Wednesday, 15 May 2013

[Event Invitation] Alan's Gastronomy 阿伦阿公阿嬷来呷饭 (TAIWAN BEER INCLUDED!)

I had the honor to attend an exclusive event "阿公阿嬷来呷饭on 12th May 2013, with special thanks to Alex from Kaimay for the kind invitation! 

Yes, just in case you are wondering what this event is about - It's Lianhe Wanbao (联合晚报)'s 30th Anniversary, in which exquisitely tailored Taiwanese cuisines were served with...

TAIWAN BEER!!
(Yes, you will be surprised! I shan't spoil the surprise and say more here.. Just read on to find out yourself!)



It was held at Copthorne King's hotel, a few bus stops away from Tiong Bahru.


Look at the welcoming standee when I was heading towards the lift! 
Cute huh?!


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The stickers that were issued to the attendees.. which I have kept as a souvenir now. LOL.




I managed to meet with Alex and he led us to our designated table... And boy, was I delighted to witness cans and cans of Taiwan Beer on all the tables! Of course, how could I simply NOT camwhore with them?!

(I have many friends who have tried Taiwan Beer and loved it. So here, this is for you!)




Both Pei Wen and I came out with lotsa silly poses while holding a can of Green Apple beer, and one of the photos turned out like this: =_=



We were treated to awesome Hokkien songs at the same time by a singer who sang LIVE... (Although I had no idea what she was singing as I do not not understand Hokkien, but I have heard of those songs before!)
She has really awesome vocals. (x_x)
As a used-to-be-potential singer myself, I am jealous!! Hahaha.



The event soon commenced with Alan Ng a.k.a "阿伦", reowned Lianhe Wanbao Food Critic, hosting us. He had this funny sense of humor that was really entertaining!
It was then that I realized that this cartoon illustration is actually a portrayal of the Alan himself. Haha, really adorable!



The Glamorous menu that was served to us:
(Noticed something interesting about the menu? It's NOT your typical restaurant menu!)


Yes, some of the dishes had TAIWAN BEER in them!
Special bo??
Gosh, I was really impressed at how unique the combination was. Seems that Taiwan Beer is more than just your ordinary beer for casual drinking.

I am sure some of you would definitely go "Huh? Are you serious? Doesn't it taste weird when combined with food?!"

Well... NO, NO and NO!!
And even if you are a non-alcoholic person, I am sure you will enjoy the taste of them too.


Let me show you the first dish that was served during the start of the event:
(I was lucky enough to be seated at a table where everyone has the habit of taking photos of the food! HAHAHA!! But you can't blame us - It's because of people like us that you can get to enjoy looking at yummy-licious photos!)

1) Chilled Chicken marinated with Green Apple Beer, Chilled Pig's Ear Jello, Crispy-fried Prawn coated with Spicy Honey Sauce, Baked Salmon Fillet coated with Flavored Salt.


Shiok! 
I specially took this shot so that I can blog about how nice and tender this chicken meat was. LOL:
Yes, this is the meat that was marinated with Green Apple Beer. It's really super duper interesting how you can taste the distinct flavor of green apple while chewing on the tender chicken meat!
Surprisingly, it blended really well... And I remembered this was one of my favorite from the menu as I ate quite alot!



2) Double-boiled Snakehead Fish Fillet & Century Egg with Chinese Herb Soup.

Okay, I think this dish didn't include any beer in it.. But I still liked it!
Probably cos' I am a huge fan of century eggs. 


Okay, here's a close-up shot:
(Not so well taken, but I guess I shall just make do with it since it's the only shot I got.)




3) Crispy-fried Seabass with Pineapple Beer topped with Enoki Mushroom, Capsicums, Pineapple Black Fungus and Sweet & Sour Sauce


See? I purposely took a photo with all the cans of Taiwan Beer in the background as props.
Yes, the sea bass looked really delicious... And the same goes for the taste!

Okay, I managed to get a can of pineapple beer in my hands. Buay tahan liao LEH! Must take a picture!




