All aboard… the NIGHT TRAIN!

Loaded like a freightrain

Flyin like an aeroplane

Feelin like a space brain one more time tonite!

Nightrain – by G ‘n R

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Makes u feel like a locomotive engine

Makes u feel like a locomotive engine. Cant clean drains tho

Yup, d one & only Nightrain Express! If u know what dat is, u an alconnoisseur. And ur sure to have your own Night Train incidents!

As u can see rock n roll bad boyz Guns ‘n Roses even dedicated a song to it.

As guitarist Duff said “We had no money but we could dig up a buck to go down to this liquor store. It happened to have this great wine called Nightrain that would fuck you up for a dollar. Five dollars and you’d be gone. We lived off this stuff.”

James Brown did one night train tune too, maybe as a tribute to da shit that has probably killed many people around d world. Not coz its toxic (well, if u down a few bottles u could probably die), but it gets u THERE in a hurry, sometimes unexpectedly.

Ghetto buddy

Ghetto brother

It’s a fortified apple wine from Modestos, California, by E&J Gallo. It’s ABV is 18% (hence fortified). I have no idea why its red tho. Maybe gasoline. But it’s not banned here or in the US, so sallgood.

It falls under the category of a bum wine aka street wine aka hooch aka wino wine aka ghetto wine aka liquid crack.

In college, we lived off this stuff too. It was $6.50 a bottle (easy twist-off cap) when I bought my first. My most heavy, off-the-rails, liver-shredding, train-wreck experience ridin d Train happened in downtown KL, during my college days.

I borrow my sista’s wheels n pick my friend Bala n sum other niga (cant remember who) and park near d Beach Club car park, n chill in d car for a bit. It ‘s a Friday nite n we gonna hit Hard Rock Café n party like shit n meet sum chicks.

There are three bottles of Train in d car. With GnR bouncing in d speakers, we promptly destroy them (one bottle each. Not recommended. Cos half always gets u blazed) within 30 minutes, and start to walk along Sultan Ismail to HRC, obviously smashed by then. I need to piss, so I casually unzip, whip it out and begin release da pressure on d hood of a car that was parked at the bus stop there.

This is like 8pm – heavy traffic along Sultan Ismail, but of course I dont givafuck. Senget.

Bala n sum other niga waited. Suddenly d fuckin car I was pissin on honks! I was like..  dafuck! Dis car got an anti-piss alarm or wat.

It was probably ‘wat’.

It horns again, coz I continue to piss on its hood. Watdefuck man. Chill

So I start to shuffle sideways to the driver’s window (still unloading of course, drank a whole bottle), so now am like, sprayin all over d door n shit.

I look at d other two drunk cats, and they just fuckin laughin man. They maintain their distance.

Putas.

I try to peer in, but can’t see much. Either the windows were fogged or d good ol Train was makin me blind. I can’t recall to be frank.

Brain damage, see?

Dude who was in d car never appears or winds down d window or runs me over. Weird.

Wonder what was goin thru his mind. He sees these three dudes swaying past, one approaches his car, unzips, n starts to piss all over it.

He must have assumed we were stone-cold gangbangers.  Yup.

Or retarded.

Either way, he/she leaves us alone. Serves u right for parking in a no-parking zone. It’s a goddam bus-stop, fer fucks sake.

Dat was your ticket, bitch.

Anyway, dint matter coz I give it a shake, zip up and continue zig-zagging with d boys to HRC. We briefly discuss d pissing incident, laughing heavily like drunks do.

Hey, at least we made it there

Destination of the three train riders. Hey, at least we made it there

We get there, order three bottles of Guinness plus a huge hamburger each. The Train somehow made us peckish. Maybe coz we swallowed it on empty stomachs. We take a sip of d drink, a bite of d burger (d goddam patty jumps out n hits da floor, son of bitch). I was like, fuuck!

I look at the empty burger buns, and walk out.

Can’t handle it no more. Loaded like a freightrain, flyin like an aeroplane.

My sis n her friends show up to HRC to party. They laugh at a body lyin on d stairs of HRC. People were like steppin over d body n shit. One of my sis’s friends says “Look at dat rogue! Haha! Not even 9 o’clock and he’s gone!”

My sis laughs. Then takes a second look. She says “That’s my brother!!!”

So my sis (whose car I borrowed dat nite) finds me, lying there, gone.

I only recall staggering out of d bar. I needed space. The Train had pulled into the station bitch.

It was 8.30pm. Our nite had not even begun.

She was shocked. Probably pissed too, coz now she has to drive me (and Bala and sum other niga) back, in HER car that I borrowed, and cancel her plans to party.

I vaguely recall lying in d back seat of her car, she being pulled over by cops for going up a one-way (she must have been hit by d Train fumes in da car), and then finally reaching home. Old man was standing at d door, obviously curious watdefuck were we doing back so early on a Friday nite, and why was I staggering.

He didn’t get d explanation he was waiting for from me. I brush past him, like he wasnt there, with my shoes on, and go to my room. Fall on d bed n crashed. Woke up next day with my shoes still on.

