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You heard right, you and 14 of your friends could be lounging all by yourselves on the sands of  Nikoi Island for 3D/2N with Tiger Beer, worth $50,000!

Nikoi Island is a 15-hectare island located about 8km east of Bintan, Indonesia and is supposedly one of the most stunning islands in the region. There are 15 private villas on the island and all will be yours if you’re selected!

How much Tiger Beer would Robinson Crusoe trade for a hut?

What do you have to do? To be the one lucky winner, just purchase $30 of Tiger Beer in a single receipt from 1^st April to 31^st May 2011, and enter your information in Tiger Beer’s Facebook page.

To top it off, you’ll get to choose between a ‘Beach DJ Party’, a ‘Beach BBQ’ or a ‘Beach Camp Fire Dance’ to be organised during the island getaway, plus free flow Tiger Beer!

Purchase Tiger Beer at all participating bars, hotels, clubs, entertainment venues, restaurants, all major supermarkets as well as 7-Eleven, Cheers, Fairprice Xpress, Caltex and SPC outlets. However, the promotion is open only for persons above 18 years old. Receipts will need to be retained in order to claim the prizes.

For more information, log on to www.facebook.com/TigerBeerSingapore

By the way, we received a very nice blogger advisory hamper from the good Tiger folks – made us really feel like getting in the island getaway mood straightaway! Too bad both of us didn’t manage to look too hot in the Lei.

Blogger Advisory Kit contents: beach bag (nice), 6 pack Tiger Crystal (yums!), large black sun visor (a bit 'aunty', we thinks...), Lei (yay!) and contest information letter (needed that!)

Someone sent us this link yesterday which lists Top 5 breweries worth visiting. No surprises that St Jame’s Gate is on this list and we agree that this should be on the bucket list of any beer lover. Unless we’ve visited every brewery in the world, we wouldn’t dare create such a list. You decide…

Pot of gold, at the end of the tramline

Being in Amsterdam a few weeks back, I had the chance to visit the original Heineken Brewery with 3 other mates. It no longer produces the golden liquid but has become a living “advertisement” for Heineken. Costing about 15Euros per person, you get a walk around which ends off with a meagre 2 glasses of Heineken. To which, someone commented, “Is this how they reward their loyal customers?”

Dear Mr Heineken, can you count beyond 2?

But my “die die must try” recommendation is Heineken Zero and

Drink Amstel when in Amstel(and)

Amstel Extra Cold, both of which are served at zero degrees. You won’t find these in every bar and can be identified by a different tap, completely frozen. If maintained and served correctly, the foamy head tastes almost like slush. The best bar we found that serves this to perfection is the Old Sailor, located in the red light district at about 6Euros a pint. Try it, you will not regret this one.

Finally, thanks for all your leads on story ideas, keep them coming!

The beer can you can talk to - image courtesy of claudia.sg

Another view of the case that make you think of a beer all day – what a clever nifty idea by Asia Pacific Breweries!

Are you happy to see me or is that a Tiger in your pants? Image courtesy of claudia.sg

For those of you rushing out to get the case (iPhone case or case of beer, whatever), do post up some images of your new iPhone protection here!

In my course of work, I end up visiting and checking out many hotels. This time round, I went round several in the Causeway Bay area and there’re basically only two 4-star hotels in that bustling area and a few boutique hotels. But the 5-star Crowne Plaza will be opening there in October.

Anyway, sticking to the subject if booze, I did a site inspection of Excelsior Hotel and checked out the basement Dickens Bar. The staff were preparing for lunch but what caught my eye was the number of beer taps and in particular, a Marston’s Pedigree draft.

I promised myself to attempt a return after the day’s business obligations and did exactly that.

Dicken’s has to be one of the best pub finds in Hong Kong. It has 11 taps including the Pedigree ale. As it was served, it looked like a typical British ale, light amber in colour and took some time to settle, building a nice, heavy layer of froth.

But what struck me was the sweet taste. At first, I thought the glass was dirty, shifted around the glass and took another gulp. But the sweet taste was unmistakable. It’s a sweet, fruity, creamy ale and the sweetness linger through the after taste. For the guys out there, if you like Hoegaarden but think it’s too girly to be seen with a pint in your hand, Pedigree could be your next best alternative. Unfortunately, I doubt you’d find this ale available readily in Asia Pacific.

The selling point of this joint must be the 11 beer taps, including Victoria Bitter! Seriously, how often do you find VB on tap? I’ve been to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth so many times and hardly seen the green label available fresh in most pubs. But here it is in Hong Kong! Other taps included are the usual suspects like Tiger, Heineken, Carlsberg, Strongbow, Hoegaarden, Kilkenny, Leffe, Guinness and San Miguel.

It does have a decent selection of bottles too including regional brews like Tsing Tao, Blue Girl or try the Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. Still, with 11 tap, it has to be one of the city’s most crowded bar tops and why would you drink bottles?

If you know of another pub in Hong Kong with more taps, do let us know!