Anniversary of Thai-German relations celebrated in style with German wine

December 3, 2009

The other day Lufthansa celebrated it’s 50 years of scheduled flight services to Bangkok, Thailand. I was invited to a function at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel which provided not only a splendid backdrop to the event but also supplied the guests with very jummy culinary delights.

Also the wines, a red and a white, both from Germany, were first class. Lufthansa served a 2008 Spätburgunder from Meyer-Näkel, Ahr and a 2008 Riesling from Hermann Dönnhoff, Nahe. What a treat. I could not believe my luck.

When I was a student of agriculture at Bonn University, one of my fellow students, came from the nahe wine region. She had a sticker on her car reading: “Nahewein ein Edelstein”, freely translated as “Wine from the Nahe a gemstone” (unfortunately this does not rhyme as the German slogan). Both wines were gemstones, indeed.

In the end the Riesling somehow blended better with the food, a mix of Thai, German, and other cuisines served in small portions in a snack-type fashion. The anniversary was celebrated in style with beautiful visualizations (among them old photos from good old Bangkok), street food, a twist dancing group, sepia photo taking, a choir and other singers. I wish Lufthansa many more successful years with their venture in Thailand.

PS: I did not bring a camera and therefore do not possess any photos. I also somehow forgot to study the labels of the bottles carefully. That’s a cumbersome affair for me if waiters are serving.

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Hosting the vintner – with Timo Mayer at Patara in Bangkok

November 3, 2009

I admit, we take all our friends traveling through Bangkok to our favorite Thai restaurant if time permits. Patara is Thailand’s best restaurant and was awarded the corresponding prize for this achievement in 2009. We just love to dine there.

When Timo Mayer and his two daughters came through Bangkok we were pleased to have them for a couple of days and show them around. The Mayers’ came from Germany where Timo was helping with some wine-making in his native village near Stuttgart. He was also selling some of his Australian wine in various places (London for instance).

He was loaded with different bottles of very unique wines some of which we tasted together at various occasions. But one evening was reserved for fine Thai cuisine. Patara sent his tucktuck taxi service to pick us up from our home in Thonglor.

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The colorful entrees

We decided that we would order the food and Timo would choose the wine. As always we started with the three colorful delicacies shown above. Somehow I had problems taking clear and crisps shots of the food that evening. But you can look up earlier posts in this blog where you can find some more photos of the various Patara signature dishes.

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Happy diners

Timo selected the ‘2007 “Hugel” Riesling’ the classic wine from Hugel & Fils from Alsace. Jean Hugel, the senior vintner and wine-maker of this pioneer family of wine-making in Alsace was a legend and had passed away only in June this year.

I had never tasted their wines before and was very excited about the choice. Hugel and Fils maintain not only a very informative website but also an entertaining blog. I had visited Riquewihr, the picturesque Alsatian village where the winery is located many years ago (actually decades ago).

As a high-school student I had visited Alsace and its villages with my school and tasted my first Gewuerztraminer ever. A couple of years later I had seen a play at my “alma mater”: the Bonn University music and arts festival telling the story of the Alsace in three languages. After that my fascination with Alsace was complete. I had the chance to visit several times but mainly the north of the region. Our favorite destination was a restaurant, Au Cheval Blanc near Wissembourg but this is another story.

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The ‘2007 Hugel Riesling’

The ‘2007 “Hugel” Riesling’ is a very fine wine, young and vibrant. 2007 was a good vintage because the grapes had the opportunity to ripen for the longest time ever and therefore the grapes were very healthy. As a consequence the wines show great elegance and balance. The wine is fruity with mineral notes, a typical Alsatian Riesling with the characteristic petrol note. I love Riesling with Thai food.

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After we “demolished” the food

Our evening was great fun. The culinary delights of Thailand are just “breathtaking” for the palate. I can only highly recommend the restaurant. I love the atmosphere and the professional and friendly service.

We talked a lot about Timo’s German visit, his impressions, the adventures and, of course, wine. But when friends from afar visit, time flies. That’s how it was. Hours shrink to seconds and in a blimp of the eye it’s gone.