Man, rode d Train n derailed, big time! Them college days…  sweet memories.

Phew.

Its sister drink is Thunderbird (aka The American Classic), the white version. Not as good. ABV is 16%. I recall buying T-Bird with my hombres on hot n sunny Saturday afternoons, getting a pack of ice from the mamak, filling it with dat shit, and downing it with a straw.

Goddam u T-Bird, why dont u taste as good as d Train?

Goddam u T-Bird, why dont u taste as good as d Train?

Have had many interesting experiences with the Train. Always had one back-up bottle under my driver’s seat. Too easy. Leave house stone-cold sober, arrive 20 mins later at destination wasted. Party.

Have also passed it to friends in another car to have a sip, while driving on da road. Haha! Stunt driving n shit. Any drivers who saw it must have been ”What the..!”

But havin a whole bottle of the Train is a for sure a one-way ticket – “from sober to stupid” (as bumwine.com elegantly puts it). When u have it, do as the label commands: “Serve very cold” or die. The first sips might be a lil rough, but later swigs, as da Rastas say, is airay!

If u ever need an emergency operation or a tooth pulled out, the Train makes a good anesthetic. Wouldnt recommend drinkin d Train on an actual train. There might be a hijacking incident.

The Night Train is a good-tasting drink tho. U just gotta show it sum respect. Unfortunately it’s gettin more difficult to find – wanted one for d blog launch to pass around. Price is about $20+ i think.

U should have it chilled, but warm is actually pretty decent, and u gotta drink straight from d bottle, none of them fuckin “I’ll have mine in a glass please” crap. Take large swigs, and avoid doin d whole bottle yourself. Share da luv.

And have a good ride!

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II’ll never learn, I’m on the Night Train

And I’m looking for some

I’m on the Night Train and I’ll never get enough

I’m on the Night Train, and I’m ready to crash and buuurnnn…

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Every alco has Night Train stories. Trust me.

If u  have one, u can post yours at the comments section for a laugh!

If u see dis, chances are there'a dead body around

If u see dis, chances are there’s a body around

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Brain damage: 10/10. PERFECT SCORE!!

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Partying & messin about, Laos

Had an awesome 8-day vacation in Laos in Feb. Three ass-kickers – the bars/cafes, the booze, n d clean, clear river that runs through the town.

We landed in Vientiane and jumped into a van to Vang Vien immediately. Coz dats where its at.

Vang Vien is goddam beautiful, especially adventure stuff, the river and the hills.

I have a general policy to not travel the same place twice, but might make an exception for Vang Vien. It’s a mix of nature, adventure and partying.

We rented a couple of motorcycles (about RM20/day) that were real useful. Trashed them well – off-road n shit, to get to cool spots to drink n party by d river. And some caving.

Beer Lao is Laos’ best-kept secret. The best beer I had in years. Joleen, who dislikes beer, started drinkin beer there. Haha. It’s like two bucks a beer, and available everywhere. And i mean EVERYWHERE. Even under a bridge, by its pillar, while you’re kayaking or tubing downriver. It’s light-tasting and smooth. Alcohol is 5%.

And the local moonshine is called…. guess what? Lao-lao. So dat even if ur drunk n brain-dead, u can still say “more lao-lao!”.

It’s clear rice liquor, like Sarawak’s abortion-inducer, langkau (not to be confused with Sarawak’s mood-enhancer, tuak).

And the top whisky is called Tiger. Both of these are like only 8 bucks a bottle. Tiger is pretty decent. Warms u up quick when tubing downriver. Bars located all along d river. Just wave, they throw u a rope, n pull u in. Exchange some cash, get your booze, continue to float aimlessly downriver. Awesome.

So here are some glimpses. I wasnt carrying so most pix were taken by Khang & Joleen.

Khang enjoys the team's default breakfast

Khang enjoys the team's mandatory breakfast

Crossing d bridge... to d Other Side Bungalows (more like shacks, but luved it)

Crossing d bridge... to d Other Side Bungalows (more like shacks, but luved it)

Here are.... d shacks

Here are.... d shacks

The sun sets in our backyard

The sun sets in our backyard

The first nite. Hazy

The first nite. Hazy

Beer & mandi-sungai huts near our 'resort'

Beer & mandi-sungai huts near our 'resort'

Tiger whisky n sum other shine

Tiger whisky n sum other shine

Made a trip thru fields to a riverside spot to party n jump into d river

Made a trip thru fields to a riverside spot to party n jump into d river

Takin a break from d sun

Takin a break from d sun...

And ended up here. Niiice!

