Burns Night@Helmsdale Tokyo

[creagantuirc]

Hi, here's a little review of my first Burns Night kilted...

It took place at a little Scottish pub/bar called Helmsdale in Hiro-o, Tokyo.
It was a cosy affair, and a decidedly Japanese take on the celebration.
There was a special menu, featuring Haggis, and Haggis-flavoured items, plus Scottish-style sweets (er...kinda) and a special tasting selection of whiskys.

The main event of an impressive home-made haggis was flanked on either side by a solid half-hour of Robbie Burns' poems, read out in Japanese (understandable given the audience).
This was done by a pretty young lass who alas, thought that 2 30 minute non-stop bouts of poetry reading forcing everyone into complete silence for the duration was a good idea, and worse thought it was best read out in the most serious, dreary style possible.

Her own friends who had come to see her perform fell asleep int he second act!

That aside though, it was really good fun and the lengths they had gone to made what is probably the most authentic haggis in Japan was greatly appreciated.

There was plenty of classic Scottish music pumped out from the speakers and the alcohol flowed freely, just a few of us gaijin but the mainly Japanese crowd seemed to really have a good time (poetry none-withstanding ).

I didn't do a very good job with the photos, I tried taking videos and more shots but the camera app just kept on crashing.

Here's a shot of me getting ready for the event and some photos of the food and drink.

There is a some-what beleated Burns Supper I will be attending in Tokyo next month, a larger-scale affair with live music and dancing-I will do my best to get some decent photos and put them up here


Andy

Cheers!

Chieftan o' the puddin' race

1917 bottling of Old Mull Blend, not part of the set but tried it-most of the alcohol had long since evaporated from this venerable bottle unfortunately, leaving only a whisper of flavours.

This Tomatin was the best whisky of the night, lots of creamy toffee and banana notes.

Some 21 yo Longmorn

A unique bottling for Helmsdale, but under-proof to be called whisky anymore-was rather nice though!

Ardbeg-flavoured caramel and something supposed o be shortbread I think. Both tasted of pure sugar.

[RSHAW]

Thanks for the interesting report.

[CDNSushi]

Well done! Glad you had a good time. Finding haggis in Japan (which requires much creativity, even if you're going to make it yourself) is a true challenge. But I spent many a wonderful Rabbie Burns Day with my friends at the St. Andrews there, which was always a lot of fun.

What I miss most about Japan in that sense, is the ridiculously cheap scotch. Here in Canada, I can barely afford the cheapest single malt, whereas over there I would spend about the same for a good quality bottle as I do here on a small bottle of blended.

[Catharps]

Looking sharp! What a trip, thanks for sharing your adventures! I'm glad it all went over well.

[Tarheel]

Wonderful report of your evening. I am trying to wrap my mind around Burns performed in a Haiku style format. I feel you gave an "A" to the effort. Baby steps of your willing crowd may bring huge strides later.

[MacEanruig]

Glad you were able to enjoy a fine supper. Some of the best events are small cozy affairs. I did pretty much the same as you when I lived in South Korea during the late '80s and early '90s.