Chifa
Happy Hour is a happy occasion with people relaxing, drinking, blowing off steam from the life’s drama and every day BS. We stopped by Chifa for the Beer Week Happy Hour with the restaurant running a promotion on Victory Beer(s). The strange thing was, we didn’t find much of an occasion going on at Chifa when we arrived. There was a small office crowd pretenders at the bar munching on the reduced price happy hour snacks drinking fu fu cocktails. A couple of tourists, two women loading up on happy hour food before heading to the theater, a couple who looked like they were married but not to each other..; but none seemed to be in a sociable happy mood nor drinking beer. It didn’t help that the bar wasn’t even promoting the beer event and we had to ask the bartender specifically if the Victory beers were on special.
We decided that that was going to be a one beer stop. Before we walked out of the place, we had a pork bun which I considered as one of the best thing on Chifa’s menu. The combination of the spongy bun, sweet sauce, and the sliver of pork belly was just what we needed as a late afternoon snack. We washed that down with a Victory Summer Love ale which was brewed in conjunction with the Philadelphia Tourism marketing campaign. We didn’t have a pork bun and a Summer Love each, We split a pork bun and a Summer Love.
Good Dog Bar Back at more friendly territory, we stopped by the Firkin-Off between the Sly Fox Chester County Bitter and the Southampton Burton Ale at the packed Good Dog. The rule is simple: Whoever empties the firkin first wins.
Reminescent of a college scene, there were people chucking several beers at a time to help their side. I wondered if they would do the chucking if it weren’t for the low abv on the beers (4.5% for the Sly Fox, 4.4% for the Southampton)
It was good beer and good entertainment, especially for those who didn’t know what was going on when they walked into the door.
It was over before you realize. Sly Fox kicked its firkin in a record 11 minute 57 seconds! Varga Bar
After the excitement at Good Dog, we stopped by the more tranquil Varga Bar for a pre-dinner / post- firkin-off drink. The Southern Tier “Phin & Matt’s” American Pale Ale is a 5.5% easy drinking and tasty treat. Tourist Tree loved the “Gemini” Imperial Blended Ale from the same brewery. As the name has suggested, this 9.0% ale is a blend of the Southern Tier Hoppe Imperial EPA and the Southern Tier Unearthly Imperial IPA, with a slight burbon-ish hint.
Spice is a stimulant to the tongue receptors needed after several hours being awashed in beer suds. We decided to give our tongue receptors a treat at our favorite Chinese restaurant specializing in spicy Sichuenese cuisine.
The Fish and Tofu in Hot Broth was a big bowl of lightly fried fish fillet and silky soft tofu in a super flavorful broth accented with whole soy bean, diced red chili, and a few leaves of parsley. The dish was not the usual mouth numbing spicy hot but the liquid was so addictive that we just could not stop eating it.
Our misfortune turned into a nice surprise. After the waiter mistakenly sent our leftovers out the door with another customer (he even ran out of the door trying to look for him), Han made us a special spicy stir-fried crab to take home. The aroma from the package was so alluring that we started munching on some the pieces as we were walking down the street on the way to our next stop. Yes, we had a full dinner already but we still kept eating. I swear that Han puts drugs in his food.
Franklin Fountain Day Eight Beer Tally:
Victory Summer Love
Sly Fox Chester County Ale
Southampton Burton Ale
Southern Tier “Phin & Matts” American Pale Ale
Southern Tier “Gemini” Imperial Blended Ale
No night is complete until Tourist Tree gets her dessert.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment