough to get the pinkish color. This will not only add color to the juice, but some tannin as well.

2. putting the pressed juice in a barrel that was used to hold red wine. Mostly they will keep it for several hours, a day max so that the juice will get the color of the red wine, but not getting influenced by the flavor that was still on the wall of the barrel.

For that evening, we had 4-5 different wines. ( Yah, kinda seem like the numbers of bottles are increasing, right?):

The first one we had was: Rendez Vous
It's a blend between Merlot and Grenache. However many winedrinkers will know the Merlot as a red wine, but this one's a blush/rose. The flavor was somewhat dry and like most rose's I know, you can smell the fruitiness as soon as it was poured into the glass. However I still can't distinguish the different aromas yet, but I do know I like the way it smells. Unfortunately I can't find a picture of the bottle to show you guys, but as soon as I find one, I'll post it. I promise!

The second one was a lightbodied red: De la roche
This is made from the Gamay Noir grape, also known as Beaujolais.

Year: 2010

Grapes: Gamay

Tasting: A harmony of small red berry flavours with delicate aromas of ripe fruit. The wine is full and fresh with a complex bouquet from traditional bananas through to ripe raspberry flavours. To drink whilst young.

Food matching: Best served at 65 F

 

This was my favorite of the evening. With this wine, we also got introduced to the magic of the wine aerator:

Like most hobbies has their gadgets, this one is really a magic tool for wines. We got two glasses of the same one to taste, but one without the aerator and one with the aerator. And you wouldn't believe those two glasses actually comes from the same bottle. The first one was stronger in flavor, but it fade away as soon as it hit my pallate. The second one tasted smoother, easier to drink and the flavor lingers for some time before it actually faded. For all winelover, I really would recommend having one of these gadgets to increase your wine drinking experience.

 

The 3rd wine of the evening is the Queen of Hearts

This was the favorite of the group and this is what I found online:

 

"This lovely Pinot was fermented in small batches, aged in oak barrels, carefully blended and bottled at the peak of quality. This vintage has aromas of ripe blackberry, black cherry, and cola with smooth fruit driven flavors of plum, strawberry and warm spices."

 

For me, it was a bit too sweet. It does have a familiar taste to it, which is probably the cola. The only aroma I could've guessed was that there must be some kind of berry in it. Which one,,,that was the big question.

 

The 4th one is my kind of my wine: Beringer White Zinfandel

 

This is a really fruity wine. It's a California wine, easy to drink and I love the fruity aroma. But probably my pallate is changing and somehow it seems too sweet for me now. But I know for a fact that this is a favorite for most Surinamese people. It's a wine that they can drink with everything and it's sweet. (Yeah, I'm supposed to say 'fruity', but I think this is easier to grasp).

 

As a final surprise, we were given a glass of red wine. It tasted light, but smooth and to all our surprise: it was a Carlo Rossi!!

I've always known Carlo Rossi as a cheap wine and I can drink it, but not very fond of it. And I've learned a new phrase: 2 buck chuck. It's a Charles Shaw wine, which is sold for $2,- ( 2 bucks), so every cheap wine was then called 2 buck chuck. Quite interesting story though.

But since no one was aware which wine it was, everybody was surprised that the Carlo Rossi came out so smooth and tasted not bad at all. Maybe it's the aerator, maybe the ambiance, but we all enjoyed another wine lesson from Mr. Edward Cabell and his wife Hortence.

 

 

 

Sushi? Yaaaaaa!!

This blog will be about my personal experience in the very first Sushi restaurant in Suriname: Sushi Ya. They started their business several months ago and I wanted to go since then and actually got the chance to do it so last night. 2 friends of mine, Sahieda and Yasser, and I already made plans since some months ago , so it was really about time we did it.

I got to say, Yasser really suprised me. He acted  really very gentlemen-like, picking me up, opening the car door for me and paying for dinner,,,,the whole nine yards. It actually kinda felt a bit weird since I'm not used to it that guys still do that. However my boyfriend does that too, but somehow I think I just take that for granted since it seems to me that he does it as a automatic thing and it feels as if he should do it. I know, however, that many guys don't do that for their girlfriends, but the point I want to make is....that it really felt good that there are still gentlemen out there doing the right thing. So, an advice for guys out there, ladies dig the oldfashion gentlemen service from time to time.

Anyway....getting a bit sidetracked here. The place is redecorated from a Chinese restaurant that I used to know and I do admit that I expected more Japanese influences in the decor. They painted the walls really white, so that the big paintings really popped out. Secretly, I hoped that there would be a hostess, wearing a kimono, greeting us at the door and saying: "Konichiwa" or something, u know. Even if she was not asain-like, it would have added to the feel of a real Japanese restaurant.

For a tuesday night, I got to say that it was pretty crowded. We chose a table near the wall, where I have a good view of the sushi bar. The sushi chef was actually pretty stereotypical. Asian, looking real serious and with a toothbrush moustache or also known as the Hitler moustache.

