Kanpai Print

I honestly thought that my former alcoholic life can't have any value to myself or society in general. One day, the head chef at the authentic Japanese restaurant I used to frequent in Petionville called me to ask if I wanted to join their team. He knew I've just moved back to DR and they're opening a new Nordic Japanese restaurant at the corner of Calle Max Urena and Lope de Vega in Piantini, a business district in the capital of Santo Domingo. They needed an asian woman who can welcome guests, explain the dishes and suggest sake, a traditional Japanese rice wine to match the food with. This chef has seen first-hand my passion for Japanese food and knew I was the perfect candidate. The salary was just enough to cover my daily taxi fare but I gave in when they offered 10,000 pesos worth of gourmet food. Just going in is an adventure in itself. Our main door was still closed during soft opening so customers were invite-only and had to enter through the back door of another restaurant next door, pass through a dizzying maze of kitchens that ends at an interior space filled with a subdued luxury of contemporary Japanese and Nordic aesthetics. Everything was brand new: Quartz tables, velvet wall covering, wooden trellis, and large curved sofas. Plus premium Bose speakers. I had so much fun, learned so many things and met so many people--michelin star chef, senators, business tycoons, artists, journalists, models, country ambassadors. I talk to each and every customer (in my cute uniform) about my favorite topic--food and drinks. Just by knowing their order, I can mentally pair the best sake, explain how it was made, its history and tradition. So in this painting, I compiled a few of my favorites: Tokubetsu Honjozo from Murai Family--Tobuketsu means "special." So if you're buying sake as a gift or for special occassions, look for this term on the bottle. If you're new to sake-drinking or have low alcohol tolerance, I would suggest Takara Sierra. It's the lowest alcohol content in our menu, only 12%. It's quite mild and refreshing since it's consumed cold unlike the traditional hot sake. My next favorite is Momokawa Pearl. This brand has Pearl, Silver, Ruby and Diamond, but Pearl is my favorite because it's a Nigori, which literally means "cloudy" because of the suspended particles of coarsely filtered rice. It's slightly creamy with sweet hints that's why I like it. It's best paired with spicy food and Hawaiian BBQ. Sho Chilu Bai Premium Ginjo sake is a US-brewed sake and Yoshinogawa Gensens Karakuchi means "specially selected dry." Kanpai is a Japanese word for Cheers! in a drinking toast. It literally means empty the cup/glass. What I like best about drinking sake is that it makes me hyper, loose and talkative, so I will never drink this on a first date. Just saying :P This is a 24 x 32 cm acrylic and pastel painting on 160 gsm black, textured Canson paper. Original can be shipped in a tube/fine art prints framed and shipped worldwide.

Print:Giclee on Fine Art Paper

Size:9 W x 12 H x 0.1 D in

Size with Frame:14.25 W x 17.25 H x 1.2 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.