Oct 2016 RACV City Club Melbourne Members Dining Room

Oct 2016 RACV City Club Melbourne Members Dining Room

One of my favourite places to dine in Melbourne is the Members Dining Room of the RACV City Club and, as I was in Melbourne recently, I had dinner there yet again.

The RACV Club has one of the best Australian wine lists in Melbourne, probably Australia, maybe that is why I like the place, they have a great selection of wines from all over Australia and usually a few vintages of each wine. The Club has been the Winner of Best Club Restaurant Wine List – Gourmet Traveller Wine List of the Year Awards: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2009 and was inducted to the Hall of Fame 2016. For more

2016 October Brown Bag

2016 October Brown Bag

It has been a while since my last post, work keeps on getting in the way of life. The October Brown Bag was a different format to our usual Brown Bags.

As the Tower Club was hosting one of the leading Chefs from Mexico City, Chef Arturo Fernandez, we had a larger attendance than usual. As there were around 15 people the Dictator of Brown Bag, Robert Rees of Wine Exchange Asia, demanded either a magnum per 2 people or 2 bottles of the same wine per two people. This meant that everyone could get a decent pour, and due to the larger attendance the wines were not poured blind as usual.

The Food

Chef Arturo Fernandez’s home restaurant is Restaurante Raíz in Mexico City, which sounds like an interesting place to visit. According to Restaurantes.com it is a good choice, this is what they say (via google translate)

In the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City, in Schiller Street 331, chefs, Arturo Fernandez, Alfredo Chavez, and Israel Montero, present us with a restaurant offering Mexican cuisine with products called Root Polanco.

His concept is called cooking stations, this means that every four months the concept is changed by variations of the seasons; In addition, the content of the letter is changed every 2 days, the objective of the menu is that everything is fresh, seasonal and can enjoy food from the sea and earth, different vegetables and more. So let yourself be surprised by going to this place.

Will have to check it out when I visit Mexico City.

Chef Arturo Fernandez and the Dictator of Brown Bag

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2016 Singapore Grand Prix

2016 Singapore Grand Prix

This year I was not lucky enough to attend the 2016 Singapore Grand Prix, I had to watch on TV and from my balcony whilst waiting leave for the airport for a business trip. Disappointing as Daniel Ricciardo was started second fastest and looked likely to have a good race, which he did.

Unfortunately Daniel did not win, but he made it an exciting finish. Thanks to the wonders of the technology I was able to watch the final laps live in the cab on the way to the airport.

I have a great view of the area around the start / finish straight, so took a few random pics. My view would be better if they remove the Benjamin Sheares Bridge.

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Sunrise in Singapore From My Balcony

Sunrise in Singapore From My Balcony

From my balcony I am lucky enough to have a great view of the Sunrise, this morning’s was pretty good, especially as there was no wind so the Kallang Basin was a mirror.

This weekend the Singapore F1 is on, so I also have good view of the start finish strait and a new helipad that was built over the past week, not sure if it is for VIPs or just in case of a medical emergency. For more

2016 September Brown Bag

2016 September Brown Bag

The first Brown Bag Wine Night for a very long time was held at the Singapore Tower Club 06 Sep 2016.

What is a Brown Bag Wine Night?

The Singapore version of the Brown Bag Wine Dinners is basically a night of the Wine Options Game, the game rules are provided at the end of this post, where each attendee brings a “masked” bottle to share that meets the theme criteria. The owner of the wine will then ask the table questions about their wine in accordance with the rules of the Wine Options Game. By “masked” I mean that the wine is hidden in a “Brown Bag” or, as they are not so easy to come by in Singapore, wrapped in alfoil.

Wine Options nights are lots of fun and informative, even more so when everyone brings their “A” game like on this night.

The Theme

The theme, selected by Robert Rees of Wine Exchange Asia the Chair Person of our group, this month was meant to be Australian Cabernet that are from regions that have a cooler climate than the Coonawarra of South Australia. Luckily a few of the attendees were not so attentive and only read Aussie Cabernet Sauvignon and bought along a few great Coonawarra Cabs.

 

My favourite wines on the night were:

  • 1998 Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon Magnum
  • 1996 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
  • 1980 Brokenwood Coonawarra, South Australia, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Cabernet Sauvignon Hermitage Magnum
  • 2002 Clarendon Hills Hickinbotham Cabernet Sauvignon

To be honest all the wines on the night were very good, but if I have to choose these were my top four.

There was no standout favourite on the night but both the Riddoch and the 707 being discussed the most at the end of the night, so I guess they could be considered the top two, although, IMHO, the Brokenwood should have been added to the mix as it was also outstanding. For more