A Curious Pinot Gris

1147. 2009 Salt Spring Vineyards Pinot Gris (Wine Islands - BC)

I'm not entirely sure of this wine's pedigree - not taste-wise - rather its pedigree in terms of what the heck went into it. I see that Salt Spring's website doesn't refer to a current vintage of Pinot Gris being for sale. I'm not sure whether it's because they're simply sold out of all current stock or whether they've stopped making it because the grapes were sourced from the Okanagan and they're now only making wine from estate and local grapes. There's another possibility in that they just don't have enough Pinot Gris to make a varietal wine - because I understand their new(er) sparkling wine, Karma, is made with some Pinot Gris in the blend.

Guess I just won't know any time soon. That's a bit of a shame because this was a good representation of BC Pinot Gris - plenty of acid and citrus and stone fruit. I'll just have to follow up by visiting the winery next time we get the chance to visit Tyrant when he's hanging on the Island.

Roast Beast Just Calls For a Cab

A little roast beef calls out for some Cab Sauv around this household. Since Boo wants us to start using up some of the wine we have on hand, I figured I was pretty lucky to find a bottle that was still hanging around from the days when we seemed to buy a couple cases of Burrowing Owl every year - back when higher end BC wines were a little more limited. Indeed, it seemed like everyone was clamouring to grab as much Burrowing Owl as they could in those days.

1146. 2003 Burrowing Owl Cabernet Sauvignon (VQA Okanagan Valley)

2003 was the year of the infamous Okanagan Mountain fire. While the worst of the fire was wreaking havoc further north of the Burrowing Owl vineyards, there were still small fires being fought closer to Burrowing Owl and nearby Osoyoos. As you might guess in a summer of fire, it was a hot year. The heat units were sufficient to ripen the Cab Sauv but there were fears that the lingering smoke might have a detrimental effect on the grapes and resulting wine.

Although this probably wasn't a favourite of the Burrowing Owl wines I've had over the years, I don't think it was the smoke that diminished the wine's punch. It definitely matched up nicer with the beef, but I fear the wine wasn't very notable for either structure or fruit profile when sipped on its own.

It might be a case of waiting a bit too long before opening it, but I can't publicly attest to that because then Boo will simply insist I can't buy anything new until we finish off all our bottles of a certain age. Heaven forbid.

Repaying a Favour

1145. 2010 Masi Bonacosta (Valpolicella Classico DOC - Italy)

Oops. Looks like I've lost the couple of pictures that I took this evening. I know that I forgot to bring a camera but I did take a couple of shots on my phone. Lord knows where they've disappeared to though. I guess you'll just have to imagine the shot - a vibrant restaurant scene at Via Tevere Pizzeria, five handsome guys sitting in the corner, laughing and enjoying incredible pizza and a bottle of classic Italian wine. If Masi wanted a commercial to air, they couldn't have done better than this. That is, unless they could have added Boo to the picture. He had to work, unfortunately, and couldn't join in.

It's too bad that we don't have a picture or two because it was a grand evening. Our recent acquaintances from Hong Kong, Whaler and Dane, were passing through town en route to a business meeting in the States. Luckily, they were able to meet up with me, Axel and the English Doc. It was Axel that had introduced us in the first place and, as I'd mentioned a few posts back, Whaler and Dane were the consummate hosts and tour guides when we visited Hong Kong.

High end pizza isn't necessarily the first item showing up on Hong Kong menus; so, the boys were more than willing to take in this new addition to The Drive's dining scene.

Masi, of course, is one of the biggest names there is when it comes to wines from the Veneto and surrounding regions of Italy. Via Tevere may channel Naples from the other side of the country but who's going to turn down some authentic Italian grape juice to go with their authentic taste of Napoli? Not us.

There was a bit of a pub crawl after dinner (unfortunately, two bars counts as a pub crawl nowadays in the lexicon that is this old guy's life); so, it might be a good thing that we didn't have the camera with us after all. Those pics wouldn't have had any wine in them though. So, the odds of me posting them here are greatly reduced anyhow.

Too bad the boys' visit to Vancouver was so short though. They had to fly out the next day and we wouldn't get another chance to see them. Guess Boo and I will just have to head back to Hong Kong now.

Mr. D's Zinfully Sweet B-Day

Mr. D. dropped by to see us and hear some vacay stories. Since his b-day was just around the corner, we invited him to stay for dinner. We haven't had a whole lot of weather for al fresco dining yet this year. So, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a whirl. If it's warm enough for Mr. D. to sport shorts, we can probably handle an entrée and some wine.

