Drunk Geeks @ Drunken Monkey

For once I traded in Codename T for Misses Bourbon. And I'll have to admit I finally had someone good to look at. After all, Codename T is the person who single-handedly turned a paperbag into not only a valid, but also a necessitated fashion accessory for him. But I jest, Codename T is a character, chiseled out of pure marble by the fists of Hephaestus himself.
But I digress. Misses Bourbon is an expert in Asian food and Dim Sum in particular. An appropriated feat seeing as we were headed to The Drunken Monkey. A cocktail bar annex Dim Sum restaurant in Shoreditch. From the start the bar was set high. But did Drunken Monkey pass our gruelling tests?
Short answer? Yes, although not without shortcomings.


The Venue:

The bar/restaurant looks great with the red Chinese lanterns and wooden finish on the tables and walls. The music was modern and non-Asian which is actually a perfect decision as Asian music would have made it REALLY tacky. The venue was a bit loud but altogether it had a great atmosphere which surely made Codename Bourbon score points.


The Food:

All dishes came were well proportioned and were overall quite tasty.
"The Siu Mai came from frozen packages" Misses Bourbon immediately muttered as she dug into the first of the batch. And sure enough, I believe I have some of these stuck in my freezer somewhere. Way On brand I believe? VERY Bad Monkey. I myself was not entirely impressed by the chicken lettuce parcel, somehow getting a separate plate with 4 lettuce leaves makes me wonder what I'm supposed to do with those? A few more cocktails and I could see myself throw them as the new vegetarian frisbees. (ninja-style baby) The vegetables in it though were nice and crunchy and the dish itself tasted good, but it felt a bit too much like eating a chicken noodle soup ... with lettuce leaves.

The chicken wings were nicely fried and salty. The ribs were succulent and delicious, and best of all: they came with lots of meat to gnaw off. That's why I order ribs you know, to gnaw off juicy marinated meat. Hate it when you get those tiny bony ribs where you feel you need to suck the marrow out just out of sheer necessity. Cheers for that Monkey, excellent job.
The piece-de-resistance though was surely the fried squid. Doused with just the exact right amount of chili, garlic and salt, yum. Then fried to perfection. The bowl of squid was in my honest opinion of a higher quality than what you would get in some Chinatown places. And Misses Bourbon has a similar opinion.


The Drinks:

But the drinks, because that's why I came here.

Black Rose:

Black Rose is a cocktail made from Four Roses bourbon, cherry liqueur, and a finish of prosecco.
Overall this was a well-balanced cocktail and I loved how even though this screams sweet, the prosecco gave it a mild sour finish. All flavours are well in-tune and it makes for a lovely drink! It looks good to with the three marinated cherries topped on the ice.






Simian Features:




This is the house signature drink, it's an exotic cocktail made from El Dorado rum, with pineapple and passion fruit juice, topped-up with soda and with fresh basil leaves.

What struck me first was how good this drink looks with the passion seeds. A real eye-catcher of a drink.
The taste itself is wonderful. A rich fruity taste which again is not too sweet, a hint of sourness from the passion fruit too. The basil gave it a more spicy hint which became much more dominant as the drink was finishing. A sad realization as this drink has now become one of my favourites.


My only negative point was perhaps a bit too much ice in the drinks (does a diet coke really need 10 ice-cubs?) And in the case of the Simian Features, perhaps not crushed enough. But let those rather minor details not get us carried away from the main finding, namely the fact that Drunken Monkey serves some class-A drinks that soothe the taste-buds, even while dining on Dim-sum!

Efficacious hang over remedies

Sometimes it happens to the best of us, we drink too much and we forget and have a bad time.

You may be aware of this sensation, maybe not. If you've never had a hangover then, my phantasm, you are blessed. We will sing songs of your glory and triumph over the beast that lurks in us all always waiting, scratching at the door for release after that second to last shot


My favourite hang over remedy is pretty simple, it requires one litre of water, one seriously strong black coffee and twenty minutes. These are the instructions which are to be followed to the letter with no deviation. This is important:



Drink the water
Drink the coffee
Spend twenty minutes on your bed crying softly ' my god, my god, what have I done'



I find this to be a most excellent remedy to most self perpetrated ills. Honest maria, give it a go next time you drink to excess.