And started monkeying around, after several Smirnoffs

And started monkeying around, after several Green Apple Smirnoffs

Kayaked 8km downriver one morning, with the help of one Beer Lao every km

Here, have a rat.  We had a bbq-ed field mouse

Here! Have a rat. We had a bbq-ed field mouse. Rubbery shit

Bars n cafes have Happy Menus

Bars n cafes have Happy Menus

The psycho seven who were on da road. Effortlessly gave Malaysia a bad name

The psycho seven who were on da road. Effortlessly gave Malaysia a bad name

Booze is served Thai style

Booze is served Thai style. Sempoerna pack was BYO

Gettin drunk while tubing. Awesome trip downriver

Avoid these people at all costs

Avoid these travellers at all costs

If u want sights like these over there, u gotta be adventurous n clueless

If u want scenes like these over there, u gotta be adventurous. And clueless

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Brain damage rating: 8/10

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DIY tuak!

I have had an unending supply of great tuak, thanks to my friend Mary Jane – not her real name la. To protect her identity. She’s afraid her front door will be kicked in by a SWAT Team or hordes of tuak junkies.

She’s been with me at Sarawak many times for the world music fest. We normally get our supply from this hotel in Kuching that’s got da best shit (and d best laksa). Me n my crew would order like 70-80 bottles for d festival n drink kao-kao. Sometimes tapau some back to KL – still got some 07’s left.

Mmmm, golden rice juice. Sarawak laksa + tuak lunch

Mmmm, golden rice juice. Sarawak laksa + tuak lunch, Kuching. Perfection.

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So she liked it so much, she decided to learn makin it here in PJ . Her 50% Sarawakian genes finally kicked-in.

The first batch was ready last year. It turned out good. Some of the following batches were as good or better than d Kuching one! The colour is perfect – gold. Not too murky like d longhouse ones, which are forced down your throat when u go upriver in Sarawak. Man i got some tales about that!

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Some dude I met upriver. Nice hornbill feathers, hope d bird tasted good ol man

Some dude I met upriver. Nice hornbill feathers, hope d bird tasted good with tuak, ol man

Anyway, Mary Jane was kind enough to show me the tuak-brewing process. We”ll share it with yall – anybody can do it. Don’t ask me about d legality. Don’t know & don’t care. D way I see it, we’ve paid way too much booze taxes in this country already. According to The Star, Malaysians pay the second highest tax in d whole goddam planet for beer! Probably d same with other booze.

Like we earn a lot.

If u buy a can of beer for five bucks, about four bucks is tax. Stupid dam government, blowing our hard-earned money! Fuck em.

Anyway, ingredients are easily available. Maybe tedious but not difficult. I have yet to do it coz she’s just so nice to me – keeps me fed and supplied. Thanks Mary Jane! Ur da shit.

Anyway, if u start makin d product now, it will be ready in 3 months. No it’s not instant. Sorry.

Here’s d rundown on how to make tuak aka rice wine.

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Mary Jane has a tuak logbook. With dates & measurements

Mary Jane has a tuak logbook. With dates & measurements. Respect

MJ fixin me a shot to test d latest stuff

MJ fixin me a shot to test d latest merchandise

Wat u need: (measurements based on 1kg of rice, but u can go for 5kg for more product. Multiply other ingredients by five too)

1. Uncooked rice (glutinous rice – can get everywhere, like Tesco) – 1kg

2. Fine sugar – 1kg

3. Yeast – 1.5 pieces – get it from a Chinese medicine shop. Mary Jane gets it from Centerpoint, PJ. It’s “sweet yeast for Chinese wine”. Aka ‘chao peng’.

4. A pot

5. A hose pump or a cup

and that’s it

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Dates of each batch decorate the pot's cover

Dates of each batch decorate the pot's cover

p1010968

Moonshiners these days have d latest bottling technology

Process:

1. Cook d rice (if u don’t know how to dat, quit now)

2. Pound yeast into powder, add yeast to rice (cooled down), stir it up in a pot. Always cover the pot (not air-tight, but make sure no dirt or insects get in)

3. Wait 2 weeks (that’s tough)

A layer of liquid will appear above d mix.

4. Boil sugar in water (make syrup), add into pot once cool. Stir it up. Wait 6 weeks (hang in there)

5. Sieve d pot’s contents thru a strainer. Dump the strained stuff, pour d brew back into d pot. Wait a week

6. Pump out the clear liquid which will float above the murky part with a hose / pump. Or u could scoop out with a cup, but that might stir up the murky shit

7. Sieve again. Liquid should be clear – it’s called tuak! Start bottling d stuff

8. Time to drink!

 

Rice - more handy than i thought

Rice - more handy than i thought

It’s legit. Have had many of Mary Jane’s bottles and am still alive. Most important part of d process is hygiene. Sterilize everything with soap (not d ingredients).

Actually she did say sumtin about – u gotta b naked when u do it. Hmmm… dunno la, she hasn’t given me any live demo. Yet.

U can probably brew five bottles per kg of rice. BTW, it’s supposed to taste either sourish-sweet or sweetish-sour. If u have no idea, ask someone who has tasted tuak before to sample it. Like me.

Get busy! Believe me, it’s worth it! Good tuak is awesome stuff, and the high is a real upper.

As they say in Sarawak when u cheers, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Brain damage rating: 7.5/10

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Tuak on Foodista

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