1143. 2008 Rustico Farm & Cellars - Bonanza Old Vine Zinfandel (Okanagan Valley)

This is the second bottle of Rustico that I've added to The List after running across the winery for the first time during the BC Wine Appreciation Society's annual bus tour last fall. Since I'm under the gun to catch up with my posts, I won't repeat those first impressions of the unique winery on the Golden Mile. (My incredibly fascinating commentary can be found back at #932.)

That first visit to Rustico was prompted by a sign proclaiming "The Zin is In" on the side of Hwy 7. Zinfandel is not commonly grown in the Okanagan - there might be a dozen wineries that make a Zin; so my interest was piqued. Turned out the wine was just as flavourful as Bruce Fuller, the man behind the winery. We're not talking big California Zin here; the wine has a bit more restraint behind it. However, it still has some heft for a BC wine and there was lots of dark fruit on the nose and palate.

And, if we can put a little zin into Mr. D's b-day, all the better.

1144. 2008 Orofino Late Harvest Muscat (Similkameen Valley)

We didn't have a cake for the birthday celebration but we did have anothe bottle of wine to toast with. Orofino is found one valley over from Rustico and I've added a number of its wines to The List over the life of this blog. This is the first dessert wine I've tried from them though and, if Mr. D. hadn't come over tonight, we likely wouldn't have popped the cork (or, rather, unscrewed the cap) for awhile longer.

Good thing he came by because the Muscat was light (as opposed to cloying) and just sweet enough that it could pair with Boo's rhubarb-strawberry pie. The aromatics were nicely escalated and I think it might relate to the label's mention of "a touch of old vine Gewürztraminer."

I couldn't actually find much information about this wine online but I believe the grapes are sourced from Orofino's estate vineyard on the Cawston Bench. When John & Virginia Weber purchased the vineyard, they inherited a block of Muscat that had been planted in 1989, making them some of the oldest vines in the Similkameen.

I would have liked to find out about the steps John took in harvesting and making the wine before we drank it, but it was a spur of the moment kind of thing. I suppose I'll have to wait until the next time we drop by the winery.

The only sad thing about this bottle is that we might not be able to find it any more as the vineyard's Muscat is now going into Orofino's new Moscato Frizzante. If that's the case, a bottle of the Frizzante sounds appropriate for Mr. D's birthday celebration next year.

I think we'll likely see Mr. D's name in the blog a bit before then however.

Spot Prawns and Tantalus - Tantamount

We never throw any shrimps on the barbee during of visit Down Under. So, what better preparation of last night's leftover spot prawns could there be?

As a local resource, spot prawns didn't garner local praise until recent years. The Spot Prawn Festival and higher end restaurants starting to prominently feature and advertise exciting dishes has definitely changed that. I adore the spot prawn season and am ever-so-glad that virtually the entire catch no longer goes to Japan.

They can be prepared in so many delicious ways and they match up beautifully with so many BC wines. Throw on a little olive oil and garlic - the prawns, not the wine - BBQ them up and serve them with some chilled wine on the patio. It's a match made in heaven.

We might have gone with an Aussie wine last night, but we returned to our BC roots tonight.

1142. 2008 Tantalus Riesling (VQA Okanagan Valley)

One of my favourite dishes deserves a favourite wine as well. I've added a couple of Tantalus wines to The List already but that was some time ago at #230 and #872. It's not like I can add huge numbers to The List, however, Tantalus only makes five still wines - Chardonnay, Dry Rosé, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Old Vines Riesling and their total production, all in, is less than 2000 cases. (I won't even list the two icewines and sparkling wines because they make so little of it that it's almost impossible to find them.)

The winery's vineyard is considered one of the great Riesling sites in the Okanagan. The site was originally planted with grapes in 1927 - long before anyone had even thought of the Okanagan as a wine region - and is one of the oldest continuously producing vineyards in the the province. Those original vines weren't the vinifera varietals that we see planted today however. Tantalus has some of the oldest Riesling plantings in the province but even those only date from 1978.

Tonight's wine isn't the Old Vines Riesling though. Tantalus Riesling uses the fruit from the 1985 and 2005 plantings and, I think, is actually more approachable for drinking at earlier stages. This bottle had a bit of age on it as well though. We tried this '08 back at a BC Wine Appreciation Tasting back in 2009 when it was a favourite of the crowd in a blind tasting when it was paired with two Aussie Rieslings and a French Alsatian wine. I'm a little surprised, actually, to find that we still had a bottle.