Address:
Patara Fine Thai Cuisine
375 Soi Thonglor 19 Sukhumvit 55, Klongtonnua Vadhana, Bangkok 10110
Tel. +66-2185 2960-1 Fax. +66-2185 2962
www.patarathailand.com

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Italian wines for Sunday lunch

September 23, 2009

Sundays in Bangkok is usually fish day. There are many beautiful fish for sale in the markets. So for lunch we select a fish and a white wine. Often I choose to have a Riesling with the food. This time we went “Italian” and bought two bottles of white wine, one on the cheap side, the other a bit dearer. The former was a ‘2007 Montecelli Soave Classico’ from Piave in the Veneto, the latter a ‘2008 Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio’ from the Trentino, in Alto-Adige, Italy.

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2007 Montecelli Soave Classico

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2008 Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio

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The Soave might costs about 3-4 Euro in Europe (or less). If I would buy the Pinot Grigio in the US I would have to pay 25 to 28 US$ for the bottle. In Thai Bath I paid about 500 for the Soave and about 1,000 for the Pinot, which corresponds roughly to 10 and 20 Euro respectively. We liked both wines. The Soave is a bit edgy and had a salty/oily after taste. The Pinot Grigio from Santa Margherita is just great, light bodied, spritzy with crisp acidity and a light lemon-citrus flavour.

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Fried potatoes, zucchini and onions

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Red snapper in caper and olive marinade

The food was simple. Red snapper is a beautiful fish which I like very much. The recipe is from the Philosopher’s Kitchen by Francine Segan. I have written about this fabulous cooking book in earlier entries of my blog.

I just love lunches like this one. We all relax, enjoy the food and the company. This was the first time we moved away from the dry Riesling-fish pairing and moved tp the Italian whites. We will repeat this, for sure.
And as Epicurus said: “Pleasure is the beginning and end of living happily”.

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Birds growing up

September 22, 2009

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Birds with proper feathers

I regularly monitor the development of my two little birds, and as you can see from the photos, they are growing up fast, very fast. I am very protective of my Yellow-vented Bulbuls and hope they can grow up in safety to become beautiful birds. The nest is now getting smaller for the growing birds.

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Always hungry

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Also the parents are very attentive and wary of the humans of course.

The Yellow-vented Bulbul or Merbah Kapur (Pycnonotus goiavier) of the passerine family is quite common in South-East Asia. They originate from the mangrove forests and coastal scrubs which were so widespread in this part of the world. They forage not only on insects but also eat small fruit, berries, sip nectar and nibble on young shoots. They are also not afraid to browse for feed on the ground.

The adult birds are about 20 cm long, their crest is slight and they are yellow under their tail. They remind me of Zorro as the black stripes on their face look like a mask. Both parents incubate and raise the young. We had only two eggs but they lay up to five. I look forward to the next stage in their upbringing.

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Two young birds

September 19, 2009

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My two little Merbah Kapur – Yellow-vented Bulbuls have grown a little. The parents are very busy collecting insects to fee the two hungry beaks. They have also grown some feathers.

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New chicks on the block

September 13, 2009

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Two eggs only

Today I discovered that the little Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) or Merbah Kapur as we call them in Malay, which had built an elaborate nest in on of the bushes just next to the table on our terrace, and which had laid two eggs some time ago, has had young ones. Our terrace is about 80 sq. meters and we planted a lot of different pot plants. I found the two hungry birds today. Welcome to Bangkok.

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Eggs become chicks

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Restaurant review: Al Majlis, Bangkok

September 11, 2009

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Do you want to have an atmospheric evening on a Friday night in Bangkok (actually any night will do)? If the answer is yes, then Al Majlis (actually the full name is Al Majlis Tearoom) is absolutely the right place for you. The Moroccon-inspired tearoom is the perfect place in busy Bangkok to relax and plunge in a long lost dream of a “Thousand an one night” experience.

I very much like the interior of the restaurant. Moreover, in the inner courtyard tent-like structures have been erected which remind me of a “caravanserai”. The sofa beds are very comfortable; it feels like sinking into a divan, a “Thousand and one night”-experience.

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Needless to say the food is excellent (I love couscous), the service friendly and there is also a wine list which offers sufficient choice. Moreover, I just love the design and the furnishings; it gives you the illusion that you went away, far away, traveled in time to a leisurely place where the hassle of the modern world canot reach you. You order a water pipe, a shisha, and just relax.

Address:
Al Majlis Tearoom
Praduu Spa Club
83/8 soi Charoenchai (Ekamai 12)
Sukhumvit 63 road
Bangkok 10110

T: +662 392 2345
F: +662 392 2344
E: info@almajlis-tearoom.com

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 4.30pm – 1am
Sat-Sun: 2pm – 1am

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A night at the opera

September 8, 2009

I would would love to talk to Giuseppe Verdi.

