LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS
The Chinese New Year starts on 8 February and to celebrate, Melbourne is turning up the festive spirit with a few events on to celebrate the new Year of the Monkey.
You can check out the Lunar New Year Hawkers’ Bazaar (5-7 February) on by the Yarra River at Crown which will host an array of delicacies and entertainment or if you’re down in the Docklands head to The Age’s Lunar Markets (4 -14 February) for food stalls, outdoor bars and entertainment.
Alternatively, head to Emporium Melbourne to check out their Lanterns or pick up a new outfit in ode to the Chinese tradition of wearing new clothes for Chinese New Year.
On the food front, if you’re at Emporium Melbourne, head to New Shanghai for a tasty dumpling celebration of Chinese New Year. If you’re after something a bit different, The Windsor Hotel’s traditional Afternoon Tea is embracing Chinese New Year by incorporating classic Asian ingredients, with pastries featuring kumquat, lychee and peach and dim sum inspired savouries, set to be added to the delicious spread from Monday 8 February for 2 weeks!
Head to http://www.cnymelbourne.com.au/home/ to find out more about what’s going on in Melbourne this Lunar New Year.
NATIONAL PISCO SOUR DAY WITH THE PISCO PEOPLE
Saturday, 6 February marks Pisco Sour Day, a public holiday in Peru dedicated to honouring pisco, the country’s national drink, along with the history it encompasses. Falling on the first Saturday of February each year, Pisco Sour Day, or Día del Pisco Sour, celebrates the cocktails importance to Peru’s cultural heritage. Created by Victor Vaughen Morris, an American bartender from Utah living in Lima in the early 1900s, the Pisco Sour rapidly became the drink of choice for aristocrats and expatriates living or visiting Peru.
Such is the importance of the beloved cocktail to Peru, that they have on occasion been known to transform Lima’s central water feature into a pisco sour fountain in celebration of its national day.
But given we can’t call make it to Peru to celebrate, The Pisco People, a boutique distributor, wholesaler and online retailer of premium pisco, has developed a traditional pisco sour recipe for Australians to join in on quality South American sipping.
And to make things easy, The Pisco People have also created a pisco sour kit, available to purchase online now at www.thepiscopeople.com.au.
The classic Peruvian recipe combines pisco, lime juice, sugar syrup and egg white with a dash of Angostura or Amargo Chuncho bitters – a particularly refreshing cocktail for summer down under.
RECIPE (Creates 4 cocktails)
Ingredients
- 1 cup pisco – The Pisco People suggest using a Cuatro G’s or Vinas De Oro Quebranta style
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/3 cup sugar syrup*
- 1 tablespoon of egg white
- A handful of ice
- Angostura or Amargo Chuncho bitters
Note: Sugar syrup is made by boiling equal quantities of sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Cool before using. You can keep your sugar syrup in the fridge for up to 6 months.
Method
The easiest way to make the perfect Peruvian Pisco Sour at home is to use a blender.
Add your ingredients (excluding the bitters) into your blender and blend for one minute until thick and frothy. Once the mixture is frothy its ready to serve. Pour it into four glasses and top with 1-3 drops of Angostura or Amargo Chuncho bitters, making sure to allow the bitters to sit on top of the froth and avoiding mixing them through the cocktail.
For more information on Pisco visit www.thepiscopeople.com.au
THE GREAT BRITAIN HOTEL GETS A NEW LOOK AND NEW RANGE OF ALCOHOL MILKSHAKES
The Great Britain Hotel in Richmond has had a complete makeover with a refurbished beer garden (just in time for summer) and also a new kitchen and food offering. Pub-goers can also now select from a range of hearty dishes, catering for hungry patrons who were previously ordering takeaway from surrounding venues to enjoy with their drinks including tacos, double-decker burgers, deep fried pickles, chilli chicken ribs and onion rings.
It has also introduced new alcoholic milkshakes, decadent and sweet topped with lashings of whipped cream and lots of fun toppings. We’ve seen the craze of ‘freakshakes’, now ‘boozy shakes’ are making their mark. Diners can choose from a range of tipple combinations, including the salted caramel and pretzel shake with bourbon, the banana and chocolate milkshake with Frangelico and the Guinness shake with ice-cream, Jameson, caramel and rich chocolate syrup.
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