Taste of Beligum #5: Jenever and Beer

Jenever (aka Holland/Dutch gin) is a traditional liquor of the Netherlands and Belgium. It is popular for its different favors ranging from many types of fruits or cream favors. My sister tried it and kept raving about it so of course we had to try....

We head over to "De Vagant", a Jenever bar:

There were so many favors to choose from but I ordered the lychee and Andy got the pear favor. Before you take a shot of Jenever, first you're suppose to take a sip of it while the shot is on the table then you chuck the whole thing.

I thought mine was a little to strong. Andy's pear was REALLY good! Cheers to our first Jenever! At this time, I couldn't handle another shot so we all only had one. Andy and I were both dead tired because we just got off the plane and I haven't slept yet. If I drank anymore I would probably be sleeping/passed out on the table.
One of my highlights, we stumbled upon the Cathedral Bar in Antwerp. It was a very cozy bar with lots of interesting decor of many Catholic saints and church related stuff. It's like we walked into a mini basilica but they serve alcohol!

Steven had a strong beer:

the rest of us had fruity (cheery and raspberry) beer! It's light and taste really good!

drinking beer in the afternoon the Belgium way...

We also found another hold in the wall beer/wine tasting place while trying to find Jeanneken Pis, peeing girl in Brussels. We got tired of looking for her so stopped by at Délices et Caprices for a drink:
It was a really small store with a few tables. There were cabinets and shelves of beer everywhere.

The owner was really nice and chatted with us. He gave us really good recommendations. Steven had the strong beer and we again had the fruity stuff. Sita picked the apple and we had the raspberry beer.

I really like this one...

he let us try a light beer:

Cheers to a great time in Belgium!!

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De Vagant
Reyndersstraat 25
2000 Antwerp, Belgium
03 233 15 38

Cathedral Bar (?)
can't find information online

Délices et Caprices
Rue des Bouchers 68
Brussels, Belgium B1000
02 5121451

My Foodie Twin's Birthday Brunch

Birthday Brunch at Double Crown then dessert run at Ferrara....
The food at Double Crown was really good!!! *will write about it later but here's the pics**

Happy Birthday Cecille! <3

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Double Crown
316 Bowery
New York, NY 10012
(212) 254-0350
www.doublecrown-nyu.com

Ferrara
195 Grand Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 226-6150

www.ferraracafe.com

Free McCafe To Start Off Your Week....

Free Coffee on Mondays (Now-August 3, 2009)

McDonalds will be offering FREE coffee on Mondays starting July 13 until August 3 at participating McDonalds from 7am to 7pm. Customers will receive a free 7 oz iced Mocha or an 8 oz hot McCafe Mocha.

Yesterday after lunch, Teresa and I decide to check out the free McCafe coffee from McDonalds. There were big signs advertising the free coffee which followed by long lines. The wait wasn't bad, we probably waited around 10-15 mins.

was the wait worth it???

not really...

First of all, I'm not a coffee fan. I only drink coffee on a need to drink basis AKA when I need to stay awake to study. During the past month, Starbucks bottled Frappuccino (I hate starbucks coffee from the store, too bitter!!!) was what I survived on for my all nighters. I usually like to drink tea with milk and sugar or the HK style milk tea (yes, there's a difference...)
The McCafe didn't have much mocha taste at all. It was very rich but bitter. Will I order this in the future? yes, only if it's for free.... =X

Memorial Day Celebration-Cooper 35

I meet up with Maribeth aka my gf/bff for Memorial Day. I followed her to run an errand in the afternoon. After that we decided to find a place to pig out. I was craving some cupcakes so we decided to go to near Sugar Sweet Sunshine to find a place to have a drink, eat some snacks then have cupcakes for deserts. We went there but discovered that most places near Essex Street were closed including SSS! For some reason, we always have bad luck going to restaurants on days they are closed. We were disappointed...

We spent ~15 mins on the street brainstorming places where we want to go eat. We decided to go to near St. Marks for some drinks and snack. We ended up at Cooper 35, an Asian fusion restaurant/pub. It was such a great day so we decide to sit at the outdoor garden area. The place was nice and cozy!
Prices for mix drinks and shots are so cheap here! I would usually get these drinks at clubs for $12+ and here it's only $4!! The drinks taste good (I like my drinks fruity) and they aren't cheap on the alcohol either...

1st Round: I had the Bay Breeze and she had the lychee martini. For appetizers, we ordered the fried calamari and salsa&chips (complimentary). The calamari was really good! It was very crispy and the sauce was tangy with a kick of spicy flavor.

2nd Round: I had the Bay Breeze and she had the Sea Breeze. We're still working on our appetizers.....

After two drinks, it was time for some shots!

3rd Round: We ordered the Skittle Boom for both of us. And we also ordered more drinks, I ordered the WooWoo and she ordered the Tequila Sunrise drink. Man, they were really strong... We had to order more food to absorb the alcohol. We ordered a California rolls and a shrimp dish that came with rice. Both of these dish were so so... I don't think I would come here for a sit down dinner.

We hanged out at Cooper 35 for about 4-5 hours. The waiters and waitress didn't bother us at all for staying so long. They just left us alone and came when we needed them. Towards the end of the night the place started to get packed. The garden area was full and the inside area was already 1/2 packed. We couldn't drink anymore so we left and roamed around St. Marks where Maribeth ordered more food to take home. She ordered korean style chicken from BBQ Chicken, fries from Pomme Frits and sushi from somewhere. Yea, this girl can eat! All I ate was a corn dog from BBQ and it was a corn dog that's made from olive oil...

I had such a blast catching up with my gf. What a perfect way to spend a great afternoon with great company, good drinks and yummi snacks. But I gotta say those drink really kicked my ass... Happy Memorial Day!

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35 Cooper Sq
New York, NY 10079
(212) 375-919