Auchentoshan at Yes Please!

I had quite a night tasting several variants of whiskey at Yes Please, one of the Fort's newest bars. For this event, we had several premium blends from Auchentoshan, a classic Scottish blended whiskey. The brand has existed for hundreds of years now since the 19th century.

The night went this way:

The brand ambassador, Jamie, discussing the strengths of the Auchentoshan brand and its variants. I look on while taking a sip of this fine whiskey.

The night was actually a tasting event. We were instructed to hone our taste buds to make the experience memorable and dramatic.

The Bowmore, aged 12 years, was a smoky-tasting variant.

This was the flagship variant aged at 18 years. It had a strong, wooden taste that was fit for people of distinction and class.

Fun tip: more and more whiskey drinkers are comprised of people from the younger generation. Women are becoming the target market of this drink which was usually patronized by men.

The bar area at Yes Please reminded me of an underground pub frequented by hipsters and social misfits. There was graffiti everywhere. Chandeliers served as light sources. The place was also decorated with a ton of alcohol bottles.

I tried out this splendid mix of Auchentoshan with lemon zest and earl grey tea and honey. It was a delightfully sweet concoction that had a strong lemon flavor and full-bodied whiskey taste.

I had the drink with slice of the place's hot oven-baked pizza. The crust was soft and chewy.

The fish skewers were also pretty tasty. They were tender as well.

Auchentoshan in its different variants.

Yes Please! is located at 38th St. Uptown, 11th Ave, Taguig, Metro Manila. 

Special Thanks to China, Trisha, and Angelica of Zomato for the invite.

Yes Please for the food and the venue.

Auchentoshan for the splendid alcohol during the event.

Andy Player at the Yard!

My last visit to the Yard, Katipunan was for the event sponsored by Andy Player, a newly launched cola and whiskey mix. The recipe was made from the original blend of the Great American Distillery, USA; and distributed by Emperador Distillers Inc., the flagship brand of tycoon Andrew Tan.

This new drink was a delightful and sweet blend of two well-known drinks combined into a hard drink that's too irresistible to put down. The whiskey was a full-bodied drink with a thick texture. The cola was also of an exquisite quality.

Surprisingly, Andy Player is also great with food, as seen in the pictures:

I tried Andy Player as an accompaniment to the cheese-filled dishes of one of the concessionaires. Their Philly Cheese steak sandwiches have the right amount of meatiness that goes well with the sweet flavor of Andy Player.

Andy Player, while being a new player in the market, has already caught my attention. Its composition of excellent ingredients, sharp taste, and youthful vibe has made it a winning combo for millennials like me. I must say though, that a bottle didn't have a strong alcohol mix; hence one can down a few bottles for an occasion such as a party.

There you have it! Andy Player truly served us an afternoon filled with a generous helping of food and drinks.

Special thanks to China, Trisha, and Angelica of Zomato for the invite

Andy Player for the drinks

The Yard for the food. 

Red Ginger: City of Dreams' Southeast Asian Delicacies under one roof

Red Ginger is City of Dreams Southeast Asian-themed restaurant. It has a vibe and feel for the region's flavors and palates. I'm not so keen on this cuisine, but the food was still pretty excellent.

The interiors had lots and lots of wood. 

Some of their dishes included:

Popiah. This was a fried roll composed of braised duck in thick sauce and wrapped in iceberg lettuce/ It came with a chili sauce for dips. The duck was pretty tasty.

The Singaporean Crispy Grouper was composed of a huge grouper fish deep fried with breading then garnished with onions, garlic, peppercorns, and chili sauce. Every bite was filled with a lot of fresh taste. 

The Baby Squid in Lemongrass and Lime Soy was a conservative helping of baby squid cutlets garnished with egg and a tangy lime soy sauce. It wasn't so remarkable; but I must say that the squid was fresh. 

The Grill Platter was composed of a sample of their best viands, such as the Glazed Pork Belly, the Angus Beef Satay, and the Salmon Fillet with Red Curry and Thai Basil. The Satay had a herb-y and tangy flavor. The salmon was tender and brimming with juice. The pork belly was pretty sweet.

The Salt and Pepper Tofu was composed of deep fried tofu with garlic, shallots, and black pepper. It had a buttery flavor due to the abundance of butter in the recipe.

The Nasi Goreng Jakarta was the restaurant's flagship dish. It was 45% of their daily sales. It was a simple yet elegant mix of shrimp paste fried rice, chicken satay, egg, crackers, and pickled vegetables. It was the ultimate accompaniment to their magnificent viands.

Our dessert was started by the Chocolate Caramel Custard. It was a round of chocolate pudding atop jackfruit puree. I'm not a lover of jackfruit; but I must say that the chocolate pudding was excellent. It just didn't match well with the jackfruit puree, though.

The iced avocado condensada was heavenly. It was their version of our halo-halo, except that avocado was used thoroughly. It also came with coco jelly, red bean, mango, and pinipig.

The Peanut was a ball of peanuts, vanilla ice cream, lime meringue, and salted caramel peanut butter rolled into a huge ball with a heavy peanut taste. 

Red Ginger is located at Upper Ground Floor, City of Dreams Manila, Aseana Boulevard Corner Macapagal Avenue, Entertainment City, Parañaque City. 

Special thanks to Miss China for the invite. 

Bawai's Vietnamese Kitchen: Vietnamese Specialties in the Heart of BGC.

Bawai's Vietnamese Kitchen is one of BGC's best kept secrets when it comes to Vietnamese cuisine. Its ambience, charm, and food never failed to excite me due to my long-standing love for the culture.

Upon arriving, I was treated to these specialties:

The Guoi Cuon was their starter serving of fresh spring rolls. It had big pieces of shrimp slices, pork, lettuce, and vermicelli. I didn't prefer it that well; but I appreciated the effort in making it.

Bawai' House Salad at Php 345 was their delectable mix of cocount sprouts, pork, shrimp and special vinaigrette. It was an excellent starter for a meal.

A fine selection of their dishes.

The Tom Rang Me at Php 590 is composed of large tiger prawns fried with Tamarind sauce, herbs and sesame seeds. I must say that it was easy to eat due to the way it was cut.

Pho Bo. At Php 360, this dish is the quintessential Vietnamese pho. It has the all too familiar rice noodles, tender and thin beef strips, leeks, and the steaming hot broth that serves as the seasoning. The taste perfectly mimics the traditional preparation.

The Ban Da Lon at Php 80 was composed of pandan cake, mung bean, coconut paste, and sesame seeds. It tasted like our local kakanin.

Their Mint Cucumber shake was a tangy mix of mint and cucumber. It wasn't too sweet and it had a herby flavor.

The Bawai Garden Salad was notable for its arugula. It also had the typical mangoes and lettuce in the mix. This was a more conservative version of their salad. 

Com Suon Cha at Php 435 was deep fried pork belly. It was truly delectable for its soft, fall-off-the-bones texture. I enjoyed every bite!

Lastly, the Goi Ga was their version of chicken salad. It had cabbage, carrots, herbs, and steamed chicken. I liked it for its restrained yet full flavor.

One of their wall murals.

Bawai's Vietnamese Kitchen is located at Ground Floor, Uptown Parade, 9th Avenue Corner 36th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. Do visit it if you're into Vietnamese specialties.