It still held up nicely though. Tantalus is known for its bracing acidity and the extra years had softened that acidity up nicely.

The BCWAS is hosting another joint tasting with the French Wine Society and they're going to feature a blind tasting of Tantalus and French wines. You know I'll be there and will be looking forward to it.

A Welcome Home Bottle

So, here we are - back home after 3 weeks of Aussie wines Down Under and in Hong Kong - and what bottle do we open first? An Aussie one.

Poetic? Not really; it wasn't even one of the bottles that we brought back from our vacation. It was simply a wine that we still had hanging around and I thought it would go nicely with the real focus of tonight's "welcome back" dinner - spot prawns. The local spot prawn season and festival had just opened; so, I took advantage of an extra day off and headed down to the docks to wait for one of the boats to come in. It was worth the wait.

1141. 2007 Tahbilk Marsanne (Nagambie Lakes - Victoria - Australia)

This is the second Tahbilk wine that I've added to The List. It isn't a winery that we see much in the Vancouver market, but the Marsanne is the most likely find. I added the Shiraz to The List rather a long ways back at #323. At that time, I was surprised to learn that it is the oldest winery in the state of Victoria and the fifth oldest in all of Australia. It was established in 1860 - old enough that they refer to a cellar, built in 1875, as the "new cellar."

Age also comes into play with the Tahbilk Marsanne. The winery claims the oldest Marsanne vines in the world - their oldest vines having been planted in 1927. With just over 100 acres of Marsanne planted, Tahbilk has the largest single planting of the traditional Rhône varietal in the world as well.

An unoaked white that is white capable of ageing, it was quite different from most of the whites produced in BC. It was more rounded and full, with softer acidity and more subdued fruit. But the taste of our spot prawns didn't seem to be hurt by the pairing.

My test, upon having finished all the posts on Oz, will be to see how long it will take me to catch up on all my late posts. I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. But, I'll have to give it the old college try.

A Final Stroll in The Pearl of the Orient

Not much time left before we have to head out to the airport for the flight home but the flight's not until later in the day; so we actually have the morning and early part of the afternoon to run around.

Keeping it fairly local seemed like the way to go and both the Flower Market and the Fish Market were only a subway stop from our hotel. We hadn't been to either and they seemed like a good way to start our final hours. The Flower market was bright and beautiful - with exotic plants and colours galore. The Fish Market, on the other hand, was certainly a bit different than what I would expect to find at home it I was going to the fish market. This wasn't a series of stores to buy seafood. I suppose that, in a way, it was but these fish weren't destined for the dinner plate. They were displayed in order to catch your eye so that you'd take them home for your aquarium.

A relaxing coffee was next in line and we decided to live a little and sit back in the grand lobby of The Peninsula Hotel. There's no doubt we were paying for the location because they were easily among the most expensive cups of java that Boo or I have ever had. And they weren't anything special. The machine at my office isn't far off on the quality and Boo could easily have whipped up a tastier cup at home. If nothing else, we can say that we took in the atmosphere that is The Peninsula.

Our next stop was a plaza just off the waterfront to have a little picnic - and finish off a bottle of wine so that we'd have one less bottle to take through Customs.

1140. 2009 Bowen Estate Shiraz (Coonawarra - Australia)

Bowen Estate was one of our stops during our afternoon in the Coonawarra. It wasn't a winery that I'd known anything about but a couple of the tasting room staff we'd run across mentioned it as a small, good producer. Family owned and operated, Bowen Estate only produces around 10,000 cases a year and only offers a Chardonnay, Cab Sauv and Shiraz, with the bulk of production being the Cab. Considering that the Coonawarra is best known for its Cab, it was somewhat surprising that both Boo and I gravitated towards the Shiraz after our tasting at the winery.

The winery's vineyard is located on Coonawarra's famous red, terra rossa soil and it did feature more red fruit on the palate that the Barossa Shiraz we tend to see in Vancouver. That's not to say, however, that there still wasn't some big fruit and plenty of spice there. We might have opened it earlier than we would have normally. The winery suggested holding it for 5-7 years - but that wasn't really an option with Canada Customs looming. We needed to pick one of purchased wines to be sacrificed and this was one of the more economical of our purchases.

