EVENTS - Sara Shantelle Lim & Janice Leong
at Neon Pigeon for New Thai Golden Spirit Mekhong
The Spirit of Thailand
1 Keong Saik Rd, 089109
Seems like there's a new brew coming into Singapore. Janice Leong (@janiqueel) and I went to a new Rum launch. It was held at this quaint place called Neon Pigeon. The moment I stepped into this place, I liked it. I gave me a very "New York" Vibe. It was dimly lit, there's a bar the moment you enter, then you see both standing high tables for people having a drink at the bar area, then you will see some high dinner tables and well as some low normal comfortable sitting tables, and also some sofa seats. This place has seating that suit the happening people who likes to stand around to mingle, as well as the peeps that wants to just have a cosy, lazy dinner by the corner hidden behind the scenes. Splendid for a dual personality like me, sometimes I just want to sit in a dark corner and mind my own business, sometimes I don't mind going to the bar to mingle.
Well anyways, I went there for this new Rum called Mekhong from Thailand. There's so many different types of Rum in the market now. But this whiskey is pretty tasty I must say, most of all when they had such a good cocktail mixologist. We were given 3 different drinks to try, and then vote for which we liked best!
How FUN!
Okay, I went there with an empty stomach, so we decided to fill ourselves with some of their food first before we proceeded with the taste testing of the alcohol.
1st Drink - Mekhong Midnight
It was STRONG and BOLD, kind of reminded me a little of THE OLD FASHION (How did my rum taste like whiskey?). This is probably suitable for the REAL RUM DRINKERS - who prefers their Rum without much of other mixes. Someone who would truly appreciate the define taste of the real Rum brew. This almost tasted like it was "Rum on the Rocks" for me. Well, I'm a sweet tooth, so I kind of preferred the 2nd and 3rd cocktail in the line.
OMG - I googled this..
Despite being known as a whisky, Mekhong is much more a rum. The distilled spirit is made from 95 percent sugar cane/molasses and five percent rice. The distilled spirit is then blended with indigenous herbs and spices to produce its aroma and taste. Mekhong is distilled, blended, and bottled at the Bangyikhan Distillery on the outskirts of Bangkok. It contains 35 percent alcohol by volume, and it is used in a cocktail called the "Thai Sabai"
NO WONDER THIS RUM TASTE LIKE WHISKEY.
I'm confused now. Is this a Rum or Whiskey?
Yup.. We were eating and drinking. Making sure we were filling our tummies. Not to forget my cute God Son - Christopher. He joined us for this really cool event too. This is a picture of one of their Tapas served there. This was their Barramundi Fish. This small plate is SGD$18. They have a bigger serving of this too. All their Tapas have a small and large serving. But if you are like me, I like vareity, this is good enough to share among 2 pax, so that you can order other dishes too.
Neon Pigeon's Barramundi Fish
It was absolutely delicious. It has really crispy fried ginger on top of it, if I'm not mistaken. Then below it has a wide variety of flavors that explodes in your mouth when you eat it. It also has sort of a BURNT taste to it, kind of reminded me of those Mentai dishes when you go to a Japanese Restaurant, whereby they torch a piece of food under the hot direct fire. I will order this again for sure, when I go there again.
2nd Drink - Mekhong Thai Sabai
This was the 2nd drink I had that night, this was MY FAVOURITE. It has a citrus taste, its the right mix of sweet and sour, very playful on the palate. I really loved this. I could probably drink this all night on a girls night out. Its light, yet delicious, yet it has just the right amount of alcohol to get you happy high.
Janice Leong @Janiqueel and her Son Christopher
Neon Pigeon - Hummus
By the way, I really love hummus. This is probably one of their signature dishes at Neon Pigeon. Probably a must try. It is light enough as an appetizer, but it is also filling enough if you eat this entire dish on your own (ok, for a girl only, if you're a guy, you need more food). This is really good. So far, the best hummus I've tasted was at Blu at Dempsey, and La Brasserie at The St Regis Hotel Singapore. This hummus at Neon Pigeon, taste a little lighter (more light in flavour) but it is still delicious.