I checked their prices already way upfront at their fb page and some people even complained that it's too expensive. Personally, my motto is if the food and service is good, I'm willing to pay the price. We ordered quite a lot and I have to say that the service was very good. We hardly had to wait for our drinks, neither the first dish of California rolls, which at the end I conclude as my favorite.

It is known as a uramaki or an inside out sushi, which means that the outer layer is rice, on which they sprinkle sesame or a kind of orange looking crumbly thing on it. I just googled it and saw that it's supposed to be tobiko or masago, some kind of fish egg or so. Hmm,,,interesting.

What I like about it is the crunchiness of the sesame on it and that the used ingredients really combined to a delicious flavor.

Next to the California roll, my friend picked some other types of sushi he wanted to try and I was dying for some tempura. I love tempura simply because it's fried, but it's still light and non-greasy. It's like eating fried food and not feeling quilty,  you know what I mean.

Initially Sahieda apologized for not being able to make it, but there she was in front of us. The place where she should be was not open yet, so she had to wait for several hours. Actually I don't even know if she still went, but was happy she could join us.

My personal opinion of the other sushi's is that it was good, but the vegetarian roll was a bit too big though. It was hard to take it with chopsticks and when you finally manage to do so, it falls apart.

   The wasabi was a bit weak for me. I really had to put a dab in my soy sauce before I can really get that kick, but probably because normally I already eat lots of pepper with my food.

And of course, we had to order sashimi since it's part of the Japanese cuisine and we heard that their sashimi is very good. We ordered one with 4 different kinds of sashimi: marinated tuna, red snapper, salmon and another fish, forget that one. I have to admit, I'm not fond of raw things. The thought about it alone gives me the creeps, but of course I have to suck it up and taste it for you guys, right? :p. Nah,,I did enjoy it. One, they plated it very colorful and it appealing and second, it doesn't smell or taste like normally fish would. The pink salmon is very sweet, slippery and how salmon should taste like. The marinated tuna had a sweet marinate on it and sesame, but I'd recommend you don't eat that one with wasabi since the taste of the wasabi kinda predominate that of the marinated tuna. My personal favorite is the red snapper though.Unfortunately my friends didn't feel like drinking sake, because that would've made the meal complete.

To top it all off, I ordered the Green Tea ice cream for dessert. I'm not sure if it's supposed to taste like this. In the very beginning I thought they gave me a wrong one, because it tasted like normal Vanille ice cream, but just when I was about to say something about it, the green tea taste pops out. They added a piece of tempura banana in it, which really go well with the ice cream. If you like the crunchiness of tempura, try to eat it as soon as you get it. If it stays too long in the ice cream, it tends to get soggy and lose its crunchiness.

Good food, good service and great company really does it for me. I know these friends for not that long as friends, but you know how sometimes it just clicks? It kinda does it for us. We are all persons with an outspoken character and share a common devotion for sushi and wine. Even though it's a bit pricey, but I can't wait to do it again!!

If you want to try it out, don't forget to make reservations:

1st wine course lesson: White Wine

Last night, I had my first lesson of the wine course.The instructor, Mr. Cabell, made it really fun to listen to the history of wine, the old world and new world wines and the current developments of wine. It's amazing how he knows so much about wine and of course, we got some tips of how to make wines tastes better and what factors might play a role in the whole experience. Yesterday was the first lesson, so we started with the white wine section. Did you know that white wine can be made from white grapes AND/OR red grapes? I always thought red wine's from red grapes and white wine from white grapes.

The first wine for the evening was: SUNRISE

This is the documentation I found :
Variety: Chardonnay
Appellation: Central Valley
Color: Bright Yellow
Nose: Green apples and tropical fruits aromas such as papaya and pineapply with a backdrop of vanilla.

For those of you, who don't know anything about wine, let me explain what this means. ( Some of it, I only learned it last night. So don't feel sorry for not knowing)
The variety means the grape used. For new world wines, at least 85% of the grapes need to be a certain grape to have the name of that grape on the bottle. Like this one, it has Chardonnay on it, so which means 85% of the grapes used to produce this wine is the Chardonnay grape.
The appellation is the terroir. Yeah I know... I didn't know what it means in the beginning either. Terroir is actually the soil, the geographical factors and temperature and climate changes,....all in all, all the geographical, geological and climate factors that might influence the wine grape.
The color, that's just plain simple what you will see. The nose is what you might smell in the wine.

My personal opinion:
Probably because it was for the first time I really sat down and tried to smell what's inside the wine, I didn't smell anything but pineapple. All the other times, I only smelled the wine if it smells good or not, not actually noticing to what it smells like.
I heard things like, apple, green apple, buttery and all kinds of aromas, I didn't notice any of this at all. That felt kinda stupid, but I'm sure it will get better with time and experience.