Please do write in with your remedies detailing what do, how do and time required. You may win a pint


Codename T, signing off with a furious hangover but still much peace, power and love to you

~~ T.E.A 4.2% Traditional English Ale ~~ Neat

T.E.A @ The Lord Clyde, Clenham Street

We were strolling around and we found this pretty expansive pub tucked away down a side street. It looked neat and had some friendly faces on the outside, the regulars were friendly and bearded. Still, a massive sausage fest. The bar staff were neat and very friendly. It was like walking into an old gents pub...Infact, it was walking into an old gents pub - wood panelling everywhere. Perhaps a shotgun beneath the counter. Dart boards. Photo's of the Empire at and it's engineering triumphs. It was okay

THE BEER: TEA Traditional English Ale (ABV 4.2%). It's brewed by The Hogs Back Brewery down in Tongham, Surrey. TEA is The Hogs flagship ale. We agreed:

Codename B : Liquorice, sweet earthy taste.Good finish. Tasty

Codename T : Sweet, light and fruity. Lovely bitter.

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION:
The brewery’s flagship ale is pale brown, with a hoppy and slightly fruity aroma supported by malt in the taste. A well crafted, bittersweet beer with a long dry finish. A classic Best Bitter.


This was a great beer, really enjoyable and we debated whether it could be drunk all day. . Possibly. Hogback people, if you are reading this; our compliments! if you'd like to send us some samples, we'll gladly review them

PRICE GUIDE:Around £6 for two pints and a pack of peanuts. Salted. Quite acceptable

Codename T: Signing off with much power & love to you

~~Moondance 4.2% Best Bitter~~ HOWLing at the cost

MOONDANCE @ The Goldsmith SE1


We walked into the pub and it was a good atmosphere, a bit small, a massive sausage fest but nicely decorated. "Homely" Codename B would say, "Bored" Codename T would say. Unlike most of the pubs in London Bridge, it did not smell bad and the barstaff were keen on the constant cleaning of all the wipable surfaces. There were real potted plants dotted around and some nice leather furniture. Quite tasteful. It did give the impression that we, two geeks, were outdside of our economic league. The food menu was excellent and very varied but srsly, can anyone answer what the obsession with baked camembert is?*

THE BEER:  Moondance 4.2 % ABV - it's brewed by the Triple FFF Brewery in Hampshire. It won awards in 2002, 2009 and 2010 for being the best bitter. We disagreed:

Codename B : Light, citrus as a first taste and a strong bitter aftertaste. 6/10

Codename T : Sour, bitter, chemical with a trace of spoiled fruit. 3/10

Official description: One of our original recipes, amber coloured best bitter with copious amounts of Cascade hops. Wonderfully aromatic floral nose balanced by a gentle bitterness with a hint of sweetness. No wonder this beer has won the most awards of all the beers in our range.

Perhaps it was the pub? If anyone from Triple FFF Brewery is reading this, please send us a sample of the beer as it should be and we'll gladly retract our negative review. We like free things

* If you know what the obsession is, please write us - you will win a free pint and the pleasure of our company.Email in with your answers


PRICE GUIDE: For two pints of Moondance and some peanuts it cost a whopping £8.50. We were way out of our league here. We had an informative discussion regarding processors and graphic cards

Codename T: signing off with much love & power to you

Drunk Geeks - First Go

GENTLEMEN!! LADIES!!

Drunk Geeks is a new blog written by geeks who like to drink beer. what you must know is this; not all beer is good - some is excellent, some is mediocre and some is chemical death.

In this blog, we will present you with our opinions of not just the pint but the pub itself. We do not limit ourselves to just beer though. Sometimes we have cocktails. Mostly we drink lots of beer and discuss the imponderable. Over time, we will work on the presentation of this blog and fill it with mixed media - simply because we can.


A little bit about the team:

Codename B: Is equipped with a full beard, biting wit and a formidable knowledge of computers, programming, and linguistics. He sometimes takes momentos.

Codename T: Is equipped with an indepth knowledge of out of date sci-fi, a passable knowledge of computers and a squint. He sometimes dresses erratically.