I'm not sure that picnicking is all that common in urban Hong Kong. We didn't have much luck in finding shops that sold the treats that we usually pick up back home. We also felt that we needed to be as circumspect as we could with the wine - hoping that no one of authority came by to question us. I'd be surprised if drinking a bottle in public is permitted - tourist or not. Luckily, we didn't run into a problem at all though.

The end of lunch left us with one last stop and that was the Hong Kong Museum of Art. The Museum was featuring a show of Fantastic Animals in the Arts of China and there were plenty of magical creatures, legends and historically interesting pieces on display. This crown was only one small piece and it featured dragons, pheasants, butterflies, carp and kingfisher. It seemed like a good half of the museum was closed as new shows were being set up but it was still an interesting way to spend our final hour or so.

Hard to believe to everything was coming to a close on the vacation and that all that was left was for the long flight home.

And to see how Canada Customs was going to treat us when we reported that we had a dozen bottles with us - eight more than we were technically allowed. Fingers crossed.

Buddha, Bar & Monsoon

The good news, starting the morning, was that I woke up feeling a whole lot better than I did yesterday. The bad news was that it was our final full day in Hong Kong. There was no way that we'd be able to fit as much in as we'd have liked to, but we gave it the old college try and decided to focus on just a couple of activities.

Our first task was to take in one of the best known attractions in Hong Kong - the Tian Tan Buddha - or Big Buddha - on nearby Lantau Island. Boo and I were both struck and surprised in the enormity and scope of the project. Our journey started by taking a 20-minute gondola over the bay and up the side of one of the tallest mountains in Hong Kong.

Started in 1990, the Buddha was completed in 1993 and, at the time, was the largest outdoor buddha in the world. It is also unique among the massive Chinese Buddhas in that it is the only one that faces north. Apparently, the difference from the other south-facing statues is that the Tian Tan Buddha looks north to watch over China and the Chinese people.

The statue gets its name from the fact that the three levels forming its foundation are modelled after the base structure found in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests at the Temple of Heaven, or Tian Tan, in Beijing. The 34-metre (112ft) tall, bronze buddha houses a museum and giant bell that is rung 108 times a day to symbolize a release from Buddhism's "108 troubles of mankind."

Po Lin Monastery is a short walking distance from the Big Buddha and was established in 1906 - a long time before the Big Buddha was erected. Originally a remote monastery, largely hidden by the green of the surrounding mountain, it was known as the "Buddhist Kingdom in the South" and served as an international retreat. Nowadays, it's likely visited more by tourists, like Boo and I, than by monks, it was awash with colour and incense.

I'm sure we could have spent a lot longer wandering around the site but Boo had another mission to accomplish - finding a chop to take home. After finding the chop market - there are markets for virtually everything here - he finally found one that will remind him of the vacation for many years to come.

Our final evening in Hong Kong started off with our meeting up with Whaler and Dane, our new friends thanks to Axel's and Tyrant's introduction. We were to convene in Central Hong Kong for drinks and dinner and - wouldn't you know it - a torrential downpour started just prior to the appointed hour. Naturally, we did not have an umbrella. Their familiarity of the area allowed us to skip the better part of the rain by cutting through various buildings and malls, but we were still rather drowned by the time we ordered our first cocktail.

I'd be had pressed to determine whether this rain was coming down harder that the storm we encountered in Margaret River earlier in the week but it was certainly longer lasting. We decided to wait out the rain and lightning show, but the intended one or two drink happy hour lasted a good two to three hours as I think a veritable monsoon was hitting the city. At least we had a window seat for the show, but by the time we left the bar, we had a bit of difficulty finding a restaurant that was still open for dinner. Luckily, the boys had a favourite that was willing to keep the kitchen open long enough for us to order dinner.

1139. 2010 d'Arenberg The Stump Jump (McLaren Vale/Adelaide Hills - Australia)

Facing Thai cuisine and a limited - and unknown - wine list, I stuck with d'Arenberg's white Stump Jump, a unique blend of Riesling, Sauv Blanc, Marsanne and Rousanne. Here we were on our last night out on the other side of the world and I was ordering a bottle of wine that I know pretty well from home, but I was pretty sure that it should match up nicely with the mix of spices on our plates. Plus, ordering it was a bit of a tip o' the hat to our recent visit to the winery when passing through McLaren Vale. We were so over our limits on buying wines that we couldn't pick up a bottle at d'Arenberg.

