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.
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
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