Had this hoppy Pilsen from VBL Tien Giang Limited, Vietnam with dinner at Hale Vietnam. This beer has a convoluted history, originally being a product of the Lao Brewing Company in Laos until 1990, but now produced by various breweries and sold in various idiosyncratic markets around the world. The particular USDM-labeled specimen I had was labeled that it was brewed in Vietnam. It still had the LBC tiger logo, but it was all-red, instead of the brown tiger inside a red circle that is the current LBC logo. Continue reading ‘Beer Is Good – “33†Export Lager’
Archive for the 'Review' Category
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Since I destroyed my old HiFi in Japan this past March, I’ve been in need of a replacement. My old one was around a hundred USD from Island Snow Hawaii back when they sold snowboarding gear. I probably could have gotten it for less online, but I was buying locally where I could actually try the product on. Since the sizing was already taken care of, and there is no comprehensive local source for retail snowboarding gear anymore, I waited for a good deal online. The season is winding down and a lot of good stuff is going on sale. Besides, a hundred bucks intuitively is way too much to pay for what is essentially a piece of EPS from the PRC. I was looking last season, but I never managed to find a nice color in the proper size for a good price. This season there was a nice camo finish, and when it went on sale for 25% off at Backcountry I was tempted. Since the riding season is essentially over for me this year, I thought I’d give it a little while longer to see if the price would drop. The overall stock amount and size run looked good, so there was no rush. Continue reading ‘2008/09 Burton Red HiFi Helmet’
JeffW saw this place on the Channel 8 “Cheap Eats” segment earlier in the week, so we went there for lunch on Friday. I didn’t make the adventure down to the old Hamada Store location on Queen Street just a little ‘Ewa from Ward Avenue on the makai side. Apparently, even with the phoned-in order, my coworkers still had a half-hour wait for the food.  The interior layout was apparently not set up for efficient customer or workflow, and the staff level was insufficient for the level of work subsequent to the TV spot publicity. We couldn’t even get a phone call in on Thursday! Continue reading ‘Queen Street Cafe’
Got these a while back from Chain Reaction Cycles in the UK (that was a story unto itself!) and put them on the Chase back in December of last year. The winter rains and switchover to snowboarding mode kept me off the bike until recently, but now with the lengthening days and drier weather, it’s two-wheel time again. Outwardly, these are similar to the XTR SL-M970 shifters, with blocky pods, long, awkward looking finger levers, and skinny perches. Shimano has purposely gone with a more “prototype†or “werks†appearance on their newer MTB parts instead of the fluid, beautifully sculpted look of their earlier parts. Unlike the XTR’s, these are provided with optical gear displays. The release levers are dual-release (push or pull) like the XTR’s, but aren’t multi-release (only one shift per pull). The pods are adjustable laterally on the perches, but only two positions are available, instead of the stepless slide. Continue reading ‘Shimano Deore XT SL-M770 Shifters’
I can’t really be happy about this right now because of all the krapp that happened today. I broke my Oakley Wisdoms in Japan hitting my face on a tree branch. These Oakley Crowbar Asian-fit goggles came along on Brociety just in time. Yellow frame and black iridium lenses. Base lens tint looks like VR-28 color. Ventilation looks about as marginal as the Wisdom, so they should fog-up under similar circumstances. Foam fits my face nicely. Nice, shiny, and new. Whee. Okay, I’m a little happy… maybe. Continue reading ‘New Oakley Crowbar Snow Goggles’
Okay, the rubber friction piece on the handlebar mount instantly peeled off between the first use and second use. Contact cement should remedy this. I suggest purchasing a second mount if you plan on moving this light between bikes. There are both identical replacement mounting brackets or a hose-clamp style ones available. I’ve had mixed experiences with both types, so I can’t really recommend one over the other. Continue reading ‘Cateye HL-EL450 Update’
Finally, I’m no longer “Mr. Astronaut-mummy-hands.†Got a new set of Burton AK gloves on sale from Dogfunk for 50% off. These current gloves are made much trimmer than the early generation version I had originally. I think the ones I had were the first generation Gore-Tex 3L taped gloves. Yes – taped! I’m not talking about a prefabricated Gore-Tex insert here – we’re talking Gore-Tex 3L fabric stitched together into a glove shell and seam-taped! The palms were a synthetic material that went cracky and peely after about the third use, but since this material was an overlay over the actual PTFE material, there was no waterproofing problem, so I didn’t bother getting warranty service on them. Many seasons later, the grippy material was pretty much worn away, leaving only the fuzzy substrate. I do know that this issue was cleared up the next year with a genuine leather palm Continue reading ‘Burton AK Throttle Gloves’
The direct successor to the original HL-EL400/410 LED headlamp (top, in left photo), the new HL-EL450 (bottom, in left photo) utilizes a single high-output LED instead of three standard ones. The light output is cleaner, brighter, and more focused. The apparent brightness is around twice that of the older model. The packaging says “400 candlepowerâ€, whereas the HL-EL410 was rated at 180 (the HL-EL400 was only 90 candlepower). Against a Surefire M2 with a P60L 80-lumen LED module, the apparent brightness is around half to a third, so I’m guessing the element is in the 25 to 40-lumen/1-watt range. The housing is all plastic, so it isn’t generating a whole bunch of heat like an 80-lumen/3-watt unit would be. The light body is very similar structurally and aesthetically to the original light. The bezel is o-ring sealed (exact same silicone o-ring) and comes off the body with the same 1/8th-turn bayonet-style mounting. Power comes from the familiar three AAA (LR03) batteries. Battery run time is noted as 30-hours on high and 60-hours on low or flashing on the packaging. The HL-EL410 was also rated for 30-hours for the constant mode and 60-hours flashing (there was no low power setting). The HL-EL400 was rated at 80-hours constant and 160-hours flashing. Continue reading ‘Cateye HL-EL450 Headlamp’
Dropped in to Hiroshimayaki Shou-chan again with Root. Only the two of us, so we got one combination Hiroshimayaki, the beef tendon stew, and we tried the braised chicken. Everything was very good. The stew was tender and flavorful like last time. The Hiroshimayaki was cooked perfectly and constructed with care and attention. The chicken was soft and well-infused with the flavor of the tomato-based sauce. If you’ve ever had Japanese-style rolled cabbage, you’ll be familiar with the flavor of the sauce. Continue reading ‘Shouchan Revisited’
I saw this place on the channel 8 news this morning, so we dropped by for lunch today. Anticipating a crowd due to the coverage, we downloaded the menu and phoned in an order. I got the Hamburger Steak. The menu noted that it was handmade and ground from steak. We drove down to Kalihi to pick up the plates. Luckily we had a driver and someone to run out since there was no parking. There is limited street parking, but with all the industrial businesses in the area, most of it is taken. The restaurant itself is small and has only a pair of wooden tables and benches outside for seating. Their clientele is primary take out. Plates come with a choice of white or brown rice; a choice of tossed greens, macaroni salad, or a cooked vegetable; and a topping sauce. I chose brown rice and tossed greens. Since the hamburger steak included gravy, there was no need for sauce. Continue reading ‘Pongo’s Kitchen Hamburger Steak’