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.
Hemp Seed Drink
This is hemp seed drink made by hung fook tong that I got in Hong Kong. it's got a weird separation of colors at the bottom, like a black & tan. But it says to shake well before drinking. After shaking it turns a uniform dark brown.
It smells like peanuts, and to my surprise is very watery. I thought it was going to be thick, but it's not at all. The taste reminds me of almond butter, and is very similar to the peanut drink. You can feel the little particles of ground-up nuts inside, and there's a slight aftertaste. Not a bad one, but the flavor lingers.
The doorman at the place I'm staying at said it's very good for your gut. He said if you're too hot, you can drink this to cool off. I think he means something to do with yin and yang, and Chinese medicine theory. So that must mean that the hemp seed drink is very "yin."
The health properties of hemp seed are pretty well known, but not very mainstream. I've seen it getting put into more and more food and drink products. Actually, hemp seed is the second ingredient here after water, so it must make up a good percentage of the total drink. There is also some almond added (I'm guessing for flavor).
I guess the only negative thing about this drink is that it separates really quickly, but that's also part of what makes it interesting.
Selfheal Fruit Juice – Xia Ku Cao
On my trip to Hong Kong, I picked up another weird drink that I had never seen before in a 7-11. Beside the fact that I didn't recognize the name 夏枯草, I could tell it was weird because of the drink's tagline: "Common selfheal fruit-spike drink." That doesn't give me any clue as to what's in it.
It tastes basically like raisin juice, but really a mild flavor. It's not sour or bitter at all, and not even too sweet. It just has a little raisin-y aftertaste, and is pretty refreshing cold. I think you could also drink it hot, like the jew's ear juice, and it might taste good that way too.
Checking my trusty Chinese translator, nciku.com, it seems I've never heard of this fruit before either. It's xia1 ku1 cao3 in Mandarin, ha6 fu1 chou2 in Cantonese, Prunella vulgaris in Latin, and "Self-heal" in English. Also known as Lance Selfheal in the US, it's a flowery plant that's harvested for it's medicinal properties. It supposedly can help to heal a whole bunch of diseases, and is being researched for cancer, AIDS, and diabetes treatments.
Getting to the label, here are the ingredients: purified water, cane sugar, common selfheal fruit-spike, dates, grosvenor momordica fruit, and liquorice root. If you're wondering what the second-to-last ingredient is, it's luo han guo, which is probably why this tastes a little similar to the luo han guo juice I tried in Thailand.
The xia ku cao juice has no preservatives or artificial colorings, and based on the ingredients it sounds like it's really good for you. It tastes good too.