The boys were game to keep playing but Boo and I were sensing the end at hand. We opted to try and catch the last train back to Kowloon side and bid them "Adieu." As coincidence would have it, Whaler and Dane were going to be passing through Vancouver in the very near future. We agreed to do our best to meet up with them when they arrived. In the mean time, any further introduction to Hong Kong's famed nightlife would have to wait for another trip. Surprisingly, Boo enjoyed the city far more than he'd expected to and he'd already stated that he'd be willing to return somewhere down the line.

Asian Flu?

Today was pencilled in as the day we might take a side-trip over to Macau and see the Vegas of the Orient. I don't know if it was just the earlier parts of the vacation finally starting to catch up with me or whether there really was something to all those Asian flus that always hit the news in Vancouver, but there was no way I was up to a ferry ride to Macau. Making my way back to bed after breakfast was about as adventuresome as my constitution was ready to handle.

Ultimately, I wasn't about to spend a quarter of our time in Hong Kong flat on my back and I managed to wander a few streets in the afternoon. So, under the weather or not, we took in another couple of street markets - including the famous Jade Market - and made our way to the Hong Kong Museum of Art - only to find that it was closed.

We wandered around a bit in the Tsim Sha Tsui section of town and took in a shop that featured jade pieces worthy of any museum. Tiffany's should shut its doors when compared to this place. We didn't last long trekking about, however, particularly since we found out that our hotel had a complimentary Happy Hour. Nothing like a little tipple to pick you up from the flu.

1138. N.V. Louis Perdrier Brut Excellence (France)

Boo and I had taken quick looks in the wine shops that we'd run across in Hong Kong and it was abundantly clear that the city's residents appear to be in love - almost monogamously so - with French wines. The wines that we saw for sale must have been 90% French - and many of them were high end Bordeaux and Burgundy. There were no doubt many bottles of Champagne as well. But weren't served that this evening - despite the wine's being French.

I couldn't find out much about the winery itself and I no longer have the bottle to see if there was any additional information (such as a web site) on the back label. That was a bit of surprise. There's plenty of reference to where you can purchase the bottle - and it appears to be available worldwide (although not Vancouver) at a very reasonable price. (I saw a number of listings for around $10).

That being said, this is clearly a mass market wine and the one reference (that I repeatedly saw) to the grapes being used would seem to indicate that the grapes are at least being sourced from the south of France. The is a blend of Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Chenin, Folle Blanche and Menu Pineau and they are all fermented separately then blended prior to the second fermentation. During second fermentation, the wine is aged on its lees (spent yeast cells) to add a bit of extra body and complexity, including that biscuity flavour note that is immediately reminiscent of an actual Champagne. There was bigger fruit than you'd expect with Champagne. There wasn't much mousse (profusion of bubbles in the mouth) but the bead of bubbles in the glass was very evident and was continuous.

Hardly a wine to knock you socks off, but it's nicely made and a decent value at the lower price point. Plus, I get to add three new varietals to my Wine Century Club tally - Colombard, Folle Blanche and Menu Pineau. I'll take that over Asian Flu any day!

I will say that, when I asked the server if she could leave the bottle for a bit while I took a picture, I was quite surprised that she never came back to collect the virtually full bottle. We took to sharing it with the duo of African businesswomen that were sitting at the table next to us. So, if nothing else, the wine did lead to an interesting conversation with some ladies that we would likely never cross paths with in regular times.

Following Happy Hour, Boo and I wandered a couple blocks from the hotel to sample what was supposedly one of the best noodle houses in Hong Kong. A light and simple dinner - with no wine in sight - at what would likely be called a greasy spoon back home. But it hit the spot and was definitely tasty.

Hong Kong in a Day

Flying on points can really deliver some incredibly nasty flight schedules. At first, Boo and I needed to book whatever flight was available and that was going to route us from Sydney to Beijing to Hong Kong to LA to Vancouver. How messed up is that?! Since we knew that Perth was our last planned stop, we looked at other options and found out that, if we just left out Sydney this trip (been there, done that), we could fly to Hong Kong and head home directly to Vancouver. Worked for me.

Since we had originally allowed for a couple days in Sydney, we just revised the itinerary and spent that time in Hong Kong. Neither Boo, nor I had ever been there before; so, a brief stopover sounded rather exciting. It was certainly going to be a world apart from the more bucolic surroundings of Margaret River, McLaren Vale and the Barossa.