He talked to me last night through his masterpiece, La Traviata, which was the opening act of Bangkok’s 11th International Festival of Dance and Music.

It was performed by Ekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theatre, Russia. Playing Violetta Valery was soprano Natalia Starkova, a gold medallist at the International Bellini Vocalists’ Competition. Alfredo was played by Dymtry Kuzmin, a soloist with the National Opera of Ukraine. The conductor was Mikhail Granovsky from Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.

To say it from the outset: this was a fantastic performance. Of course the end of La Traviata is tragic but the joyous parts are equally beautiful. All the singers were just great and they harmonised so well.

For me as a vintner, the so called “Drinking Song” (well its’ actually about the beauty of love) is just wonderful.
Here are the lyrics:

Alfredo
Libiamo ne’ lieti calici,
che la bellezza infiora;
E la fuggevol ora
S’inebrii a voluttà.

Libiam ne’ dolci frementi
che suscita l’amore,
poichè quell’ occhio al core
omnipotente va.
Libiamo, amore, amor fra i calici
più caldi baci avrà.

Tutti
Ah! libiam, amor fra’ calici
più caldi baci avrà.

Violetta
Tra voi sapò dividere
Il tempo mio giocondo;
Tutto è follia nel mondo
Ciò che non è piacer.
Godiam, fugace e rapido
E il gaudio dell’amore;
E un fior che nasce e muore,
Nè più si può goder.
Godiam!
C’invita un fervido
Accento lusinghier.

Tutti
Ah! Godiamo!
La tazza e il cantico
La notte abbella e il riso,
In questo paradiso
ne scopra il nuovo dì.

Violetta
La vita è nel tripudio.

Alfredo
Quando non s’ami ancora..

Violetta
Nol dite a chi ‘ignora.

Alfredo
E il mio destin così.

Tutti
Ah! sì godiamo..
La tazza e il cantico
La notte abbella e il riso;
Godiamo, in questo paradiso
Ne sopra il nuovo dì.

I could not find Natalia and Dymtry on youtube singing this song. That’s the bad news. The good news is you can go and see her performing live.

But I will not let you go without the song: here it is. There are many versions of this song on the internet. By chance I selected this one.
Salute Giuseppe

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2008 Aspen Estate Semillion Sauvignon Blanc

September 6, 2009

Wine prices in Bangkok are somehow comparable to what we call in German “pharmacy prices”, meaning a price for a slightly overpriced product; the reason for the price being that if you buy such an “ordinary product” in a pharmacy you pay top notch prices as for a “luxury” good.

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Every time I go shopping in our supermarket around the corner in Thonglor, I have this “pharmacy” experience when buying wine. Take my latest buy, a ‘2008 Aspen Estate Semillion Sauvignon Blanc’, a simple mass-produced, industrial wine which is shipped to any place in Australia for about A$ 5.40 per bottle plus a A$ 0.90 surcharge for shipping. This wine costs a whopping A$ 17.30 (about 10 Euro) in my supermarket. With such prices one tends to consume only medicinal dosages of fermented grape juice.

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Mind you, because of the great wine glut in Australia, companies are flogging their wines for much lower prices than in the past. Therefore, wine prices in my supermarket have come down a little. We also have more choices at the lowest price point (350 to 500 Bath/bottle). Even a Yering Station white you can have for 650 to 800 Bath which is not bad. It is just the taxes which kill us here in Thailand.

I know already your suggestion: why on earth are you not turning your back on Thailand and moving into vintners heaven? Well, eventually I will, be patient mate.

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“To die for”: Argentinian wine

September 5, 2009

Last night we went out for a drink with friends. “To die for” was our aim, a fashionable hang-out place with the mildly decadent décor of sofa beds (divans) in the back yard in Thonglor, Bangkok. I chose a bottle of red from Argentina, a ‘2004 Trumpeter Reserve’ by Rutini Wines.

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What a pleasant surprise this wine was. Full-bodied, succulent with a good finish. Great drop from the new world. The wine is a blend of Tempranillo and Malbec to equal parts and the rest (about 30%) is Cabernet Sauvignon, a well rounded affair. 35 Euro in a restaurant in Bangkok is an OK price, I think.

We relaxed on the divan and watched the young fashionable Thais socializing. What a great end to a busy working week. Cheers folks

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