Araujo Estate Wines Visit – Napa, USA
Posted by birdie in North America, Wine on April 26, 2013
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130426 Araujo – Vineyard
It’s not open to the public and normally accessible to buyers of their wine for at least five consecutive years. But Bart and Daphne Araujo were very kind to allow us to pay a visit their winery, Araujo Estate Wines. The first stop on our California trip, we were a bit jet lagged, but arriving at the small vineyard got us all excited.
Review – 208 Duecento Otto, Hong Kong
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130415 208 Duecento Otto – Main entrance
130415 208 Duecento Otto – Signage
We tried 208 Duecento Otto soon after it first opened a few years ago as we heard that the pizza was outstanding. However, we were very much disappointed as it was too watery. Sticking to our principle of not writing about what we don’t like, that’s why we didn’t have a review. But recently, we heard that they have a new chef, Alan Marchetti, manning the ship. So we decided to give it another shot.
Rare Birdie on Jade 1 @ Discovery Bay, Hong Kong
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130414 Discovery Bay, Jade 1 (Par 5)
The Par 5 Jade 1 at Discovery Bay is not a regular Birdie hole for us. But today we hit a perfect drive to the top tier just before the valley followed by a 5-wood that took us to just behind the 150 yard marker. On a bit of an upslope, we took a 6-iron and aimed a bit right. A clean hit, but expecting to turn left back to the center of the green, I kept going right. Fortunately, I was still on and pin high, but 36 feet from the hole! With a slight left to right break, a firm putt tracked right into the hole…unexpectedly. Sweet though.
Birdie Meets the Phoenix at Phoenix Hill, China
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130412 Phoenix Hill, B9 (Par 5)
We don’t go to China much these days, but Phoenix Hill is one of our favorites. More so at hole B9 today. Pushing our drive left luckily missed the fairway bunker on the Par 5. Taking a 5-wood we tried to lay up to the 100 yard mark but another pulled shot headed for the trees. The caddie reassured us that we were fine and although in between the trees, we had a clear shot to the green. Lying a bit in the thick stuff, we took a bit more club with the pitching wedge. Perfectly struck, I shot right at the flag…and yes it was a bit too much club. Ending up just on the fringe of the green and faced with a tricky downhill putt, we decided to take our putter and give it a go. A small tap sent me rolling down the slope and navigated the left to right break perfectly, I got closer and closer to the hole. Bang, right in the center of the cup! A nice Birdie, which also helped the putting statistics for the day.
Review – Rōnin, Hong Kong
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130404 Rōnin – Main entrance
130404 Rōnin – Branded coaster
We heard about this new Japanese joint from Matt Abergel of the Yardbird fame. But we always thought that it would adopt the same no reservations policy so we took some time to find a day where we could go early. But we were very glad to hear that they DO take reservations! By email only, reservations nonetheless. There were two sittings, one at 6:00 and one at 8:15. We took the former and was reminded that we had to give back the table at 8. No problem. However, finding the entrance might be a problem as there were no signs whatsoever. Fortunately C came across a blog post by Gourmet KC (in Chinese) so we knew where to go. But On Wo Lane is short and by elimination, you’ll also find it in no time.
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