Long Island iced tea and gin and tonic.
S.i. Pub, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
After full days of walking around in the sweltering heat, cold drinks were very much needed to relax and unwind at night. S.i. Pub is actually where we witnessed a street fight break out between two motorcyclists because they got into an accident. It was kinda exciting – I’m not gonna lie, lol!
Adult badminton game, Cong Vien 23 Thang 9 Park.
Tiger beer and Saigon beer. I liked all the beers I tried in Vietnam. They were all the on the light side and super easy to drink.
Cafe Thi, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
This bar had some great cover bands play beginning at 10pm! They sang a nice variety of songs that the entire crowd could get into. The acoustics in the place was pretty bad though.
Margarita and gin and tonic. The cocktails in Ho Chi Minh as a whole weren’t very good, but Cafe Thi did make a pretty good margarita. It was weird that they served it in a small martini glass though. I need my booze! 🙂
Bonsai planters along the Saigon River.
Fried rice with shrimp, calamari. 114,000 VND
Bamboo Garden, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
This dish was OK. The seafood was actually pretty tender and flavorful, but the dish as a whole was kinda boring. They actually just scooped the fried rice into the clay pot before serving. I thought that it was gonna be cooked in it so that there would be crispy rice at the bottom, but that didn’t happen. 😦
Caipirinha: dark rum, lime, and sugar. Two for 85,000 VND
Long Island Iced Tea: tequila, gin, rum, vodka, triple sec, coke, and lemon.
Saigon Opera House (Municipal Theater of Ho Chi Minh City).
Planter’s Punch: Bacardi light rhum, triple sec, lemon juice, pineapple juice, soda. 220,000 VND
Rex Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
So this was probably the most we spent for cocktails while in Vietnam. We really wanted to check out the rooftop bar though (and get out of the scorching heat). The Rex hotel is historic and it was quite relaxing up on the roof so I really didn’t mind too much about spending a little more for drinks here. My Planter’s Punch tasted pretty weak and not as sweet and vibrantly colored as those you would find on a Caribbean island.
Gin and tonic. 240,000 VND
Salted peanuts.
Table centerpiece.
View from the Rex Hotel rooftop.
A Taste of Yauatcha menu £28.88 for 2 people
Yauatcha, London ENGLAND
These were more your typical dim sum dumpling items so this steam tray was more familiar than the others (and maybe a little more boring). The two kinds of dumplings were actually really good though. The har gow is a tried and true standard. I’m not completely sure what all was in the fen guo dumpling, but I would guess it was a mixture of pork, shrimp, garlic chives, mushrooms and peanuts.
Golden aster martini: Buffalo Trace bourbon, Antica forumula sweet vermouth, Aperol, saffron, lemon and chilli syrup. £9.80
Aged Vesper martini: Tanqueray No. Ten gin, Belvedere vodka and Lillet Blanc vermouth. £9.90
These cocktails were nicely made and delicious!
Oxford Circus with cute London cabs.
Gin, lime and cucumber. Served on the rocks. $9
Oswald, Santa Cruz CA
This cocktail was good, but it wasn’t as bright and refreshing as I thought it was going to be. Hmm…
San Lorenzo River and the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.
Ramble: gin, sugar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, muddled raspberries, crushed ice.
Comme Ca, Las Vegas NV
Mmm, I LOVED the cocktails at Comme Ca! There were plenty to choose from and they were all deilcious and very different. AND during happy hour they are half off – SCORE!
Sazerac: rye whiskey, sugar, peychaud bitters, absinthe.
Hemingway Daiquiri: silver rum, maraschino liquor, fresh lime juice, grapefruit juice.
Rose Eight: 108.2′ bourbon, orange juice, fresh lemon juice, honey/grenadine, rose flower water.
New York Sour: bourbon, sugar, egg white, freshly squeezed lemons, red wine float.
Shimmy Flappers: vodka, aperol, fresh lemon juice, sugar, red wine float.
Spa collins: gin, basil, mint, cucumber, orange, citrus, ginger beer. $11
Chambers Eat and Drink, San Francisco CA
I loved brunch cocktails, especially when they’re expertly made. These cocktails were ok. The Spa Collins was on the tart side and the Bloody Mary was on the bland side. I did really enjoy the Lucky Lemonade though!
Lucky lemonade: bourbon and house made lemonade. $8
Bloody mary: the traditional favorite made with house sambal and vodka. $9
Dirty Blonde: Makers Mark, Dekuyper peach schnapps, lemonade, mint. $10
Escena Martini: Pearl cucumber vodka, Beefeater gin, tonic, lime juice, cucumber garnish. $12
Escena Lounge & Grill, Palm Springs CA
Mmm, a couple of refreshing cocktails on a warm sunny day. You can’t beat that!
Assorted rolls. Complimentary
View of Idyllwild country from Mt. San Jacinto.
Lilikoi Margarita: Invented in 1993, tangy passion fruit with tequila served on the rocks.
Bamboo Restaurant, Hawi HI
This was ok – a little too tart for my liking. It was cute that they’re served in coconut shell glasses though.
Bamboozle Iced Tea: Our version of the Long Island Tea, gin, vodka, dark rum, tequila and triple sec with pineapple and yes, lilikoi, finished with a splash of Coke.
Either this was super weak, or super well-made. It tasted great and went down easily – uh oh, that could be trouble!
Indian wooden statues, Akoni Pule Highway.
Pimm’s, gin, lemon, mint, cucumber. $11
Chambers Eat and Drink, San Francisco CA
I was already buzzed when I took this pic so I can’t recall 100% how the cocktail was, lol! I think it was a little on the sour side though. 🙂
Classic red car, 24th Street. I don’t know my cars, but this one caught my eye. It also had SF 49ers flags attached to its windows. Cool!
Cocktail with Hendrick’s gin, elderflower cordial, lemon, soda and fresh cucumber. 5 O’Clocktails £4.25
All Bar One, London ENGLAND
Ahhh, this was a nice and refreshing cocktail to have on a bright sunny day. We packed in a lot of sightseeing over the two full days we were in London so this cocktail was well deserved, lol!
London Bridge sign. This isn’t the prettiest bridge on the River Thames, but I guess I had to walk on it to check it off the list.
Vittle Monster 