Our flight arrived early enough in the evening that we were able to venture over to the famous Temple StreetNight Market that was, conveniently, found only a couple of blocks from our hotel. A quick wander amongst the myriad of Angry Birds anything and everything, Mao memorabilia (we had to pick up the Obama in iconic Mao jacket and cap t-shirt) and iPhone covers of all sorts and we were ready to call it a night. I didn't know that Hong Kong is in the same time zone as Perth. That made the travelling a little more palatable but we were pooped all the same.

Knowing little about Hong Kong, we figured we'd need to fend for ourselves and suss out some city highlights. Axel and Tyrant came to the rescue, however, as they lived in the Pearl of the Orient for years and still had friends in town. Hoping we might arrange to meet up with Whaler and Polo for lunch and and gather a few tips, we'd hardly expected to inherit a personal tour guide of the first degree. After a leisurely and entertaining lunch, we sent Polo on his way as he needed to get ready to catch a flight himself. Then Whaler took us on a tour that we could never have managed to put together on our own.

After a bit of a walkabout through Mid-Town, we made our way up the old funicular to the Peak for the panoramic views of the city. It wasn't the clearest of days but the ride and skyline were something to behold.

We arrived late enough in the afternoon that Whaler suggested we dally a bit to take in dusk and catch part of the city lights from on high. Being Hong Kong - one of the world's most noteworthy shopping cities - there was, naturally, a little shopping mall at the top of the tramway. This would have been a marvellous location for a surreptitious bottle of wine; however, not having expected this to be part of the afternoon's planned events, we weren't prepared for such an eventuality. We and to settle for some Starbucks (yes, they're everywhere here as well).

The city did take on a whole different persona as the sky dimmed and the lights started to come on. Being from Vancouver, we're not exactly hard done by when it comes to evening skylines, but even though the afternoon's clouds and low lying mists were still with us, there was no doubt that Hong Kong's skyscrapers and Victoria Harbour are dramatic in every sense of the word.

Our adventure continued with the famous ferry ride across Victoria Harbour to Kowloon where we watched the combination of music, coloured lights outlining the building towers and laser beams piercing the night skies. We'd never heard of the daily event - despite perusing guide books and the internet - and, surely, would have missed it if left to our own devices.

By now, Whaler had been with us for nine hours and he still didn't take his leave. We were sure that he must have been tired of us; but when we asked for a restaurant suggestion, he insisted that he join us since he was hungry and was going to have to find some dinner in any event.

1137. 2011 Westend Estate - Richland Chardonnay (Riverina -Australia)

After all the higher end wines we'd been drinking Down Under, it was a bit of a surprise to be ordering more of an entry label wine from one of the largest wine regions in Australia. Riverina is a key workhorse of Australia's bulk wine production and, together with the neighbouring Murray Darling region, it produces almost three-quarters of New South Wales' entire annual wine output. It's the kind of label that rocketed the Aussies to the top of the affordable, everyday wine world all those years ago. It's also the sort of label that perhaps caused the malaise that's accompanied the opposition to the whole "critter-wine" category - even though there's no critter to be found on this bottle.

Another new winery for me (even after our Aussie tour), the Chardy wouldn't normally be a first choice for me. But it was unwooded and, with the wine list being rather limited, it looked the best option for our array of Chinese food. Back in Vancouver, you're pretty sure you've stumbled across authentic Chinese food if you're the only Caucasians in the restaurant. I'm not sure that holds true here, but it was definitely a bonus having Whaler with us. He not only knew what the menu items were, he could make sure that everything was coming as it should.

As for Westend Estate, it served its purpose. It had a bit of fruit on it and the acidity wasn't overbearing. In fact, it rather helped cut through the oils, sauces and heaviness of the food. I'm not going to hunt all over North American to hunt it down, but it wasn't a hardship on our part to finish it off.

With dinner done, so were we. Whaler escorted us back to the nearest subway station but still managed to take us by some of the more notable sights on Kowloon side - including the Peninsula Hotel and the 1881 Heritage site. It was certainly an eventful day - and a far more enjoyable one than we would have fashioned on our own.

And the best news was that we didn't even drive him batty. He offered to do it all over again if we wanted. Offers like that are hard to come by but we thought we'd just take some tips on some small days trips that we might look at and said that we'd get in touch for dinner and drinks come Friday.

Talk about your buzz-filled start to a city stay.