First of all; my sincere apology to my readers for being absent for that long; this was out of my control. I had some serious issues with my hosting company Network Solutions but that has been resolved now. VIP Gold Member seems not much of worth these days as I was struggling for almost a month to get access to my site again.

Almost everyone I know likes Crème Brulee’s in all its flavours and size. Probably the most known one is the Vanilla Crème Brulee but I am sure there are Brulee’s around in all kind of flavours including savory and other weird combinations.
When I was introduced to the Prucia French Plum Liquor by Khun K. of CFF here in Bangkok I right away pictured a Plum version of this delicate dessert. I mean not using any plum puree but using exclusively the liquor made of French Plums. Making the base mixture and adding the liquor to an extend to get out the flavour was not a challenge but to retain the texture was. In the end I think I found the right balance.

Tomomi Murakami:

Q. What was your impression when you first tried Prucia?
Prucia has a rich, sweet flavor and aroma. I thought it would go well in cocktails.
Q. What do you think of the bottle design?
When I put the Prucia bottle behind me at the bar it stands out. Customers often ask me, “What is that?” Women especially. I suppose it’s eye-catching enough to be singled out among all the other alcohol.
Q. How do your customers usually drink Prucia?
As a cocktail, they ask me to mix it with champagne, or pour it Mojito style with a shiso garnish. Besides cocktails, many customers order it on the rocks. Many of them like it and order it again the next time.
Q. What made you decide to enter a Prucia cocktail in The Cocktail Award?
I knew from the start that I wanted to use Prucia in The Cocktail Award. I thought the flavor would go well in cocktails. I asked a lot of people for suggestions on how to name my cocktail. There were many suggestions, but in the end I chose “blossom” to evoke the image of a flower that bears fruit. That is how I decided on the name “Prucia Blossom”. I wanted to give it a beautiful color, so I used Yogurito Strawberry to create a soft pink. I plan to spread the word about Prucia cocktails.

Prucia French Plum Liquor Website: http://www.prucia.com/en/index.html

Walking along Thonglor road, one cannot miss a very interesting place called HOPS, House of Beers!

Boasting the greatest Belgian beer selection in Thailand, each of the 22 varieties is served in unique traditional beer glassware. In addition, HOBS offers genuine Belgian favorites and local dishes to compliment the extensive drinks list, which goes beyond the great imported beers.

Beaming live sports from the two big LCD screens, HOBS clientele enjoy coverage of all popular sporting events and can take advantage of the FREE WIFI to keep connected in an ideal social setting.

Trible Karmelit Beer: Blond, robust, smooth, and fruity three grain top fermented beer, refermented in the bottle. Brewed with pride and patience after Karmeliet tradition with wheat, oat and barley. 100% natural. Has been brewed at Van Steenberge for Brewery Bosteels for some time until recently. 290 Baht a bottle

Waterloo Tribel

Appearance : Caramel dark with a generous and creamy head.
Aroma : Delicious fragrance of fresh yeast outlined by scents of fruit.
Taste : Light bitterness with a touch of caramel and roasted malt. Smooth beer with strong personality yet in harmonious balance.
Remark : Tasting between 5° and 12°C.

Of course; after tasting a couple of Belgium beers one gets hungry. No big deal here in Bangkok; next door is She Bar, serving excellent Thai fair with German Beers on tab!

Getting There: Located in the Middle of Soi Thonglor opposite McDonalds (J Avenue). Get off BTS at Thonglor Station and ride by Taxi, Tuk Tuk or Motorbike Taxi to Thonglor Soi 16.

Pricing (Cheap Eats/Moderate/Expensive): Moderate
Hours: 11:00am till late
Phone: 02-392-3513

When it rains in Dubai; it rains bucket loads topped with some gusty winds and hail! So was it on January 1st 2010. The day started with a clear sky and by lunch some suspicious cloud formation darkened the sky. Having the brunches in full swing and stations exposed in the open we started to worry if the rain will hold back at least until the brunch guests had enough and return home or to the bars or both. Surely an hour later the sky opened with lightning, thunder and heavy rain with a hail storm.

Dubai enjoys an arid subtropical climate, with blue skies and sunshine all year round. The hottest months are between June and September, when temperatures can soar to 45°C and more during the day and humidity levels are very high. Even the sea temperature touches on 40°C during the summer months, and swimming pools at hotels are usually cooled to be refreshing. Temperatures are only slightly more moderate the rest of the year, the coolest time being between December and March. There is very little rainfall in Dubai, but when showers do fall it is mainly in the cooler months.

The Turks brought the coffee to Europe, which is a well known fact. But they left us also a very delicate sweet, Nougat. There are basically two types of Nougat, a white and a brown one. Of course there are many more variations but these are regionally influenced.

Spanish turrón follows the traditional recipes with toasted almonds, sugar, honey, and egg whites. Torrone from Italy includes these same basic ingredients as well as vanilla or citrus flavoring, and is often sandwiched between two very thin sheets of rice paper.

Australian nougat is produced by a similar method to French nougat but usually has a 50% almond, it can contain Macadamia nuts, apricots, or other texture modifiers. The Mudgee Nougat company are making a pistachio and cranberry variety. The nougat is commonly produced in two varieties: soft and crunchy. During candy making, this is done by heating a sugar solution to different temperatures before folding in egg whites and honey.

“Wiener (Viennese) Nougat“, or, in German, “Schmelz-Schokolade” (molten chocolate) is a variant which contains only sugar, cocoa butter, almonds, and cocoa mass, and has a mellow consistency. In Germany, gianduia is traditionally called nougat.

Persian nougat, known as gaz, is a variety that has been produced in Isfahan, Iran for many centuries by Ashrafi Gaz, Sekkeh Gaz and other traditional producers. It contains the sugary extract of the root of Tamarix.