Neon Pigeon - Soft Shell Crab in Chinese Bao
Okay, I don't have a picture of it when it was still pretty. This was a shot of their soft shell crab served in a Chinese Bao. I like this very fusion combination. That's the fun thing about Tapas. Its a variety of tiny food. Try a little bit of this and that, and you are full. This Chinese Bao is warm and nice, while the soft shell crab was still crispy inside it. Its a very good mix - Soft & Crispy.
3rd Drink - Mekhong ESS
Okay, I don't really taste much alcohol in this drink at all, probably most suitable for a NEWBIE Alcohol Drinker, oh wait, maybe they forgot to add the whiskey/rum in our drink? Did they? Well, I don't taste much of the spirit at all in this, maybe it was because we started drinking the drinks from the strongest to the weakest one. What's happening?!? I can taste a HINT of coconut juice in this. Is this real coconut juice? I need more of this. Coconut Juice is good for health yes? This drink was light and light and light. There's really no other way to describe this drink.
So... If I were to rank the drinks to my preference.
MEKHONG THAI SABAH IS THE WINNER!
then.. maybe the Mekhong ESS and then finally the Mekhong Midnight.
I must say, most guys would probably go the Mekhong Midnight.
Well, TASTE IS VERY SUBJECTIVE.
Janice, Christopher and I had a taste of a lot of their other food. I really liked this place a lot, because its fun and happening. Perfect for a first awkward date? You don't have to hold a conversation every single second of the date. You can just really enjoy their really cool music playlist while tasting their mouth watering food and amazing cocktail from their special bar. Its dimly lit, so girls, you will always look perfect in that orange light. Guys, it is perfect for a romantic night, or just a fun casual night with you friends too, cause this place is fun fun fun. I was truly entertained the entire night. You can even see the chefs cooking and preparing their food as it is a OPEN KITCHEN CONCEPT. You will never feel bored.
Excellent place, very impressive customer service from their wait staff too, friendly chefs, I will come back for sure SOON!
I GOOGLED THIS
MEKHONG Thai Rum
1 bottle of Mekhong Thai Rum is SGD$78 on Lazada Singapore
700ml with 35% Alcohol
MEKHONG's HISTORY
Mekhong (แม่โขง) is Thailand's first domestically produced branded golden spirit. It is also known as "The Spirit of Thailand".
In 1914, the ownership of the privately-owned Sura Bangyikhan Distillery was transferred to the government of Thailand to be under the supervision of the Excise Department, Ministry of Finance. The department then opened a bidding for a concession to raise money for the treasury and authorized the bidder to produce and distribute spirits within a specified area.
The concession agreement expired in 1927 during the reign of King Prajadhipok. The Department then cancelled the concession for spirit distillation and distribution before taking over the spirit production on 1 April 1929. The distillery was modernized and it produced a new "28-degree" blended spirit under a number of brands including "Chiang-Chun", which is still available today. As for spirit distribution, the department continued with the concession and appointed wholesalers for each area.
Later, the Excise Department concocted another blended spirit using herbs combined with a traditional medicated liquor recipe. Herbs and spices were fermented in a spirit of high alcohol content before adding the desired flavor, aroma, and the preferred degree of alcohol. The result was a new kind of spirit which was smooth enough to be drunk neat. It was further developed into a "special blended spirit" which could be enjoyed neat or with a mix of soda. In those days, the preferred drink was imported whiskey mixed with soda. This imported whiskey resulted in a substantial loss of income to the country each year. The special blended spirit produced by the Excise Department helped reduce imports significantly.
Under the government of Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsongkram, Thailand demanded that four provinces located on the right side of the Mekong River be returned from French occupation. This led to the Indochina war. These provinces were Siemrat, Phra Tabong, Si Sophon, and Champasak. Luang Wichitwathakan, the then-Director-General of the Fine Arts Department composed Kham Khong, a patriotic song with Thai lyrics using the melody of the Western song Swanee River. This song was created to remind Thai people of these four provinces so that they would always be remembered as a part of Thailand.
The Kham Khong song was very popular and avidly instilled a patriotic sense into the hearts of Thai people. Such a dramatic effect influenced the Excise Department to use "Mekhong" to name the 35-degree special blended spirit that was newly produced in 1941.
Source - Wikipedia
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