epiphany

Sweat to Drink

You get lots of interesting foods here in China. For instance, my coworker just gave me a mildly spiced, wrinkley piece of unleavened bread. I have no idea what it is, but it tastes pretty good. There's also a crunchy, round fried peanut thingy that I like. Other foods popular in my area are sea cucumber and youyu si (squid jerky). Sea cucumber tastes a lot like salty air and has the texture of persistant geletin: it won't dissolve on its own, but it provides no resistance when you bite it. Youyu si, on the other hand, is really fishy, salty and chewy. Squid on a stick is much better, and you can buy that along the street. Just don't let them put too much hot sauce on it.

But my favorite food encounter so far has been a drink. I was walking through the airport in Beijing the other day and saw cans of Sweat. Pocari Sweat is a Japanese beverage "with properties similar to your body's own fluids." Since it was cheaper than water or soda (I think beer cost less) and had such an intriguing name, I decided to try it. It was uncarbonated and mildly sweet with a hint of citrus--nothing strong, but not so weak that it didn't taste good. I would definitely buy it again.

But next time, I think I'll take a friend along and have him buy it. Then I can say that I drank someone else's Sweat. ;-)