The Ground Cafe & Bar: Singapore Bar Trail #2

The next Bar that was up on my trail was The Big Bad Wolf located at 226 Tanjong Katong Road.

Since I was craving for some sweet dessert,
Lisa @callecat told me that BBW have this Apple Pie
with Vanilla Ice Cream resting on top of the pie from their menu
along with their usual alcohol products.
It was that certain dessert that made
BBW as the 2nd stop of my Bar trail.

But as we were walking along the street
where BBW was supposed to be located,
we ended up passing through
the whole street with no trace of the Bar.

We double checked the address, and we actually found
another bar that was standing on where
Big Bad Wolf was previously situated.

The Ground Cafe & Bar took over The Big Bad Wolf.

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We took a quick look at the shop, and we were  

captivated by the coziness that their place brought 

from the outside of their entrance.

So we decided to give it a go 

since we didn't want to waste the travel time

that we took just to get to this area at the same time.

The Ground Cafe & Bar brings this relaxing and casual vibe simply with their lighting inside the store and the signage right at their doorstep. Though they used wood instead of the traditional diner stainless steel for their fixtures and furniture, all they needed was a counter area with bar stools surrounding the main ordering booth to actually make it a Modern Diner that specializes with beers and other alcoholic beverages in contrast to the usual American Diner with sandwiches and milkshakes menu.

The place easily attracts customers that are looking for a place 

to have a good talk and spend some time unwinding and 

and for those who needs some escape off from the busy world.

La Trappe Quadrupel, alc. vol. 10%;Netherlands

Drunk Man's Remarks: La Trappe Quadrupel is a coffee and caramel flavoured beer with supposedly a scent of Vanilla. The Vanilla scent was almost as vague as the coffee taste in the beer with only the caramel being present as an aftertaste.

Straight up!: It was actually just like a regular beer with a hint of sweetness with a very strong beer scent.

De Molen Hel & Verdomenis, alc. vol. 12%;Netherlands

Drunk Man's Remarks: De Molen Hel & Verdomenis is a stout beer with bitter and powerful doses of chocolate, coffee, berries & licorice. The chocolate and licorice smell was just lingering all over the tip of the drinking glass. 

The taste was exactly what it was made with, but the bitterness just overpowered the other flavors since I was expecting it to be much more on the sweeter side.

Straight up!:Though I was looking more of the chocolate flavor from this beer, the overall taste and quality was just right to justify its very expensive price of 24SGD. It was more on the pleasure of drinking something that was carefully brought together as a drink, and the chocolate and licorice smell was just fantastic every time you take a gulp.

Rekorderlig Strawberry Lime Cider, alc. vol. 4.5%

*A Lisa favorite*

Drunk Man's Remarks: It is almost like a Shirley Temple with Lime Cordial, but as a bottled Cider.

Straight up!: The color is as vibrant as its flavor. A person could probably go drink up to 4 bottles until the alcohol kicks in. Definitely a ladies' drink.

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To go along with our drinks, we ordered a snack and a dessert from their very classy menu that offers items from nachos, pastas, sandwiches and pizzas.

The Chicken Cheese Meatball should be served with a warning sign, as these deadly balls are actually volcano cheese bursts waiting to happen. I luckily wasn't victimized by the cheese explosion, but Lisa sadly, was not an exception. As a substitute for my supposedly apple pie with ice cream, we ordered Affogato al Cafe, a Vanilla Ice cream with a shot of espresso and cinnamon, that just helped us to be pulled back to reality every time the alcohol from our drinks tried to take over. Thanks to the espresso that was bathing the ice cream inside the bowl.

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Tipsy Notes:

Quadrupel - is actually a brand name of a beer brewed by De Koningshoeven Brewery in the Netherlands. It could also refer to as an especially strong style of dark ale beer with nothing less than  10% alcohol volume.

Cider - is an alcoholic beverage that is fermented from fruit juice, with apple as the most common fruit to be used. Hence, Cider is also called an "Apple Wine" from time to time.

Affogato - (Italian) is a coffee based beverage or dessert.

Next Stop:

Alley Bar located at 180 Orhard Road, Peranakan Place.

follow us on twitter! @redgiewedgie @callecat

23 @ Fridays on a Saturday Night.

I know this took almost a week before i finally
had to say something about my day last January 13.

I was supposed to be resting and enjoying
my 2 and a half days off that started on the eve of my beer day,
but things as usual never turned out as it was planned.

