stumbling upon the good life – savoring food, discovering wine, and exploring places
From the category archives:
People are never on the fence about Bubble Tea. They either love it or hate it. Usually those that have a distaste for mixing textures don’t appreciate the gummy tapioca balls surprising them during a sip of Thai tea. For those of us that love bubble tea, there’s no greater sight than seeing your neighborhood bubble tea guy stopped on the side of the street as you’re heading back to the office after a lunch break. [keep reading…]
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Ever been at a wine tasting, dinner party, or other event featuring wine and some know-it-all (probably with a beard and wearing a sweater) swirls his glass vigorously and then tilts the glass sideways to observe the streaking wine (wine legs)? Don’t feel bad if you believed the explanation that followed explaining that this was a good wine because it had “nice legs” or some other nonesense. This is one of the most persistent wine myths around. Read the explanation of why wine “has legs” (or “tears” for our francophile readers) after the jump.
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Our first event as “Accidental Epicurean Events” went off wonderfully last night. Another big thank you goes out to our event sponsors – Epicurious, Underground Wines, and Divine MedSpa. Helena from Epicurious, Sianne from UW, and Christine from Divine MedSpa were so relaxed, calm, and generally cool and that vibe came through to our guests making for a really great evening. (pictures of guests at bottom of post) [keep reading…]
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Hey all,
In the few months we’ve been running Accidental Epicurean , we’ve taken the website from 1500 readers to over 13,800 last month! We’ve put up over 100 informative posts on food, wine, spas, hotels, and different Asian cities. Now it’s time for another new feature at Accidental Epicurean…the hosted event.
“Stumbling upon the good life” involves more than just reading about wines, foods, etc. You need to get out and try things for yourself, deciding what interests you. So we’ve teamed up with various venues and product providers around town in order to bring you some unique flavors and experiences you might not have discovered on your own. And we’re striving to give you these opportunities in a safe, unpretentious environment where it’s OK to not know all the right things to say or do.
Next week on the 12th of August we’ll be hosting our first event with the great folks of Epicurious and Underground Wines. Epicurious will provide light bites of Asian fusion to pair with the New Zealand wines provided by Underground Wines. Better still you get to sample 6 out of 8 wines… this way you’re not forced to take a predetermined 6 wines even if you don’t particularly like a grape or varietal. This way you can get what you want and even team up with a friend or guest to sample the other two 
The wines being offered are:
If you are a faithful Singapore reader or just in town on the 12th please make a point of RSVPing today. We’re keeping the event smaller at only 40 or so people and things are filling up quickly already. If you miss this event, look for more in the future and if you’re a venue or product provider interested in partnering with us in the future please drop us a line via the contact page.
Thanks,
Paul
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Beautiful people and glamourous cocktails and this river-view stunner
In the vein of big city bars with a view is The Glamour Bar on the Bund in Shanghai. I tend to have an affinity for Glamour Bar though, over say, the usual bar-with-a-view spots in Asia, e.g. Vertigo in Bangkok, Skybar in Kuala Lumpur or Felix at the Peninsula Hong Kong. Unlike many of its sleek, chic cousins, The Glamour Bar is bursting with personality…like your outrageous gay friend decked out in his most fabulous ensemble. It’s fun, lively, spirited and a little cheeky. [keep reading…]
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The relaxing ritual of tea ceremony after a day of sightseeing
When you go to a place like Beijing where there are tourist attractions so historically important that they make their way onto the Unesco World Heritage site list, you figure you ought to go see them. The problem is…so does everyone else. Unfortunately this can make what is supposed to be a refined cultural undertaking a bit frustrating – jostling tourists, endless lines, and after all that work, you feel a bit beaten and battered…and maybe not even in the best state of mind to fully appreciate the significance of the attraction that brought you there. This is what happened to us on a recent visit to the Forbidden Palace in Beijing. After hand-to-hand combat with a sea of international tourists, we longed for an escape. And so after making a surreptitious exit out of the East gate of the Forbidden Palace, we stumbled upon the Terrace Tea House, a quiet retreat from the chaos. [keep reading…]
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Like Brooklyn is to Manhattan, Kichijoji is to Tokyo – with some damn good spare ribs and octopus!
If you want to see real local flavour in an easily accessible Tokyo neighbourhood, take the 15 minute ride to Kichijoji. Kichijoji, in the Western area of Tokyo, is about 5 stops on the express train from Shibuya on the Keio Inokashira line (¥190 / $2 USD) and is to Tokyo what Brooklyn is to Manhattan – a cool little area where a lot of people live when they want a city feel but with a bit more space. [keep reading…]
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Cocktails with a panoramic view of Tokyo
Every big city has one – the high-rise hotel with the sweeping, panaromic view of the skyline. In the case of Tokyo, one of our favourites is the Bello Visto Bar on the 40th floor of the Cerulean Tower Hotel in Shibuya. [keep reading…]
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Littered with watering holes, this street makes a great stop for drinks
I don’t know if it is the charming conservation shophouses on the street or the drink specials that keep us coming…but we often end up in the Emerald Hill area of Singapore for weekday happy hours or a weekend drink to kick off the evening. While we have eaten at a number of the bar / restaurants, Paul and I agree this is not a dining destination per se, it’s really more about hanging out with friends over drinks.
Here are a few of our favourite highlights from Emerald Hill.
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Hey all,
As we move along into healthy week, I thought I’d do a little roundup of drink information for you. A few years back when I was still living in Coppell, Texas I started trying to live a healthier life. I was running to the gym every other day and supplementing meals with smoothies. I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t losing weight. I was doing everything right…or so I thought. The smoothie was actually my problem….
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