I take.. I take.. I take, I take, take!

In between munching on our food, I grabbed Pei Wen and took this random shot together.
Sorry, that's how ladies are normally like.


Ok, enough of our faces. Don't wanna spoil your appetite.
 On to the next dish!


4) Crispy-fried Duck marinated with Lychee Beer & Lychee


OMG! *dances around the room*
I LOVE lychees.. So much that I began poking at those lychees and putting them in my mouth.
And what can be more awesome than having your typical duck meat marinated with lychee beer?!
Don't even try to think it would taste disgusting - YOU have to try it personally yourself to be surprised at how well it turned out.
I could tell that the chef behind all these dishes had invested a huge amount of effort and hard work into these!
It's really genius how he managed to pair dishes with the right flavor of beer. 

Here's another dish that will take you by surprise:
Braised Mustard Plant with Green Grape Beer topped with Crab Meat & Red Carrot sauce



Somehow reminds me of shark's fin! Hahaha. If you are a fan of carrots or mustard plants, you'll totally dig this. (I think my mum would!)
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How about:
Chilled Taiwanese Udon Noodles topped with Spicy Sesame?


Unlike the usual Japanese-style udon, it is tastier and "bouncier"!
The udon noodles had also been cut into shorter pieces, so it was easier to eat as well.
And they came chilled... So I was able to gobble this without the fear of having my tongue scalded. HAHA.




The last dish:
Mango pudding with Mango Beer!


Yet another of my favorite! I love puddings and mangoes!
Seriously, I don't mind being overdosed by the taste of mangoes.
The only downside is that you won't be able to taste the mango beer in this pudding at all because it was already a mango-flavored pudding to begin with.

But I still LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.

Ah.. As the event was drawing to a close, I immediately took the opportunity to camwhore with the cans of beer.

*smiles*

(These are the existing flavors that were used for the different dishes!)


Here are my thoughts on Taiwan Beer:
You don't need to be an alcoholic person to drink it. In fact, the alcohol content is quite mild, and you will actually enjoy the fruity taste.
And in case you are wondering, no.. It isn't that easy to get drunk. HAHA.
I don't usually touch alcoholic products, but Taiwan Beer is an exception for me!
Does anyone share the same thoughts as me as well?!
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Now, being an inquisitive blogger, I went to the exclusive Taiwan Beer booth as well after the event:
Well.. Here's WHY I said it's exclusive.
These bottles of beer are not officially launched and out on the market yet...
It is definitely an honor to be able to taste it first hand!
(Pssst.. If you are interested to find out when they will be out in the market, you'll have to stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled for updates!)


Are you excited yet???!
(I have tried samples of them, and I would say that the alcoholic taste was actually quite strong.)



Mollac and Onion Wine:


Another series: Lychee, Black Plum and Green Plum


After all the wine sampling and photo-taking...
I became fascinated with the props at the booth:


Especially this air-filled Taiwan Beer "balloon"!
I was so fascinated that Pei Wen actually went to the staff and asked them if they could give this to me. LOL
I almost had a shock.
But of course they didn't give it to me, lah. It's meant to be their prop!


Ah, it was a very fruitful event.. And even more heartwarming to witness so many elderly enjoying themselves & the food!!
Taiwan Beer was very kind to give me 18 cans of beer (they come in a huge set!) to bring home, too.
 Yes, it was darn heavy BUT guess what? I managed to lug it back home by normal public transport!
HEH HEH HEH.
Passer-bys were staring at me like I was an alien from Mars.. But who cares...!

And here's a photo sent to me by Alex while I was trying to juggle the weight of the beer cans(Thanks huh!):
Yes, I know. I'm a blogger-turned auntie!
HAHAHA.


That's all, folks!
Do give Taiwan Beer your support and stay updated with their latest promotions and activities by giving them the THUMBS-UP  here (How could you NOT love them?!!):


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1 comment:

  1. I am hungry now, seeing your photos makes me more hungry

    ReplyDelete