I suddenly had to move house the morning
after my crazy birthday night, which took
almost 3 days before the moving out officially ended.
And to make things more complicated and exciting,
I have to change houses again in a month's time.
Not to mention, that I also had a fever scare a couple of nights ago.

I just want to make this quick and straightforward,
as my moment has actually passed,
and I'm not getting any younger than 23.

So let's go with what happened on the night
when we were having fun on Fridays on a Saturday night.

"I needed to be with people who will make me feel closer to home, there was no doubt, even after almost 2 years removed from where we started, this will never grow old"

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The expected surprise from my colleagues at work.

It has always been a tradition in my work place 

to surprise a person who is celebrating their birthday with a cake, 

and most of the time, 

I would be involved on how to come up with the surprise.

So there I was on the eve of my day, 

wondering on how they would pull it off on me.

Since I never got any surprise during my 1st birthday with them, 

it was a possibility that they would not care for the 2nd time around.

They eventually caught me real good and got the perfect timing

when I was trying to pass an order while making my way 

to the hot kitchen with Zhang Juan Jing almost splatting my face with a cake.

Sheng Ri Kuai Le to me!

Thank you IBNS for making my last birthday with you guys 

an almost heart attack with the way you surprised me that afternoon. :) 

It really caught me off guard. 

I will never forget that moment in my life 

when I had people hailing from Malaysia, China, Singapore, 

Vietnam and Philippines greeting me for my birthday all at the same time. 

I may never get the chance to have that experience again. Thanks.

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"Fun at Friday's on a Saturday Night"

Dining into Friday's Singapore has been in my wishlist since last Christmas,

I just really wanted to spend a special day there,

Seeing the Bar, and just feeling the Friday's culture,

I knew it would be a lot of fun.

Booked a table for 8 at T.G.I. Friday's East Coast Katong 112,

Ended up with only five person to feed for the night.

Aside from the awesome drinks, and the mouth watering entrees that we had,

It was the birthday greeting when the clock turned 12 midnight that 

made the dinner at Fridays really special.

The Friday's Staff rang a bell while marching towards our table,

and shouting happy birthday while serving me a plate of Choco Fudge Brownie

with a Vanilla Ice Cream scoop on top.

And as part of the Friday's tradition, they let the celebrant choose

either they will sing happy birthday the normal way or backwards.

Thinking that it would be interesting if they would sing happy birthday backwards,

I asked them to do so in that manner..

And INDEED, they sang happy birthday backwards,

FACING backwards away from me.

It was so funny in a way that it was so stupid at the same time by literally doing it backwards.

I was just too greedy for surprises,

T.G.I. Friday's just really hit the spot!

Thanks to all the staff there at T.G.I. Fridays East coast, especially to the lovely Miss Castle. :)

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We spent the after party strolling around the streets taking photos,

and getting some classy cocktail drinks at Bar Cocoon

*watch out for the bar trail on that one*

And drinking up cans of beers straight up in less than a minute each

at the bridge in Clark Quay.

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"You try your hardest just to make it the perfect day of the entire year,
thinking about getting all the good breaks and just feeling lucky all the way.
but once it is all over, you will come to realize that the moment has passed
and it was nothing more than just another ordinary day."


for more photos from this night, visit facebook.com/red.mora

follow us on twitter! @redgiewedgie @callecat @jeddyums @iamOwnLine

Ji Biru Japanese Yakitori and Craft Beer Bar: Singapore Bar Trail #1

I have always had this plan of going Bar hopping here in Singapore
Ever since i first laid foot on this Asian soil,
Just to have an idea on what kind of drinking and partying culture
They have here, while being regarded
as a high class country in South East Asia.
But I just never really had an idea on how to start and where to go.

The locals here in Singapore and other Chinese people
are not one to last in a drinking spree.
No offense to them, but the regular kinds of beer that are available here
Doesn't really compare with what Manila has to offer.
And to be honest, they just taste like water with bubbles.

It could be that Filipinos might have higher tolerance than most people,
but given the fact that their beer does not
Have a lot of alcohol kick with it, makes it less challenging
And less encouraging to even set up a drinking session
between Pinoy Beer Bellies Versus Crossed eyed sissies.

Moving away from their drinking and partying habits,
Which i could just blog about on another entry after this,
Let's open up the beer cap and let the fizz ooze all over
And drink about the first stop of my alcoholic journey.

There was this thing about a beer trail that my college friend
@callecat, Lisa shared that she got off someone else's blog.