The second wine was: Deinhard

Documentation I found:
Quality: Quality wine of defined areas, QbA (Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete)
Grape Variety: Riesling
Wine Growing Region: Rheinhessen
Soil: Strong, chalky lime and clay
Tasting: Floral, green apple and citrus fruit, spicy, finely acidic fruit, attractive freshness, harmoniously dry.
Food Pairing: The ideal accompaniment to light, elegant, modern cuisine, in particular fried or grilled fish and Japanese.
Alcohol Content: 12%
Residual Sugar: 7 g/l
Total Acidity: 7,0 g/l
Serving Temperature: 10°-12° C

My personal opinion:
I expected this wine to be sweeter since Riesling is known for it, but still it appealed more to me than the first one. It tasted fruity, crisp and more acidic. It even gave me the feeling of drinking a good sparkling wine, but without the bubbles.

The last one was a not expected one: Intis

Region: Argentina
Appellation: San Juan
Type: White
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

My personal opinion:
Of course, Sauvignon Blanc is a pretty well-known variety and promotional wise, this variety is positioned as to be a good choice when you want to drink it with white meat. I liked it, because it's also fruity and acidic and that it's easy to drink.

So, with 3 wines last night, it made a very good night!!
I was once taught:

" The best wine is the one you like, for free and in front of you!"

So, what is your favorite white wine?

First food tasting: Jiji's Restaurant

Last saturday I had a very interesting evening. Not only did I have my first meeting with the wine course group, but I had my first food tasting as well. The weeks before I could give up my name for the tasting and so I was eagerly waiting for tha day!!

Since I had my meeting with the wine course group first, my evening started pretty early. I met some interesting people, had a couple glasses of wine.
I chose the Cabernet Sauvignon: Frontera Concha y Toro.


So when I arrived at Jiji's Restaurant, my mood was merry and I just wanted to keep that feeling.

I gotta admit, my whole idea of a food tasting was somewhat different, especially since it was for their new menu. I thought we would all get a bitesize of everything that would possibly make it to the new menu. To be honest, I was already planning on ordering a mix grill after the tasting in case I was still hungry after the tasting.

Of course, I was more than happy to hear that the tasting was free and I could bring a +1. But the unexpected was that every couple could order from a set 'menu', which consisted of 2 menu item : 1 new and one excisting. My boyfriend and I chose for the 'Pasta Blue' and the "stuffed Pork Chops".

These are my opinions:

The Pasta Blue is penne pasta combined with pieces tenderloin, a blue cheese sauce and garnished with blue cheese crumbs, parmessan cheese and alfalfa.

Personally I am not used to my pasta being served in a bowl, but I can understand that this will keep the pasta from becoming soggy. The meat was very tender and luscious. The sauce was watery in the beginning, but near the end, it got a bit thicker and had more flavor. I kinda like it that my food has more than one dimension. The very first thing came into my mind was that the dish is so cheesy and creamy. They put so much parmessan cheese on it and the meat was good. What could've been different was:
- I didn't like the alfalfa. I've noticed that they love to use it as a garnish, but it didn't complement this one.
- the pieces tenderloin could be in smaller pieces, so that it'll be easier to eat together with the pasta.
- the crumbled blue cheese should be in smaller sizes since the cheese is very salty and it kinda have an overwhelming taste over the rest of the dish.

 The stuffed Pork Chop is grilled pork chops stuffed with minced pork meat. It is served on long beans and a honey mustard sauce. The garnish consist of carrot and alfalfa.

My initial thought was...It's MEAT stuffed with MEAT. Can't be better than that, right?

Unfortunately I wasn't impressed with the minced meat in the pork chop. For me, it's a bit dry. Probably because I'm used to a juicier stuffing. Next to that, the honey mustard sauce was a bit too sweet for me, but for most Surinamese people it might be just that, that make them like this dish.





So if I have to choose between these two dishes, the Pasta Blue is the winner!
But all in all, I had a wonderful time at Jiji's. One of the wines we were served as part of the tasting was a real winner! Normally I don't like Merlot, but this one is seriously goood!!

Food critic to be

As a food lover, becoming a food critic seems like the perfect job. It's like dining out for free and even get paid to do that. In my mind, I'm already thinking of all kinds of mouthwatering dishes and great wines to complement it. Sigh,,,,ain't that the ideal dream?

Now I've done some research about this profession and there are several criteria that I need to meet. One important criteria is writing.



There is writing and,,,,,writing. Like talking, I like to write my thoughts about things, but unfortunately that's not the proper way to write a report or even a critic article. I see it with my essays and now...even my thesis. It's just not that easy to write formal english. But I'm working on this to be nearer to becoming a food critic.

This coming saturday, I'll have my first go. I'm in the tasting committee of Jiji's Restaurant's new menu. I'm not sure what to expect yet, but for sure I'll do my best to write a food-critic-like article about it. Just stay tuned...