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<\/a><\/p>\nhonestslogans.com<\/em><\/p>\n 1 Finger food<\/strong>. Notice the name. It implies food that may be eaten using one’s fingers. Anything much bigger than a Ritz cracker is not really going to work. Roast meat is lovely, but not to be served in giant slices at a stand-up cocktail function. If you expect people to balance a glass, a plate, a knife and fork, expect broken crockery and glassware. If you’re doing it at home here’s the world’s simplest recipe: buy roast duck from your nearest Asian restaurant; cut into pieces and place on plain rice crackers; add half a teaspoon of hoi sin sauce and a little spring onion. Viola! Finger food. How difficult is that?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Martini = no fruit!<\/em><\/p>\n 2 Drinks.<\/strong> Okay, while it’s called a cocktail function, usually martinis\u00a0are sadly absent. (When I say martini I mean\u00a0gin and a waft of vermouth; anything with more fruit than a twist of lemon\u00a0is not a martini). Why is it a cocktail function, and why must I wear cocktail attire, \u00a0if there are no cocktails? Usually you’ll get wine of both colours and beer. If you’re lucky, one of the three will be palatable. Boozy types \u2013 yes, we’ve been to a few Austcham Thailand<\/a> functions \u2013 will inevitably gravitate towards the service area. Set up a couple, otherwise those blokes in suits will have the effect of a black hole on light waves \u2013 nothing is going to get out. And here’s a hint: if you put the food and booze service areas in the same place in the venue, it’s going to get crowded there.<\/p>\n 3 Venues.<\/strong> These types of functions are bread and butter for hotels, and most event organisers don’t have enough imagination to see past them. There are other options. In Hong Kong recently we went to an event at Umami Concepts<\/a>, which is pretty-much a large two-room apartment with a big semi-commercial open kitchen. Stand-up cocktail party? Check. Cocktails even. Also cooking classes, events like olive oil tastings, and a decent place to film cooking shows, so I expect it’s rather busy. It’s a great\u00a0idea in Asia, where space is at a premium, and because it was essentially run by the chef, with one waiter doing the clearing duties. Good thinking.<\/p>\n Now if you’ll pardon me \u2013 it’s getting close to the \u00a0cocktail hour and I need to suit-up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hey Dan, Yes, it has been too long. Oops. The New Year’s Resolution was to put in a bit more effort at meeting people in our adopted hometown, so the plan is to go to the opening of a paper bag if there’s an invite. As a result we’ve been doing a lot of standing … Continue reading Cocktail Hour(s)<\/span> ![\"Martini\"](\"http:\/\/www.brothersbites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Martini-300x225.jpg\")
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