She got this card she had to have a stamp whenever she visits and
go for a drink on all 8 bars included in the beer trail.
And after the 8th and final stop, you can claim a free item from
The first stop in your beer trail by showing the fully stamped card.

It is more of like a promotional scheme to urge people go and visit these certain bars,
If they have enough interest and dough to finish such a trail.

Too bad for me, the official beer trail adventure has actually ended,
But since i am more than itchy to go out and check out these bars
And out of boredom at the same time,
I have decided to construct my own beer trail with Lisa
Giving me a free item after my 8th bar stop.

And to add more excitement with my trail,
i only have until Chinese New year
To accomplish this feat, giving me around roughly a couple of months
That started at the end of December a year ago,
With only 4 off days every month.

For the record so far, one of the eight bars
included in the original beer trail
Has actually stopped operations
and was replaced by another bar with the same appearance.

I eventually still went ahead with my trail,
and will make changes with my bar stops along
The way that will include some bars
that does not really headlines beer as their
Main product, but instead i'll go for establishments
that offers a different kind of feel, product wise, service wise,
and most especially, concept wise.
As long as i get to drink at 8 different bars that Lisa will approve to count in as a stop.

Thus, i am renaming this journey as a Bar trail.

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Bar trail stop #1: Ji Biru Japanese Yakitori and Craft Beer
Located at 313 Somerset near Marche & Charlie Brown Cafe.

The experience of having to go to a bar alone
to drink is kind of weird and awkward.
Most of the staff will be looking at you
probably wondering why i am out drinking
By myself and at the same time perceiving me
as a lonely guy trying to get drunk on a cold Friday night.

What they didn't know is, I could be the next guy
who will put up the next big thing in the Bar Industry
that will kill off their bar off the map  *chuckles*

Ji Biru have this open air set up
with a combination of modern & traditional
Japanese wooden booth seats occupying most of the space,
With their main bar directly across the end from the entrance.

They also have this big LED screen tv for live sports viewing.
(nothing beats an awesome ball game 
over a bottle of beer for a hoops junky like me.)

And most notably, their staff are all dressed up casually with black bandannas looking
Like Japanese bad guys and frustrated Pirate cosplayers
with their all black shirt and worn out jeans.

(Seriously, they could have dressed more appealing 
to give justice to the high quality of drinks that they serve at the place.)

I initially asked for the food menu as I haven't had anything for dinner before heading here,
but unfortunately, the kitchen closes early before 9pm.

Going through their drinks menu that generally consists of Japanese Craft beers
along with Japanese Sake, International Spirits and Liquor shots and International Beers,
the first beer that caught my eye was the Jungle Beer's Mango & Orange Wheat Beer.

I was intrigued on how they would infuse mango & orange
in a beer without it going too sweet or too sour.
Drinking on an empty stomach, also probably made me choose a drink
that was close to something like a real food at the moment.

Jungle Beer's Tropical Mango & Orange Wheat Beer.

Drunk Man's Remarks: The Mango & Orange flavor didn't have any problem blending together as a beer as expected. The beer was mild, and could have probably gone well as a drink when having their grilled Yakitori items.

Straight up!: The burp and the aftertaste tasted like fresh mangoes and oranges. Eliminating the bitter beer taste.

Espresso Stout

Drunk Man's Remarks: It is literally a beer in a coffee or a coffee in a beer. If you love drinking beer and cold coffee at the same time, this is the drink for you. The bitterness level was just at normal level, lower than what you would anticipate with an espresso beer.

Straight up!: The espresso aftertaste just adds another notch to the alcoholic kick of the beer.

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I went off a bit weak in the legs with the absence of food in my system,

and I safely reached the nearest Mcdonald's in the area for a fast food recovery.

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Tipsy Notes:

I will try to give some tipsy notes with every stop that I take to help some people out that aren't too familiar with the terms and other stuff about bars and drinks.

But who cares about the knowledge they could get, we all just want to get drunk anyway right?

*Craft beers- are beers made from a craft brewery that specializes as a small market brewery that produces limited amounts of beer that has made them different from large mass market breweries, offering products that are higher in quality and diversity instead of the low priced and more advertised products of beers from larger companies.

*Wheat Beers- are beers that are brewed with larger amount of malts than the amount of regular barley malt producing a thicker texture and milder taste.

*Stouts - are dark beers that use roasted malts or roasted barley.

