Nostalgia Drink: Soojeonggwa
This weird drink from Korea tastes like apple pie in a can. A spoonful of cinnamon in every sip. This flavor is really awesome at first, but gets a little overwhelming after a while. It has the after taste of cinnamon, tannin-y. It's smooth and slightly syrupy, and not carbonated.
If you get a chance, definitely try this drink. It's delicious, but one can will be enough. If you're thirsty for other Nostalgia drinks, also check out Shikhye.
8.4 Alcoholic Cider
Since drinks in bars are expensive in Hong Kong, my friend recommended we go to 7-11 to get drinks first so that we don't have to buy them in the bar. She recommended that I try this drink called "8.4" which is a cider, supposedly.
It was 2 bottles for HKD22, coming out to be about USD$1.40 per bottle. Not bad for a drink with 8.4% alcohol, and considering I knew beers in the bars we were going to are at least twice that, maybe triple.
It turns out that this cider has practically no flavor whatsoever. I've had hard ciders before that I liked before, but this was not it. There was really nothing to be liked or disliked about it. It tasted just like really weak cider or a hint of wine cooler. I think it's safe to say that this is only for getting drunk, people don't buy it for the flavor.
It's not just alcoholic cider, it's cider for alcoholics - if you can even call it cider.
Manzana Soda from Ecuador
Manzana is a soda with a strange orange color for something that supposedly tastes like apple. The name "Manzana" means apple in spanish, and there aren't really any other identifying clues on the bottle besides a cap which has the logo of RC Cola on it and a quote on the side saying "100% Ecuatoriana."
This mystery manzana drink smells a little bit like non-sour "green apple flavor." It's not at all like real apple though, and barely at all even like that fake apple flavor. It's got even a slight tinge of orange flavor, but it really just tastes like pure chemical artificial flavoring similar to a slush puppie or sno-cone.
Ecuadorian Manzana reminds me of apple jacks, which are also orange and taste nothing like apple. Hey, I guess you can ignore the label and drink what you like, but I'll probably be drinking something else.
The Jew’s Ear Juice
Really, what sounds more appetizing than juice from a Jew's ear, especially "Quality Jew's ear selected from Changbai Mountain?"
I'm actually pretty nervous to try it. From the Chinese name, 黑木耳露 （Hei1 Mu4 Er3 Lu4）, I know that it's wood ear juice. Wood ear (evidently a.k.a. Jew's ear) is a fungus that's pretty common in Chinese dishes, but I would never think about drinking it. Read More >
Apple Vinegar Drink
I saw this Apple Vinegar Drink in a supermarket in Beijing. There were a couple other varieties, so I chose the nicest looking bottle. Right off the bat, I knew this was some sort of health trend. Regardless of the fact that I thought it would taste like straight-up vinegar, I gave it a try.
The smell is pretty unremarkable, like unsweet old apple cider. Actually, that's exactly what it tastes like. It's a little sweet, but there's a strong sour and bitter aftertaste. It tastes like if you took a couple bites out of an apple, set it on the counter for a couple days, then came back and took a bite of that brown part. I haven't actually done that, I'm just guessing. The other thing about this apple vinegar drink is that it's got a little bit of a slimy texture. Read More >
