Frost Loves LAIBA and Maxim Schulte

LAIBA Special Edition #01, a cocktail set created by world-renowned Maxim Schulte, formerly of The American Bar at The Savoy and currently the head bartender at KOL Mezcaleria, London.

In just 30 seconds, start to finish, you can make a delicious cocktail; just shake, add ice, serve and enjoy – the easiest way to be your own bartender.

The LAIBA Special Edition #01 is the complete cocktail experience, delivered to your door. This is the ultimate six-bottle cocktail set including three bottles of both of Maxim’s bespoke cocktails, the Oriental Reviver and the Piña Colada Old-Fashioned.

Maxim Schulte says: “My LAIBA Special Edition reflects my experience previously in Bangkok, Hong Kong and Macau, really showcasing Asian flavours and what they can do in a cocktail.”


ORIENTAL REVIVER
“A twist on possibly my all-time favourite classic, The Corpse Reviver No. 2, invented in the American Bar at The Savoy. We have gin, a little bit of Triple Sec and then we have mandarin. The mandarin replacing the citrus is connected to my past of working for a long time in Asia and really loving the continent, the people, the culture and the flavours.”
– MAXIM SCHULTE

PIÑA COLADA OLD-FASHIONED
“The Piña Colada Old-Fashioned is a riff on my absolute favourite tropical summer drink. I say, if you don’t like a Piña Colada, you have to be either allergic to coconut or pineapple. I love to have an amazing, refreshing Piña Colada on a hot day, but with this version you can have it literally any day. Rum, pineapple, coconut; a little bit of sweet and sour.”
– MAXIM SCHULTE

Priced at £59 for six 90ml bottles from LAIBA Beverages with free next day delivery.

Cha Cha Moon | Restaurant Review

15-21 Ganton Street, W1F 9BN. Nearest tube: Oxford Circus.

Meals served 11.30am-11pm Mon-Thur; 11.30am-11.30pm Fri, Sat; noon-10.30pm Sun

Main courses £7-£8

Telephone: 020 7297 9800

On Thursday night we headed to Cha Cha Moon. A Chinese restaurant right in the heart of trendy Soho. The first thing that strikes me about Cha Cha Moon is the decor: it is incredibly stylish with an open kitchen and a bar at the back. The tables are long benches and there is also a good garden space. Of course the decor is not the main thing you want in a restaurant, that’s the food and the service. Both of which are first-class here. The atmosphere was buzzing and very much in keeping with the Soho surroundings.

I have to admit that I love chinese food. We started with the chicken dumplings and Cha cha mooli. The dumplings were excellent. They were crispy and tasted divine when dipped in the perfectly seasoned garlic chilli sauce. The Cha cha mooli was something I’d never had before, but it looked very interesting on the menu. It was Turnip cake, dried shrimp, Chinese chive, Chinese salami beansprout, spring onion, egg. It didn’t disappoint, everything somehow came together in a dish that was delightfully different.

We also had the Seafood ho fun which is Scallop, prawn, squid, red and green pepper, onion, black bean, ho fun. It tasted superb and the portion was very generous. Everything, particularly the seafood, was perfectly cooked. We also had Crispy duck lao mian: Crispy duck, cucumber, cū mian, we really enjoyed this classic chinese dish with the noodles Cha Cha Moon specialises in.

For dessert we had Banana and melon fritters. I had never had melon fritters before and they tasted just as good as the banana fritters. The fritters came in a deliciously warm sugary syrup. The cool vanilla cream on the side was the perfect contrast and when it was all combined with the crispy fritters it was a simply fantastic dessert.

Cha Cha Moon also does very good drinks. An expert cocktail maker is constantly at work behind the bar and there is a good selection of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. We had the Golden Sunrise (Peach, mango, mint, goji berry), Chan Chan Tei (Beetroot, spinach, pear, apple), Pina Colada (White rum, pineapple, coconut, cream) and Mango Juice.

I loved my Pina Colada. It was superbly made. The Chan Chan Tei was a great savoury drink and very healthy.

The service was excellent. The food came extremely quickly and everyone was very warm and friendly. Highly recommended.