Next Stop:
The Ground Cafe & Bar Located at 226 Tanjong Katong

follow us on twitter! @redgiewedgie @callecat

Strolling, Shooting. Shopping. Capturing Orchard: Holiday Season in Singapore

Missed out with Christmas in Manila for the 2nd time in my lifetime.

Being stuffed by Filipino Noche Buena.

The endless family Gatherings, High School and College Reunions.

The perks of staying back home and receiving tons of gifts and Ninoys (500 peso bills),

And the countless number of kids, banging at your front door singing Christmas Jingles

like it's trick or treat for Halloween over and over again.

It was that kind of Christmas that I was accustomed to,

But a couple of years of Christmas in Singapore is not all that bad at the same time.

Singapore makes it up for Christmas with its Shopping Sales of the latest gadgets and expensive clothing and accessories along with the spectacular display of Bright Lights all over the city.

Tangs Plaza Snow Lights, The Mandarin Gallery, Paragon, Ion Orchard

Went out with my awesome College friend Lisa @callecat,

We were on a mission to buy a new head set for me and to catch 

the Marvelous Lights of Singapore 

with what could be the last chance in our 2 year contract.

Long Exposure in Progress

After checking out three malls along Orchard, I finally settled with a Sony DJ Bass Headset, and got Lisa to buy her own Audio Technica Head set as well. >:))

Our death defying attempt to take a photo in the middle of a busy highway intersection. :))

We were literally running in circles from Lucky Plaza,

Walked to Somerset, jogged to Centerpoint,

Took a bus to Plaza Singapura, went impulsive shopping

At Abercombie & Fitch Club House. :))

Stopped at Tangs, exhausted at Ion.

Strolling, Shooting, and Shopping,

We were totally drained out trying to get the most out of Orchard.

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"It is not everyday the stars falls down from the sky,

they only show up when the path is too dark,

And shines the brightest when it counts the most."

Sober last night, Hangover the next morning: The Last Christmas in Singapore

There was something different

With Christmas just more than a week ago.

It was better, got drunk two times harder,

Was knocked up at work a couple of times

With the hangover.

Though you can never compare the fun of Christmas in Manila,

Singapore still had its own way to make

Itself relevant and different than any other.

Knowing it could be the last Christmas you'll be spending here in Singapore,

You made sure it would be a lot merrier

Than the first.

"You just see things differently when you are going through things for the last time."

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The drunk and wild Christmas Party w/ ISCC at Costa Sands Resorts at Pasir Ris

Mixing it up with a 3 drink cocktail menu for the party just got me off my slump with cocktails.

Fired it up with the physical and daring party games along with some cucumbers, fruit body grinding, lip locking card relay, and finding the Chivas smell game really warmed up the Christmas spirit.

"Props to Mica and Owen for making this crazy night a reality."

"It'd be ridiculous if i lose out on an alcohol sniffing game, I had to win it. lol."

"P.S.: thanks to my volunteer who really smelled nice, it totally helped out a lot. hahaha.."

To put an end to it, we closed it up with a midnight beach swim and the last men standing against Mr. Absolut, Mr. Martini, and Senior Chivas for a K.O. finish.

You always make me feel like family,
I always knew I was meant for ISCC.
Cheers guys! :)

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2 of 2

Christmas Eve at Pending Road, Bukit Panjang.

A couple of wasted days later came along Christmas eve,

Working during the eve always sucked big time.

Bummed with the endless number of diners queuing up for your resto,

And the stress of having your thoughts preoccupied with what to expect come 12 midnight,

Just brings The Grinch out of you.

A full rack of Whisky and Beer along with Magic Sing Karaoke were the best remedy available at the time.

We went overboard and took more than the Bartender's Prescription.

Rushed on a cab straight from work hoping not to spend the first seconds of Christmas alone on the road as the clock was on berserk creeping up to 12 midnight.

I took on Christmas in green and sporting a Santa hat with a red bag full of Pizza's from Sarpino's and Sushi from Boshi.

The madness ended at 4am.

Thanks for giving me a week long hangover to the end of 2012,

You really got me slipping.

I never saw it coming.

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You know you had a blast when you can't remember some of the things that happened from last night.

For the last time,
Merry Christmas Singapore!

"During the holidays, getting drunk is not an option,

it is compulsory"


for more photos from this night, visit: facebook.com/red mora

follow us on twitter! @redgiewedgie @missrows @iamOwnLine @callecat @ joveline28