May 12, 2009

•   PART III

  

     
  We travel off the beaten track from touristy Miami Beach to ghetto Little Havana   

  

  Excitedly getting trigger happy in the taxi

  

  

  Little Havana is famous as the cultural and political capital of Cuban Americans, and the neighborhood is a center of the Cuban exile community.

   

  On 8th Street (or Calle Ocho) between 12th and 27th Avenues it thus lies .You can find hand-rolled cigars, fruiterias, meat markets, herbal stores and windows with cafecitos for only 25 cents. Practice your Spanish, drink café con leche, buy Santeria candles and view quirky architecture painted tropical colors.

  It’s the next best thing to sneaking into Cuba. Americans can’t go there, but fortunately with a nifty little super powerful Singapore passport I can travel to nearly anywhere in the the world! One day, I shall definitely make a visit to this country.

  
  

   
   
  
  Flamenco dancing in here

   
  We are drawn to this store front of old school movie posters, and the alluring tunes of melodic spanish music beckoning from within…

  

  Turns out they are selling Cuba’s most famous item (besides Communism or Fidel Castro t-shirts)

  

  

  

  Each brand and type of cigar tastes different. While the wrapper does not entirely determine the flavor of the cigar, darker wrappers tend to produce a sweetness, while lighter wrappers usually have a “drier” taste. Whether a cigar is mild, medium, or full bodied does not correlate with quality.

  

   
  The friendly owner who treated us to free whiskey

  We sat around chatting to him for a while. According to him, if you want to enjoy an authentic Cuban evening in Little Havana, plan your trip around the end of the month. The last Friday of each month is known as Viernes Culturales (Cultural Friday). It is a large Latin street party complete with music, dancing, street performers, food, local artist’s wares, and theater. Good, clean fun for the whole family.

  Well, apparently, we had missed Viernes Culturales the night before! Darn!

  

  
  My very first time trying a cigar. And I don’t smoke either. Acks. I coughed so badly at the start. But I got better as I gradually puffed away more.

  It made me a very slightly, teeny bit light-headed.

  
  Doing it like a pro already?

  Cigar smoke is rarely inhaled unlike cigarette smoke. It tastes of tobacco with nuances of other tastes. Many different things affect the scent of cigar smoke: tobacco type, quality of the cigar, added flavors, age and humidity, production method (handmade vs. machine-made) and more. A fine cigar can taste completely different from inhaled cigarette smoke. When smoke is inhaled, as is usual with cigarettes, the tobacco flavor is less noticeable than the sensation from the smoke. Some cigar enthusiasts use a vocabulary similar to that of wine-tasters to describe the overtones and undertones observed while smoking a cigar.
  

  Some words used to describe cigar flavor and texture include; spicy, peppery (red or black), sweet, harsh, burnt, green, earthy, woodsy, cocoa, roasted, aged, nutty, creamy, cedar, oak, chewy, fruity, and leathery.
  

  Journals are available for recording personal ratings, description of flavors observed, sizes, brands, etc. Cigar tasting is in such respects similar to wine, cognac and whisky tasting.

  
  Wandering the streets at night

  Something funny spotted:

  
  All you Singaporean linguists out there should know!

  : Ultra Music Festival :
  Night 2

  

  

  

  

  

  

  No good….
  

  Very very good…..
  

  

  The next day, we get a another taste of Cuban lovin’.

  At the best Cuban cafe in South Beach – Puerto Sagua

  

  The food is delicious and hearty. Chicken meat was so soft and tender it fell off the bones.
  
  
  In dire need of a shot of Cuban cubano/cafecito to keep us going after our late late night

  
  

  Candid snap of me devouring food. Unglam.

  
  Highlight of the meal -
  A certain Mr Benet was in the cafe as well

  

  He actually came over to chat with us and kindly extended an invitation to his party. Us blur sotongs had no clue who this man was at first…. I did think he looked very suave in his aviator shades and stylish get up though and was secretly swooning a little 

   
  Strangely some paparazzi mtv crew next to us started shooting and he left awkwardly, leaving us rather bewildered…

  We only found out later from other patrons in the cafe that he is  “Halle Berry’s cheating ex-husband” and a “grammy-nominated R&B singer”.  Gee, I must say it’s rather terrible to be known first and foremost as the cheating ex of a super star celebrity.

  
   As it turns out I actually have several of  Eric Benet’s songs in my playlist,  just had no idea it was him then! What a waste we did not get to talk further! Would have loved it if he serenaded us hehe. He has a velvety smooth chocolaty voice and is very sexy indeed. I definitely recommend you go take a listen to some of his rich, soulful tracks

  : Ocean Drive :

  

  

   
  
  Those are the largest magaritas I have ever seen. No wonder they’re so happy!

  
  A very happening gay bar. All the half-naked men merrily shaking their booties away

   

  

  
  : Nikki Beach Club :

  Upon entering, I reckon they not-so-subtly wanted to remind us of what a star-studded establisment they were

  

  
  My sweetie is petite, tiny and hot like Eva!
  I can..um…only wish to look like Jessica… >.<

  

  

  

   

  
  Our sexy LA girls. They’ve got great vintage style

  

  
  Brazilian boys~

  : Final Day :

   
  

  Strolling through Lincoln Road mall, we stop for a light meal at Sushi Samba.

  I first dined at the New York branch a month or so ago, and loved it! Japanese + Brazillian fusion food.

  It was a lovely sunny day, perfect to sit out al-fresco amidst the palm trees and people walking to and fro.

   

  

  

  Not satisfied, we moved on to somewhere else for dessert.

  

    Caramel/cinnamon appled clusters and ice cream

  We  ♥  galleries….
  
  Salacious artwork

  Still not satisfied, we embark on a short journey to South Beach’s first and most famous restaurant, a must-visit instituition in Miami.

  : Joe’s Stone Crab :
  This place has been serving the distinctively sweet claw of the stone crab since the early 1900s.

  
  I really liked how they had already cracked everything for you, making getting the delicious meat out an easy breeze. Their special receipe creamy mustard dipping sauce was a very suitable sidekick!

  We were going to leave after the crabs, but the shocked manager insisted we HAD TO try their famous dessert, otherwise our experience at Joe’s would not be complete – the Key Lime Pie.

  

  So he served it to us on the house! Aww, thanks a bunch

  
  Sorry, haha we were bored and bo-liao ^_^

  Outside the restaurant whilst we were walking out was parked this beautiful car….
  
  This Porsche was a killer knock-out! I was in love with it’s all black exterior and unique matt finish.

  Does anyone know what model this Porsche is?
  
  
  Okay, so we’re STILL NOT SATISFIED! and head to Ocean Drive for a breezy night stroll and yes, more food.

  
  You’d better believe her when she says those oysters rock her world.

  

  4 meals in a 6 hours is still not enough. We have our 5th!

  

  

  Finally there is no more room for further satisfaction. And hence the night slowly turns into the wee hours of the morning as we head back to our FontaineBleau hotel.

   

  Bye Miami! You were memorable, will be back for more thrills and spills during next year’s WMC!

  
  

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  • 6:50 am
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